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Cultural Practices

What do you think refers too? Cultural practice refers to the manifestation of a culture or sub-culture, especially in regard to the traditional and customary practices of a particular ethnic or other cultural group. In the broadest sense, this term can apply to any person manifesting any aspect of any culture at any time.culturesub-culture Source : cultural practices

Cultural Practices in Agriculture Cultural practices/methods are agricultural practices used to enhance crop production by improving the quality and quantity of crop produce, preventing weed, pest & disease problems without the use of chemical substances.

In cultural practices we try to avoid the use or the use of chemicals in crop growth excessive reduce

Farmer Jim Uses no chemicals and uses cultural practices to grow his crops Farmer Larry Uses a large quantity of chemicals and no cultural practices to grow his crops Observe the two(2) scenarios

Cultural Practices in Agriculture  Moulding  Mulching  Staking  Weeding  Pruning  Fertilizing (organic manure/fertilizer)  Irrigation

Moulding Moulding - helps to increase root development Moulding-this is when soil is scraped up and heaped around the base of a plant to form a small mound using a hoe or hand spade - Increase soil aeration - Prevents soil erosion

Mulching Mulching – this is the placing of dry grass, sawdust, wood shaving or plastic to keep soil moist and prevent soil erosion. It is usually done in the dry season Advantages of mulching-  Conserves water in the dry season  Adds organic matter to the soil  Improves the structure of the soil

Staking Staking is an agricultural practice which involves a stake (wood) being placed into the soil, parallel to the plant. This helps to support the plant and keep the plant and fruit off the ground Advantages of staking  reduces losses from fruit rots when fruit touch the soil  plants are easier to spray for insect and disease control  easier to harvest than those sprawling on the ground

Staked tomato plant Stake Fruit

Weeding

Disadvantages of weeds  Compete with the plant for sunlight, water and nutrients  Encourages pest which attacks crops  Encourages diseases organisms to infest plants  Compete with the crop for space to grow Methods of weed control  Manual- hand pulling, hoe  Chemical- weedicides (Gramozone, Round up)  Mechanical - “waka”,

Manual methods of weed control

Cultural PracticesBenefits Moulding Mulching Staking Weeding Pruning Fertilizing (Organic Matter) Irrigation

Farmer Jim Uses no chemicals and uses cultural practices to grow his crops Farmer Larry Uses a large quantity of chemicals and no cultural practices to grow his crops Remember these two guys

Question List the benefits of Farmer Jim using cultural practices in his farm to grow his crops compared to Farmer Larry  Conservation of water  Conservation of soil ( prevents soil erosion)  Less use of chemicals  Protects the environment  Improves the structure of the soil  Adds organic matter to the soil (nutrient)