Theory question 106
Forestry and Wildlife(a) What is forest reserve?
(b) State two advantages of taungya system of farming to each of the following: (i) farmers; (ii) foresters.
(c) With the aid of a diagram, describe the life cycle of yam beetle (Heteroligus meles).
(d) State two advantages of organic fertilizers over inorganic fertilizers.
(e) Name two varieties of oil palm.
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(a) An area of forest set aside and protected by law, where cutting trees, farming and hunting are controlled.
(b)(i) Farmers: get land to grow food crops; land is fertile; land preparation partly done/reduces cost. (ii) Foresters: young trees are weeded and tended free by farmers; cost of establishing the forest is reduced; fire and illegal felling are watched.
(c) Diagram of complete metamorphosis: egg → larva → pupa → adult. Description: adults lay eggs in moist soil near swamps; eggs hatch into larvae which feed on organic matter; larvae pupate in the soil; adults emerge and migrate to yam farms at the start of the rains, bore into and eat the tubers, then return to the swamps to breed.
(d) Any two: improve soil structure and water holding; add humus; release nutrients slowly; increase soil organisms; do not acidify the soil; cheap/locally available.
(e) Any two: Dura; Pisifera; Tenera.
Yam beetle has complete metamorphosis: draw and label egg, larva, pupa, adult in a cycle.