Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Land preparation Land preparation is important to ensure that the rice field is ready for
planting. A well-prepared field controls weeds, recycles plant nutrients, and provides a soft soil
mass for transplanting and a suitable soil surface for direct seeding. Land preparation covers
a wide range of practices from zero-tillage or minimum tillage which minimizes soil
disturbance through to a totally 'puddled' soil which actually destroys soil structure.
Tillage preparation - Tillage has been used for millennia to prepare the soil prior to
sowing many of the annual grain crops. It involves applying power to break up and
rearrange the entire topsoil structure. It has the primary aim of destroying weeds and
pests but is also important for incorporating, redistributing or releasing nutrients and
making the soil texture suitable for seed sowing, seed germination and for easy
penetration of seedling roots.
2. Give two major purposes of tillage that are common to dryland and wetland
preparation?
(1) to prepare a suitable seedbed
(2) to eliminate competition from weed growth,
(3) to improve the physical condition of the soil.
7. Which will require more tillage operations, a rice-field with long stubbles and
more weeds, or one with short stubbles and less weeds? Why?
- A ricefield with long stubbles and more weeds because Seeding through heavy
stubble is difficult. Burning to remove the stubble makes seeding easier but it does waste
crop nutrients and cause air pollution. Leaving standing stubble short at harvest may make
it easier to sow into. Standing stubble wraps around tines less than straw lying on the soil.
Disked seeders may cut through prostrate stubble on firm soil, but if the surface soil
becomes soft, such as after rain, discs tend to push straw into the soil rather than cutting.
- Methods of sowing into stubble include widening tine spacing on seeders. This
allows greater amounts and lengths of straw to pass. Some farmers sow at up to
30 cm spacing to seed through the stubble and while still retaining it in order to
reduce evaporation from the soil.
8. Without using an instrument, how can you determine if a soil has the proper moisture
content for dryland tillage?
-
9. On an area pronounced slope (5-20%) what should be the direction of tillage? Why?
-
10. Why is excessive tillage (over-pulverization) of an upland soil undersirable?
Explain.
4. Give 2 examples of field crops of which seedlings are usually raised in seedbeds
and then transplanted in the field.
a. Eggplant
b. Rice
5. Give 5 examples of field crops those seeds or propagules are directly planted in
the field.
a. Soybean
b. Melon
c. Carrots
d. Radish
e. Bitter gourd
a) Pre-Planting/ Pre-Sowing
i) EPTC
ii) Monuron
iii) Diuron
iv) Fenuron
v) Sodium Chloride
vi) Arsenic
vii) Boron
b) Per-Emergence:
i). Simazine
ii) Atrazine
iii) Nitrofen
iv) Alachlor
v) Butachlor
vi) EPTC
c) Post-Emergence:
i) 2,4,D
ii) 2,4,5-T
iii) MCPA
iv) MCPB
v) Propanil
vi) Dalapon
vii) Glyphosate
viii) Silvex
ix) MSMA
x)Paraquat
a. Pre-Planting:
These herbicides are applied before a crop is planted are called pre-planting
herbicides. The herbicides is usually incorporated into the soil to reduce volatility
and photo decomposition. E. g Paraquat , Basalin.
c. Post-Emergence Herbicides:
Post-Emergence herbicides are most effective applied after the emergence of crop
and weeds or this term may also refer to herbicides use after crop has emerged
but before weeds emerge. E. g 2,4-D , Dicamba ( Banvel) etc.
1. True or False. All elements absorbed by plants are essentials. Explain your
answer.
- No. Some plants absorb radioactive isotopes that aren't used by the plant. Some of
the isotopes probably mimic some property of elements they do use like calcium.
Some plants absorb so much that they are used in phytoremediation. There are
probably other examples.
2. Differentiate macroelement from microelement.
- Cover crops are used as ground cover, mulches, green manure, nurse crops,
smother crops, and forage and food for animals or humans. Cover crops can be
annual or perennial species, including certain legumes, grasses, and non-
leguminous dicots.