45 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.
Seasonality of agricultural produce could be eliminated through
Answer: A (practising irrigation.)
Irrigation lets crops be grown all year round, not only in the rainy season.
Agricultural research is important in crop production because it
Answer: B (develops crops that have short maturity period.)
Research breeds early-maturing, high-yielding varieties.
A hygrometer is used in agriculture for measuring
Answer: D (relative humidity.)
A hygrometer measures relative humidity.
Which of the following statements is not a reason for maintaining farm machines? To
Answer: A (reduce the salvage value.)
Maintenance raises, not reduces, a machine's value.
An example of a rock characterised by strata is
Answer: B (limestone.)
Limestone is sedimentary, laid down in layers (strata).
The water which is available for plant root absorption is
Answer: C (capillary water.)
Plants take up capillary water held in small soil pores.
A student obtained the following results in a certain soil experiment: mass of empty dish = 10 g; mass of dish + fresh soil = 70 g; mass of dish + dried soil = 55 g.
The mass of fresh soil is
Answer: D (60 g.)
70 − 10 = 60 g.
In a soil profile, granular structure is usually found in
Answer: A (horizon A.)
The topsoil (A), rich in humus, has a granular (crumb) structure.
The diagram below illustrates a tool used in soil analysis.
The illustrated tool is used for determining soil
Answer: B (texture.)
Sieves separate particles by size, which shows texture.
A farmer observed purple colouration on cowpea leaves in the field. This deficiency symptom could be corrected by applying
Answer: C (single superphosphate.)
Purple leaves show phosphorus deficiency; superphosphate supplies phosphorus.
Agricultural pollution could be prevented by
Answer: D (practising organic farming.)
Organic farming avoids chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Yam stores food in its
Answer: B (stem.)
The yam tuber is a swollen underground stem.
The diagram below illustrates a crop.
A farm operation usually performed on the part labelled II is
Answer: B (shelling.)
II is the cob with grains; grains are removed from the cob by shelling.
The diagram below illustrates a crop.
The part labelled III is
Answer: D (husk.)
III is the leafy sheath around the cob, the husk.
The diagram below illustrates a crop.
The moisture content of the illustrated crop should be reduced before harvesting in order to reduce contamination due to
Answer: C (fungi.)
Damp maize grows moulds (fungi) that make aflatoxins.
Blackarm disease of crops affects
Answer: A (cotton.)
Blackarm is a bacterial disease of cotton.
An effect of polishing rice grains is that it
Answer: C (reduces the nutritive value of grains.)
Polishing removes the bran and its vitamins.
The budding of sweet orange scion on sour orange stock is to prevent
Answer: A (gummosis.)
Sour orange rootstock resists gummosis (foot rot).
Plantation agriculture is commonly practised in the production of
I. fruits
II. vegetables
III. beverages
Answer: B (I and III only.)
Plantations grow tree crops such as fruits, cocoa and coffee.
A farmland was surveyed and mapped as shown in the diagram below.
If AB is 15 m, DC is 10 m and EF is 8m, calculate the area of the farmland
Answer: B (100 m2)
Trapezium area = ½ × (15 + 10) × 8 = 100 m².
A farmland was surveyed and mapped as shown in the diagram below (AB = 15 m, DC = 10 m, EF = 8 m).
If cowpea was planted on the farmland at a spacing of 25 cm by 90 cm at two seeds per hole, determine the expected plant population of cowpea plants.
Answer: D (888 plants.)
Holes = 100 ÷ (0.25 × 0.9) ≈ 444; × 2 seeds = 888 plants.
Dormancy in seeds could be broken by
Answer: C (heat treatment.)
Heat treatment (as in oil palm seeds) breaks dormancy.
A nitrogen-fixing forest tree that could be used in alley cropping is
Answer: B (Leucaena leucocephala.)
Leucaena is a leguminous tree used in alley cropping.
Allamanda is an ornamental
Answer: C (shrub.)
Allamanda is a flowering shrub.
Which of the following diseases of crops could be controlled by the application of fungicides?
Answer: D (Sigatoka disease of banana)
Sigatoka is fungal; the others are viral.
Talinum triangulare is mainly dispersed by
Answer: D (explosive mechanism.)
Waterleaf capsules burst and throw out the seeds.
An example of a dual purpose cattle is
Answer: C (White Fulani.)
White Fulani is kept for both milk and meat.
Which of the following products is obtained from a living farm animal?
I. Egg
II. Chevon
III. Milk
Answer: B (I and III only)
Chevon is goat meat, obtained only after slaughter.
Absorption of water from undigested feed in ruminants occurs in the
Answer: D (colon.)
The colon (large intestine) absorbs water from undigested material.
The rumen performs the following functions except
I. temporary storage of feed
II. fermentation of feed
III. synthesis of vitamins A and D
Answer: C (III only)
Rumen microbes make B vitamins and vitamin K, not A and D.
Which of the following methods is not used in collecting semen from farm animals?
Answer: C (Use of catheter)
A catheter is used to inseminate, not to collect semen.
Heat stress in farm animals could result in
Answer: D (reduced milk production.)
Hot animals eat less and produce less milk.
If the recommended floor space for chickens is 0.36 m2 per adult chicken. Determine the number of chickens that could be reared in a deep litter house measuring 9 m by 20 m.
Answer: D (500)
9 × 20 = 180 m²; 180 ÷ 0.36 = 500.
A building with open sides is preferable in a poultry house because it
Answer: C (promotes adequate ventilation.)
Open sides let fresh air move through the house.
Wool could be obtained from a
Answer: C (ram.)
Rams (sheep) grow wool.
Which of the following poultry diseases could be treated with drugs containing sulphur?
I. Coccidiosis
II. Ringworm
III. Fowl pox
Answer: A (I and II only)
Sulpha drugs treat coccidiosis, and sulphur preparations are used on ringworm; fowl pox is viral.
The most important function of bees to humans is to
Answer: C (serve as agent of pollination.)
Pollination by bees raises crop yields greatly.
A farmer's total cost of producing 500 trays of eggs was N350,000.00. Before sales, the farmer's family consumed 1% of the total output.
How many trays of eggs were sold by the farmer?
Answer: C (495.)
1% of 500 = 5 trays eaten; 500 − 5 = 495 sold.
Which of the following marketing functions help farmers fix better prices for their produce?
I. Advertisement
II. Processing
III. Grading
Answer: C (II and III only)
Processing adds value and grading sorts produce into quality classes that fetch higher prices.
(a) State six causes of food shortage in West Africa.
(b) Name four governmental organizations that are involved in the improvement of agricultural production in West Africa.
(c)(i) Mention three field operations that could be powered by the tractor on the farm. (ii) Give five reasons why it is difficult for farmers to acquire tractors in West Africa.
(a) Any six: pests and diseases; poor or irregular rainfall/drought; dependence on rain-fed farming; poor rural roads and amenities; inadequate farm inputs; desert encroachment, erosion and environmental degradation; climate change; war and insecurity; floods and other natural disasters; rural-urban migration; poor storage and processing; high population growth; poor government policies.
(b) Any four: River Basin Development Authorities; Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs); agricultural/development banks (e.g. Bank of Agriculture); national agricultural research institutes; National Agricultural Insurance Corporation; national land development authorities; ministries of agriculture.
(c)(i) Any three: ploughing; harrowing; ridging; planting; fertilizer application; spraying; mowing; harvesting; transporting inputs and produce.
(ii) Any five: high purchase price; high cost of maintenance and fuel; lack of capital/credit; scarcity of spare parts; lack of technical know-how/operators; small, fragmented holdings; poor government support.
Six separate causes in (a).
(a) Explain four ways in which nutrients are depleted from the soil.
(b) Give three: (i) advantages of applying green manure to soils. (ii) disadvantages of applying green manure to soils
(c) Give four reasons why deforestation should be discouraged in West Africa.
(a) Any four, explained: leaching – rain water washes soluble nutrients down beyond the roots; crop removal – harvested crops and grazed plants carry nutrients away; burning – bush burning destroys organic matter and nitrogen goes off as gas; erosion – fertile topsoil is washed or blown away; continuous cropping without replacement; oxidation/denitrification losses of nitrogen.
(b)(i) Any three: adds organic matter and nutrients (especially nitrogen from legumes); improves soil structure, aeration and water holding; increases soil organisms; reduces erosion; cheap.
(ii) Any three: labour intensive; land is out of use while the green manure grows; slow release of nutrients; bulky; may encourage pests or weeds; depends on rainfall.
(c) Any four: prevents soil erosion and loss of fertility; checks desert encroachment; protects wildlife and biodiversity; reduces global warming/climate change; keeps rainfall and water supply steady; prevents flooding; preserves timber and other forest products for the future.
Explain how each loss happens.
(a) Complete the table below: for maize smut and damping off of tomato, give the causal organism, one symptom and one preventive/control measure.
(b) State four ways in which each of the following factors affect crop production in West Africa (i) wind; (ii) light.
(c) Mention four human activities that promote deforestation.
(a) Maize smut: fungus (Ustilago maydis); large galls on ears, tassels or stems that burst to release black powdery spores; resistant varieties, seed dressing, remove and burn infected plants, crop rotation.
Damping off of tomato: fungus (Pythium spp., also Rhizoctonia); seedling stems rot and become thin at soil level, seedlings collapse and die; sterilise nursery soil, avoid over-watering, good drainage, correct spacing, fungicides.
(b)(i) Wind (any four): increases transpiration and evaporation; helps pollination; disperses seeds and weed seeds; spreads pests and diseases; strong winds cause lodging and breakage; causes soil erosion.
(ii) Light (any four): supplies energy for photosynthesis; affects growth rate; daylength decides flowering of many crops (photoperiodism); affects ripening of fruits; causes phototropism; breaks dormancy of some seeds.
(c) Any four: logging/timber felling; mining and oil exploration; road construction; urbanisation and industrialisation; farming/shifting cultivation; estate and housing development; bush burning; fuelwood collection.
One organism, symptom and control for each disease.
(a) Discuss the cultivation of cotton under the following headings: (i) planting material; (ii) spacing; (iii) varieties; (iv) harvesting; (v) two pests; (vi) uses.
(b) State five advantages of introducing a new variety of banana into an area.
(c) Mention four routine management practices that should be carried out by a farmer when rearing layers in the battery cage
(a)(i) Seeds (delinted).
(ii) About 90 cm × 30–45 cm (or 60 cm × 100 cm).
(iii) Any: Gossypium hirsutum; G. barbadense; G. arboreum; G. herbaceum (or named local varieties such as Samaru 26J).
(iv) Bolls are picked by hand as they open (or by mechanical cotton pickers), in dry weather.
(v) Any two: cotton stainer; bollworms; aphids; whitefly; jassids/leafhoppers; spider mites; thrips.
(vi) Lint for textiles; seed oil for cooking, margarine and soap; seed cake for livestock feed; hulls for fertilizer and paper; medical cotton wool.
(b) Any five: higher yield; better fruit quality and nutrition; resistance to diseases and pests; introduces new genetic variety; better adapted varieties; increases farmers' income; may open new markets.
(c) Any four: feeding; watering; vaccination and deworming; debeaking; cleaning and sanitation; lighting; egg collection; culling unproductive birds; isolating sick birds; record keeping.
Give two named pests for cotton.
(a) Give three reasons for carrying out each of the following practices in pasture management. (i) fencing; (ii) adequate stocking.
(b) Explain each of the following management practices in animal production (i) culling; (ii) dehorning; (iii) castration.
(c) Outline the steps involved in the propagation of oil palm in the nursery.
(a)(i) Fencing (any three): restricts movement of animals; keeps out thieves, predators and intruders; divides pasture into paddocks for rotational grazing; prevents overgrazing; prevents spread of diseases and parasites from outside animals.
(ii) Adequate stocking (any three): matches the number of animals to the carrying capacity; prevents overgrazing and soil compaction; ensures enough feed for each animal; allows pasture to regrow; reduces disease and parasite spread.
(b)(i) Culling: removing weak, sick, old, unproductive or bad-tempered animals from the flock/herd.
(ii) Dehorning: removing or preventing growth of horns (with a hot iron, caustic soda or saw) to make animals easier to handle and prevent injury.
(iii) Castration: removing or destroying the testicles of males not wanted for breeding, so they are docile and fatten well.
(c) Select good, viable seeds (e.g. Tenera); heat-treat in a germinator at about 39–40 °C for about 80 days to break dormancy; soak in water for some days, then dry; germinate and plant the sprouted seeds in polythene bags in the pre-nursery; transfer to the main nursery; water, weed, fertilise and control pests; harden off and transplant to the field at about 12 months.
Put the nursery steps in order.
(a) Explain each of the following terms as used in farm management (i) farm inventory; (ii) depreciation; (iii) liability; (iv) salvage value.
(b)(i) State the law of supply. (ii) Mention three factors that affect the supply of farm produce.
(c) Give five effects of weeds on farm animals.
(a)(i) Farm inventory: a complete list of all the assets of a farm (land, buildings, machinery, livestock, stores) with their values at a given date.
(ii) Depreciation: the fall in value of a farm asset through use, wear and tear or age over time.
(iii) Liability: a debt the farm owes to outside parties, e.g. loans, overdrafts and unpaid bills.
(iv) Salvage value: the value of an asset at the end of its useful life (its scrap or resale value).
(b)(i) The higher the price of a commodity, the greater the quantity supplied, and the lower the price, the smaller the quantity supplied, other things being equal.
(ii) Any three: price of the produce; cost of inputs/production; technology; weather/climate; pests and diseases; prices of other products; government policy (taxes, subsidies); number of producers.
(c) Any five: some weeds are poisonous; reduce the amount and quality of pasture; harbour pests and parasites (e.g. ticks); thorny weeds injure animals; taint milk and meat; seeds and burrs damage wool and hides; some cause bloat or digestive problems.
Two lines for each term in (a).