Meaning of Sowing/Planting
Sowing / planting is an agronomic practice that involves cultivating seeds or seedlings in the soil to increase food production.
It involves a series of activities such as clearing, tilling, ridging, and finally sowing the seeds. Adequate land preparation is necessary for good germination of seed in the farm.
It is generally assumed that the cultivation of crops increases the abundance of food, and without food, there is bound to be hunger and food insecurity.
However, food availability is determined by the cultivation of crops, which is influenced by several factors such as the abundance of rainfall, soil fertility, seed viability, and good agronomic practices.
To ensure high germination of seeds it is essential to demonstrate good agronomic practices that can lead to increased yields.
In recent times, concise efforts need to be made to intensify the cultivation of crops to ensure food availability in quality and a sustainable manner across the globe.
This is because food production has been threatened by factors such as war, conflict, insurgency, climate change, and inadequate planting materials.
These factors have led to an increased risk of hunger and severe food crises in many parts of the world, with malnutrition as the common denominator.
In sub-Saharan Africa, crop sowing has been drastically affected by political factors economic, climatic, and social factors. These negative trend factors have made food importation across countries appear to be on the rise.
Crops have their planting season with which they need to be cultivated for optimal growth and development. It is, therefore, necessary to cultivate crops at the right time taking cognizance of the planting depth, distance, roll spacing, and other agronomic practices to increase germination rate.
Seed sowing is highly important in agriculture because, it helps to increase food availability, put agricultural land to effective use, enhance food security and nutrition, and boost rural livelihoods and the economy of the rural dweller. The seed to be cultivated should yield good quality, and be free from pests and diseases.
Factors to be Considered Before Sowing
Before planting, it is necessary to consider the following factors.
Select Disease-Free Seeds
The seed selected for planting should be pure and of good quality seeds. It is vital to select viable seeds for cultivation, hollow and brown seeds should not be selected for planting.
Hollow seeds have the capability of harboring pests while brown and dull seeds are signs of disease infestation. The seeds selected should be shiny, shiny seeds have the vigor to sprout early.
Determine the Area of the Land
The areas of the land should be determined before planting, it is necessary to know the size of the land. The size of the land can be in plots, acres, and hectares.
The areas of land should be determined by calculations. The formula for calculating an area of land is.
The size of the land divided by 10,000
For example, an area of farmland has a length of 0.2km and a breadth of 2300cm. calculate the area of the land in hectare.
Solution
The area of land in hectares
Length: 0.2km=200m
Breadth 3200cm
Area of land = length x breath
Area of land= 200m x 2300cm
= 460, 000m2
1hectar = 10,000m2
Area of land in hectares= 460000/10000
=46 hectares.
Determine the Plant Population
These refer to the number of plants that a piece of land can carry. Above the plant population can lead to overpopulation, and below can lead to underpopulation.
Overpopulation or overplanting can reduce the size of fruit, stems, leaves, and roots. I.e. general low yield while underpopulation or overspacing will lead to high yield in terms of stem, tuber, fruit, and leaves, but high weed competition, low quantity of output, and low economic output compared to the inputs. So the right plant population is necessary for good yield.
The plant population is calculated with the following formula.
Plant population = area of land /spacing
Examples: an area of land is measured to be a hectare, and is to be used to plant oil palms at a spacing of 9m x 9m. Calculate the plant population required to cultivate an area of land.
Solution
The area of land in hectares
Length: 100m
Breadth 100m
Area of land = length x breath
One hectare of land= 10,000m2
1hectare = 10,000m2
Spacing = 9m x 9m
Area of land in hectares= 10000/9mx9m
=10000/81
=123.4 stands per hectare.
Determine the Seed Rate per Unit Area
The seed rate refers to the number of seeds required to cultivate an area of land.
Example: pepper seedlings were transplanted from the nursery to a permanent field at a spacing of 40cm-70cm. Calculate the number of peppers require for planting 2 hectares.
Solutions
Spacing of pepper seedling =40cm x70cm
=0.4cm x 0.7cm
=0.28cm
1 hectare is = 10,000m2
2 hectare =2×10, 000m2
= 20,000m2
Number of tomato seedlings require = Area of land/spacing
=20,000m2/0.28cm
=71,429 seedling
Determine the Planting Depth
This refers to the depth at which a plant is cultivated. Every plant has a required planting depth at which it can germinate, or be destroyed by soil organisms. For example, Guinea corn is 2cm deep, Rice is 2cm deep, cowpea 3-4cm deep, groundnut 4-5cm, cotton 3cm, and Melon 3cm deep.
Determine the Spacing Between and Within plants
This is the distance between one plant to another in the same row and the distance between the other in the row.
Importance of Sowing in Agricultural Crops
The planting of crops is vital for the sustenance of man and industries. Some of the importance of cultivating crops in agriculture are:
Source of Income for the Farmers
The sowing of seeds helps the farmers to generate income. Since agriculture is a business, farmers can successfully plant crops and run their farms like a business to make profits. Cultivating crops becomes an opportunity for farmers to supply large quantities of food for sale in the market.
Similarly, plant products like oil palm, coffee, vegetables, and processed plant products are good sources of income. Increased crop planting ensures that households get enough income for other agricultural activities.
An increase in the production of agricultural products helps to enhance market connections and the adoption of improved agricultural technologies. conclusively, planting crops helps to increase the commercialization of agricultural products.
Ensure Constant Supply of Raw Materials for Industries
The cultivation of crops ensures a constant supply of raw materials for agricultural industries. without crop cultivation, agriculture industries will be staved of raw materials for food production.
agricultural products such as maize, wheat, barley, cassava, and rice are available in large quantities for agro-based industries due to planting.
Planting of Crops Helps to Enhance Food Availability.
Whenever crops are planted farmers have large qualities and quantities of food. The absence of food due to climate and drought leads to food insecurity.
Therefore, planting crops at the right time enables the farmers to harvest crops earlier, which ensures that food crops are available all year round.
Cultivating economic crops ensures a greater focus on food availability. Planting helps to ensure that humans and industries get crops with good nutritional value. Planting helps to boost the productivity of crops and helps combat food security.
Effective Utilization of Agricultural Land
The cultivation of crops helps to put agricultural land into productive use. Fallow and non-agricultural land can be put into productive usage via the growing planting of crops to boost agricultural production.
on the other hand, planting ensures that wasted agricultural land is restored and reclaimed for productive usage and ensures food availability.
Sowing Ensure Sustainable Development of Natural Resources
Planting ensures the sustainability of natural resources and helps preserve crop species from generation to generation.
Certain endangered species of crops are preserved from going into extinction due to cultivation. Planting helps to preserve seeds to boost crop production. Drought-resistant and high-yielding seeds are also preserved by sowing fertilizers.
Method of Sowing Agricultural Crops
The methods adopted for planting crops influence the yield of crops. Different crops have different planting methods, For example, the method used in planting rice is different from that of cowpeas.
Some plants require transplanting whereas others require direct sowing. The methods of planting as enumerated by the National Open University of Nigeria are discussed below.
- Direct methods
- Transplanting methods
- Broadcasting methods
- Dibbling methods
- Drilling methods
- Seed dropping behind the plough
- Hill-dropping methods
- Check row planting.
- Traditional methods
Direct Planting
This is also called the permanent planting method, it involves planting crops or seeds directly in the field.
The methods do not involve nursing crops before planting. Seeds under this method can be sowed on flat or ploughed soil without nursery treatment.
Transplanting Methods
Transplanting involves the movement of seeding from the nursery bedbed, polythene, pots, boxes, greenhouses, or under shades of trees to the permanent field.
It is a careful practice carried out on the farm to move young seedlings from the nursing place to the field where they can be permanently planted.
Seeds such as tomatoes, pepper, garden eggplant, rubber, citrus, cocoa, rice, and mango are first sown in the nursery where they are effectively managed to ensure adequate growth and development.
The seed is raised into seedlings in a nursery bed and then taken to the main field for a permanent establishment.
Transplanting can be the naked root or ball of earth method. In the naked root method, the plant is transplanted without soil while in the ball of earth method, the seedling is transplanted with soil mostly those nursed on the polythene bags.
The young seedling can be cultivated manually or with the aid of a tractor-mounted implement known as a transplanter.
Simple farm tools such as hand trowel, cutlass, and hand fork are manually used for transplanting seedlings. The transplanting of seedlings should be done in the morning and in the cool evening to prevent shock to the young seedlings.
Broadcasting Method
Broadcasting refers to the process of randomly scattering seeds on the seedbed or in the permanent field.
In this method, the seeds are evenly spread on the bed and slightly covered with soil. Crops such as tomatoes, pepper, rice, and garden eggplant are first broadcasted on the field, while crops like paddy rice can also be broadcasted directly into the permanent field for establishment.
Broadcasting can be done manually or mechanically. In the manual methods of broadcasting the seeds are poured into a bucket or a bow and are manually spread on the seedbed while in the mechanical methods, the seeds are spread by the use of the broadcaster.
Manual broadcasting requires adequate skills to achieve the right plant population while in the mechanical method, the device helps to scatter the seeds on the seedbed at controlled rates.
The mechanical broadcasters are used in the commercial farm while the manual broadcaster is used for subsistence farms.
Dibbling Methods
In the dibbling planting method, small holes are made in the seedbed with an instrument called the dibber, while seeds are dropped in the hole and are covered with soil.
It involves dropping seeds in the holes made in the seedbed and closing it with soil. Dibbling is a method used when seeds are transplanted from the pre-nursery to the main nursery.
It can also be used when planting seedlings like tomatoes, and peppers in the permanent field or the pots. Seeds are placed in holes made at definite depths at a determined spacing. In the commercial farm, the driller performs the work of the drilling.
The disadvantage of the dribbling method is that it is not suitable for commercial farms and is highly time-consuming.
Drilling Methods
Drilling is a method of cultivation, that involves dropping viable seeds in furrow lines in a continuous manner and then covering the seed with soil.
In this method of planting, the seeds are sowed in uniform rows and with a predetermined planting depth.
The seed drilling can be done manually or mechanically, whatever method is adopted the seed is well-metered to achieve even planting depth and spacing.
Drilling can be done with an implement known as the seed drill. The seed drill can be pulled by a worked animal or/an implement mounted to a tractor. Whatever methods between and within roll and planting depth
Seed Dropping Behind the Plough
This method involves dropping the seed in the furrow made by the plough. In most cases, as the plough is ploughing the seeds are dropped on the furrow by the farmers. In agriculture, this method is used for planting seeds such as maize, cowpeas, wheat, and barley.
The method is also possible with manual or mechanical Ploughing. The demerits of this method are; that it is monotonous, time-consuming, and not effective and efficient in achieving plant population.
Hill Dropping
This method refers to the process of planting viable seeds on a hill, heap, or mound. It is usually sown at a fixed place, and not in a continuous stream. The spacing between the mound or the heap is usually in a row at a constant rate.
The Traditional Method
These are the unconventional methods of planting seeds. It involves the use of traditional methods of planting crops like maize, cowpea, wheat, and barley. The traditional methods used in planting crops are the:
- Planting By Feet: In this method, the farmers dig the soil with their feet, drop the seed, and cover it with their second feet.
- Uses of cutlass or stick: in this method, the stick or cutlass is used to dig the hole while the seed is placed on the hole and covered with feet or hand.
In developing countries, this method is still been practiced in the planting of crops such as maize, okra, Wheat, and barley. The farmers’ feet are used for the within-row spacing measurement and their straps are used for intra-row spacing.
Check Row Planting
This method refers to the planting of crops between and within rows. it involves cultivating seeds in a straight line or parallel furrows.
The crops are planted in rows at the same uniform depth and distance. In this method, the population and the planting distance can easily be determined and adjusted. cultivated seeds are planted in rows and inter rows, which are usually parallel in two directions.
A machine known as a check-row-planter with the function of the checkerboard is usually used to plant the row and depth to see the exact intersection of each line
FAQs
how many methods are there of sowing seed?
there are usually eight methods of cultivating seeds, they are
- Direct planting
- Transplanting
- Broadcasting
- Dibbling
- Drilling
- Seed dropping behind the plough
- Hill dropping
- Check row planting.
- Traditional methods
What are the Five factors to be considered before sowing?
- Quality of the seeds (i. e disease-free seeds)
- Determine the Area of the Land
- Determine the Plant Population
- Determine the Planting Depth
- Determine the Seed Rate per Unit Area