LESSON TWENTY-TWO

TOPIC: LAND PREPARATION METHODS

Site selection

It is extremely important to choose the best site to cultivate a crop. Most farms have some
variation in soil type, topography and shade. It is also useful to consider the type of crop that was
planted previously, as this affects the current nutrient content of the soil. Selecting a location that
requires inputs to prepare the land for planting will cost the farmer money and time.

Clearing

Clearing the land is normally the first operation. Depending on what the land was previously
used for, it usually involves removing trees, bushes, shrubs, tall grasses or crop residues.

Clearing land of grass, bush and crop residues is done by brush cutting. This can be done
manually using a brushing cutlass, or mechanically using a weed Wacker or a brush cutter
attached to a tractor.

Follow this sequence when clearing the land.

o Remove the trees and heap them in windrows.

o Scrape off the topsoil and place it in heaps.
o Grade the land, filling in any depressions.
o Spread topsoil over the entire area.

Tree trunks and twigs, which have been chopped or bulldozed, should be placed in windrows
(heaps) and allowed to decompose. In this way organic matter, humus and nutrients are released
into the soil.

Tillage

Tillage refers to breaking up the soil surface and incorporating organic matter into the soil. It is
usually divided into two stages: primary tillage, where the soil is broken up by ploughing, and
secondary tillage, which involves refining the soil.

The effect of primary tillage is to:

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 o loosen or break up the soil surface
o allow air and water to enter the soil more freely
o bury or mix organic matter with the soil.

At the end of primary tillage, the soil is in large clods or lumps.

Secondary tillage refers to breaking up large clods of soil into smaller pieces (or aggregates)
and the production of a tilth. The process may be done manually using a hoe, rake or hand fork
or mechanically using a harrow and a rotovator.

The effect of secondary tillage is to:

o obtain a tilth suited to the crop

o produce a seedbed for the cultivation of crops
o cut up and mix organic matter (crop residues or stubble) into the soil
o allow the roots of crop plants to penetrate easily and grow freely in the soil.

Farmers use two main methods of tillage, either manual or mechanical.

Manual methods Mechanical methods

Commonly used by small-scale farmers.
Can be used on hilly terrain as well as on
flat or undulating land.
Require physical strength or physical
power. Laborious, tedious and time-
consuming.
May be seriously affected by a scarcity of
labourers
Used extensively by large-scale farmers.
Difficult or sometimes impossible to use on
hilly terrain.
Rely on power from machines. Speedy,
effective and economical.
Greatly reduce the need for manual labour

Drainage

Farmers must set up drainage to remove excess water from the surface and subsurface of the
soil, especially during the rainy season.These range from simple channels to complex systems
that can also provide irrigation during the dry season. Drains may be prepared manually using a
fork, spade, hoe, rake and garden line or they can be dug mechanically using a ridger / banker
and a back hoe

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Levelling and making beds

After the drains have been dug, the land needs to be levelled to form beds suited to the crop, soil
type, season and weather conditions. During the dry season, flattopped beds may be used. In the
rainy season, the beds need to be constructed so that excess water is removed, especially in areas
with clay soil. Cambered beds have slightly sloping tops. Ridges and furrows create channels for
water to drain away and mounds have raised portions in the centre. The farmer may use a variety
of beds: cambered beds, ridges and furrows, mounds on cambered beds and ridges and furrows
on cambered beds.

The importance and functions of machinery used in crop husbandry

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Seeders

Seeders, also known as planters, may be of various types. Some consist of drills, which sow
seeds directly onto the soil. Sometimes these drills combine seeds and fertilisers so that the seeds
are planted with the appropriate amount of fertiliser for the crop. Transplanters are machines that
plant seedlings such as tomato, sweet pepper and rice, or they may plant bulbs, tubers or corms.
The advantage of a seeder is that the seeds are planted evenly and at the required density. This is
a more efficient method than broadcasting the seed. The machines that can transplant seedlings
speed up the operation, saving time and the cost of manual labour.

Harvesters

There are various types of harvester, each designed to harvest a specific crop. These machines
Combine harvesters are used for grain crops such as rice and other cereals. This type of
harvester is self-propelled and cuts, threshes and winnows the grain, which is then gathered in
trailers and transported away for storage. Sugar cane can also be harvested using special combine
machines speed up the process of gathering in a crop, saving time and manual labour.

Tractors

The tractor is one of the most useful pieces of farm machinery. It is mainly used with
attachments such as ploughs, harrows, cultivators and trailers. A tractor can also transmit power
to attachments (such as brushcutters, rotovators, fertiliser spreaders and threshers) by means of
the powertake-off shaft.

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Crawler tractors are more powerful than wheeled tractors and have metal chain belts on
sprockets instead of wheels and rubber tyres. They are suitable for land clearing operations, site
preparation for roads and buildings and the construction of dams and embankments (levees).
They are used where land is damp and slippery, covered in tree stumps and stubble, and not
suitable for the four-wheeled tractor. These machines are expensive, have high maintenance
costs and require skilled operators. Many farmers find it more economical to hire such
equipment when it is needed for a specific purpose rather than to invest in a machine that might
not be used all year round.

Tractor attachments

Tractor attachments are devices that fit onto tractors. They make agricultural operations easier,
saving time and labour.

Name of attachment Main uses

Cuts a furrow slice and inverts the soil.
• Primary tillage.
• Buries vegetation and organic matter.

Mouldboard plough
• Rotating discs cut and invert furrow slices.
• Ploughs heavy clay soils, stony soils and soils
containing stubble.

Disc plough
• Chisel-shaped tines break up hardpans.
• Broken-up hardpan not brought to surface.
• Referred to as a subsoiler.

Chisel plough

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 • Secondary tillage after land has been ploughed with
mouldboard or disc plough.
• Primary tillage of cultivated land, vegetable plots or
rice fields.
• Preparation of seedbeds requiring a fine tilth.

Rotovator
• Cuts up and incorporates crop residues in soil by
means of discs mounted on a frame (disc harrow).
• Breaks up heaps of manure on pasture (tine harrow).
• Secondary tillage

Harrow
Brushcutter Cuts down grass, weeds and herbaceous plants in
lawns, pastures, orchards and field plots.
• Also known as a mower; can be rotary or flail,
finger-bar, cutter-bar or reciprocating.

Attaches to drawbar of tractor.

• Transports agricultural inputs (planting materials,
manure, fertilisers) and produce.
• May be tipping or non-tipping.

Trailer
• Broadcasts fertiliser evenly on to pasture or cultivated
field plot.
• Can be calibrated to spread the required amount.

Fertiliser spreader
Manure spreader • Spreads manure in solid or liquid form (slurry) on to
fields or pasture.
• May have rotating shredders.

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 Applies pesticides to the soil.
• Pumps from a boom with ‘fan-type’ or ‘hollow cone’
nozzles.
• Can be calibrated to spray the right amount.

Crop sprayer

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