Question

4(a) Outline four steps involved in the planting of cassava stem cuttings.
(b) State three uses of cassava tubers.
(c) If yam is cultivated at a spacing of 100 cm by 100 cm on 1.5 hectares of farmland and each yam tuber weighs an average of 3.5 kg after harvesting, calculate the: (i) expected number of yam plants on the farmland; (ii) total weight of yam tubers harvested in kilogramme.
(d) Distinguish between diet and ration in animal nutrition.

Accepted Answer

(a) Steps in planting cassava stem cuttings: Collect healthy cassava stem cuttings of about 25cm long each with a good number of buds/nodes; Plant the stem cuttings in slanting position or at an angle of 45 deg; Bury about 3/4 of the stem cuttings in the soil with the buds facing upwards; Observe the buds above the soil surface which develop new shoots while the buds buried in the soil develop new roots.

(b) Uses of cassava tubers: Can be processed into Garri/flakes/chips/flour/tapioca/consumed as food; Cassava flour is used in baking; Cassava meal/chips/peels are used as animal feed; Alcohol can be extracted from the tubers; Can be processed into starch.

(c) Spacing = 100cm x 100cm = 1m x 1m = 1 sq.m. Area of farmland = 1.5ha = 1.5x10,000 sq.m = 15,000 sq.m.
(i) Expected number of yam plants = Area of farmland/spacing = 15,000/1 = 15,000 yam plants.
(ii) Total weight of yam tubers harvested = Average weight of one yam tuber x number of plants = 3.5kg x 15,000 = 52,500 kg.

(d) Diet is the amount of feed regularly given or consumed by a farm animal, while Ration is the amount of feed that is given to a farm animal daily/over a 24 hour period.

WAEC Agricultural Science 2023 Theory — Question 4

Sign up free to unlock