Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate

Examination School Based Assessment

CROP INVESTIGATION

Candidate Name: Everal Mundy

Candidate Number:

Name of School: : St Rose’s High School

Teacher: Ms .K.Bobb

Territory:

Title of Study: CROP INVESTIGATION

Year of Examination:2023
 Title Page
An investigation on growing pakchoi using Conventional VS Non-
Conventional Farming System

Scientific name of pakchoi : Bok Choy

Agriculture Science School Based Assessment 2023

Submitted by : Everal Mundy

Teacher :Ms .K.Bobb

School: St Rose’s High School

Name of Project: Crop Production Investigation

Location of Project: Durban Backlands Practical Instructional Centre

Starting Date: February 3,2022

Termination Date:May 25,2022

 Acknowledgements
Mr .Ossie
Ms. K.Bobb
Ms. K.Campbell
Mr. N.Johnson
 Table of Contents
1; Introduction

Literature Review

Aims

2; Methodology

Experimental Design

Comparative Management Practices

3: Materials and Equipment

4: Activities

5: Data Collection

6: Results

7: Discussion

8: Conclusion, Limitation & Recommendations

9: Cost Analysis
 Introduction

Literature Review
Pak choi is a leafy vegetable that originated from South China. It is appreciated for its
versatility as the whole plan it edible and can be cooked in many ways. Although lettuce-like
in appearance, the Pak choi is related to the family Brassicaceae, to which vegetables such as
cabbage, mustard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, water cress and radish belong. This biennial
is known for the juicy, crisp texture of its leaf stalks and the sweetness of its flowering
shoots. Its white stalks join green leaves that are broad and spoon shaped. It has shallow roots
and grows quickly. The vegetable is prepared by first cutting the leaves at the central stem.
Young stalks are preferred as they are tenderer. Pak choi is best used fresh and is often stir-
fried or braised. Its leaves are sometimes preserved by salting or are dried to be used in
soups.

Statement of Problem
In Guyana, the unpredictable weather conditions have caused great
loss to many Pak Choi farmers, as such farmers are seeking alternative methods of cultivating
crops with this in mind , the researcher has set out to investigate Pak Choi growth using
Traditional Cultivation VS Traft Culture, on clay soil found at Durban Backlands Practical
Instructional Centre is not yet known.

Aim
This study was therefore conducted to;
Successfully grow pak choi using non conventional method

Methodology
Experimental Design

Both methods utilized in the experiment had varying experimental

Des igns .
Firs tly, Six beds were s elected at the Durban Backlands P.I.C.
Before they were ready for planting, they had to undergo various
Stages of preparation. So, the beds were cleared of weeds , the s oil
Was upturned (ploughing), then they were tilled to break down the s oil clumps . All
of this was done to prepare for the conventional Method of planting.
Thes e proces s es allowed the res earcher to begin the e xperiment,
Firs tly a twine attached to a peg was us ed to border each s ide of the beds then
the s ee dlings were trans planted with a s pacing of 12”(1ft).This s pacing allows
for the accommodation of the fully grown plant.

A long PVC pipe was prepared to begin through culture, the non- conventional
Method of farming. Firs tly, drainage holes were made us ing a s crew driver,then
Modified s oil was poured into the pipe until it was filled half- way. The s eedlings
Were then planted 12”(1ft) apart to accommodate the plant’s adult s tage

Comparative Management Practices

The management practices utilised in this experiment are:

• Tillage
• Record keeping
• Water and irrigation management
• Addition of fertilizer
Management Conventional method Non-conventional method
practice 

Tillage All beds were tilled using cutlasses -

in order to prepare them for
planting

Addition of fertilizer Manure was added to soil before -

planting.
 

Water and irrigation After planting, the seedlings were The seedlings in the pipes were also
management watered using watering cans. watered.
 

Record keeping Five weeks after planting, the Pak The seedlings in the pipe were also
choi was measured using rulers. measured but they were bigger in
 
average size.

Materials and Equipment

Materials / Uses
Equipment

Seedlings To carry out the investigation

Cylindrical PVC pipe To plant seeds in a controlled environment until they grew into
seedlings

Soil This is the suitable environment needed for the seed’s and plant’s
growth.

Watering can This is used to water the pak choi at every stage of growth between
intervals.

Manure This is sprinkled on the beds containing the seedlings to fertile the
soil, thus promoting faster plant growth.

Mulch Mulching aids in water retention.

Ruler This is used to accurately measure the correct spacing of the

seedlings when planting.

Twine & pegs This was used as a border for the seedlings on the bed.

Cutlass After selecting a bed, this was used to clear it of weeds.

Secondly, after ploughing the beds this was used to till them.

Fork This is used to plough the bed, to begin the creation of a suitable
surface for planting.

Shovel This is used to dig drains around the beds so that the plants don’t
drown in water.

Activities
Traditional method / Conventional method
Land clearing
With the use of the cutlass the researcher was able to rid the chosen bed of weeds
Image of researcher using a cutlass to get rid of weeds

Ploughing

After the beds were cleared of weeds the soil had to be upturned to expose an unused layer so
that the plants will be able to obtain an optimum amount of nutrients..

Image of researcher using a fork plough the bed

Harrowing
The soil was broken down. Into smaller pieces using a cutlass. This allows for the
bed to be levelled for an ease of planting.
 Image of rsearcher using a cutlass to harrow the beds.

Ridge and farrow

Before the seedlings are planted, they need drainage, therefore ridges and farrows
were dug to act as a passage to drain excess water.

Image of researcher digging a ridge and farrow

Manuring

Before the seedlings are applied, manure was added to the soil. The manure adds nutrients to
the soil to increase plant growth. 
Image of researcher applying manure
 Transplanting of seeds
The seedlings were planted in the bed evenly, with a one foot spacing by the
researcher. The spacing accomodates for the adult stage of the plant.

Image of researcher transplanting seedlings.

Mulching
Dry grass was placed around the base of the seedlings. This aids in water retention.
  

Watering seedlings

Seedlings were watered immedieately after they were mulched .The water adds moisture to
the plants.

Weeding
This is the removal of weeds from seedlings. Weeding is done because weeds
compete with other plants for resources like water, nutrients, sunshine, and space.

Image of researcher removing weeds from the seedling

Picture of fully grown Pak choi

 Removing of roots after harvesting
The researcher uses a kitchen knife to remove the harvested Pak-choi’s roots for
they are not used for consumption

Image of researcher removing roots of the Pak-choi

 

Cleaning the Pak-choi

The Pak-choi was thoroughly cleaned under clean, running water. This is to get rid
of any remaining soil or pests.
Packaging of Pak-choi
The Pak-choi was placed in a clear plastic bag for easy identification and
packaging of the crop.

Marketing of Pak-choi
The Pak-choi was sold at $100 per bag to make a profit after production.

Image of researcher carrying out a sale

 
Trough method / Non-conventional method
Planting of seedlings in a soilless mixture
The researcher planted the seedlings in potting soil to begin the experiment on
trough culture.

Image of researcher planting seedlings

No additional actions were made upon the Pak

choi grown using the trough method.
Images of the fully grown Pak
choi

Harvesting of Pak-choi
The seedlings had finally grown,and the researcher was finally
Able to harvest the pak-choi

Image of researcher harvesting Pak choi

All post-harvesting processes were repeated, similarly to the non-conventional

method
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Data Collection
Crop investigation
Growth of plant heights
Week Height of Plants
  Traditional Non-conventional Farming
Farming
1 5.6 5.5
2 8.2 8
3 11.4 12.3
4 14 13.6
5 18.1 20
6 20 22
 
Crop investigation
Number of plant leaves
Week Number of leaves
  Traditional Non-conventional Farming
Farming
1 4 4
2 5 5
3 6 7
4 6 8
5 7 9
6 8 10
 
Observation
Leaves were damaged (with holes).
Leaves were yellowed.
Leaves had begun to droop, wilt.

Results
The growth rate of the pak-choi planted using the traditional method was lower than the
non-conventional method. However, there was a smaller amount of plants that were
grown using the non-conventional method.
• 
Discussion
Throughout the experiment, both methods used in farming posed different levels of
workload onto the researcher. 
 
Due to the environment in which the Pak choi was placed, the non-conventional
method demanded a greater amount of effort. The beds and drainage had to be properly
prepared before they could be planted, which took hours of labour. Furthermore,
because of the uncontrolled environment, plants were at a significant risk of being
devoured by pests. However, the yield was much higher than the conventional method.
The conventional method was drastically different from the non-conventional method.
Firstly, the soil used was modified to ensure maximum plant growth and was placed in
a portable PVC pipe. The workload was low, and the plants were at a lower risk of
being attacked by pests due to the fact that they could be easily transported from one
point to another. However, this method poses a final threat to the researcher since it is
much more costly since the soil was purchased and the PVC pipe was also purchased to
house the plants. Lastly, the yield was lower due to the spacing of the pipe and the cost
of its set up.
 
 
 
Conclusion
Both methods used in the experiment balance out each other in terms of their
advantages and disadvantages. However, the non-conventional method was much easier
to conduct than the conventional method. The reason behind this is that it requires a
lower amount of labour.
 
 
Limitation
Both methods used would’ve been excellent, but there were minor setbacks
that affected the crops’ yields and the work that would’ve been put in to grow them.
Firstly, since the crops would’ve been left exposed in their beds, they would’ve become
vulnerable to pests. Therefore, the Pak choi was indeed attacked by pests, which
decreased the amount that could’ve been harvested and sold.
Secondly, because of the weather, one of the uncontrollable aspects of farming; the
researcher can only depend on his luck in this case. If there’s a flood, the crops will be
washed away and they will die, and if there’s a long period without any rain or
moisture, i.e. a drought, the crops will wilt and die slowly.
In the case where the Pak Choi is planted using the conventional method, the researcher
will be put under financial pressure, i.e., the cost of the inorganic soil used, and the
space used to place the soil. This will ultimately cause the researcher to use a smaller
space, which in turn causes them to plant a small amount of Pak Choi, thus creating a
low yield.
 
 
 
Recommendation
Your decision on the use of a method depends on why you are planting the crop,
whether it is for personal use or commercial use. It is recommended that the non-
conventional method be used for commercial use because of its low cost and high yield.
The conventional method should be used for personal use because of its low workload
and its yield.
 
The conventional method utilises large amount of organic matter and soil, therefore this
method farming will require a great amount of labour. Hence, it is recommended that
conventional farming be done for commercial use. 
The country’s climate offers a huge advantage to local farmers because we only
experience rainy and sunny weather, tropical crops to be planted without any utilising a
costly, controlled environment.
Cost Analysis
Crop Investigation 
Actual Budget
Item Quantity Unit Unit Cost Total Cost
Expenses
Seedlings 10 Dozen $240 $2,400
Plastic bags 1 Pack $300 $300
Total actual Expenses $2,700
         
Income        
Sale of Pak choi 20 Bundles $300 $6,000
         
Total actual income $6,000
Actual Profit (Actual Income – Actual expenses) $3,300
 
2
 
Crop Investigation
Projected budget
Projected Income and Expenditure
Statement
Unit Total
Item Quantity Unit
Cost Cost
Expenses
Seedlings 10 Dozen $30 $300
Plastic
1 Pack $260 $260
bags
Total
actual       $560
Expenses
         
Income
Sale of
20 Bundles $300 $6,000
Pak choi
         
Total
actual      
income $6,000
Actual
Profit
(Actual
Income –       $5,440
Actual
expenses
)