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PART 1: ANNUAL CROPS AGRONOMY NOTES

ANNUAL CROP:
– Is one that completes its life cycle in one growing season.
– The crop flowers, produces seeds and then dies thereafter in one season.

CONCEPT OF AGRONOMY
– It is the science and practice, and economics of increasing crop production and yields.
– Is the manipulation of plant genetics & biotic & abiotic environment to increase food productivity.
– Salient components of agronomy are crop management/husbandry and soil management.
– Both components involve routine activities or practices that farmers do to raise a given crop.
– In order to improve crop yields through application of appropriate agronomic practices, agronomy draws
knowledge from a variety of disciplines.
– These are plant breeding & biotechnology, entomology, crop physiology, weed science, ecology, plant
pathology, biochemistry, soil science (pedology), agricultural engineering and economics.
– Global population is continuously growing, leading to increased demand for food.
– Past agricultural research has created high yielding crops, with drought, pest & disease resistance, and
better response to fertilizers.
– Presently the criterion used is to increase production on already available land.
– Crop (food) production can be increased by:
(i) Putting more land into agricultural use in, e.g. irrigation, draining swamps, and cultivating hill sides.
(ii) Intensifying husbandry practices by advanced technology, for example, fertilizer application,
mechanization, plant-breeding, etc.
(iii) Improvement of food processing, transportation and storage. If transportation is improved, surplus
food in some areas can be transported to areas lacking food.
(iv) Exploitation of fishing grounds, rivers, lakes, etc.

TYPES OF ANNUAL CROPS AND THEIR USE

1. CEREALS
– Are members of the Gramineae family & are grown for their grain
– Are most important source of food for humans because of their high carbohydrate content
– They perform well in different climatic conditions. Several cereals are able to grow in each kind of climatic
regions of the world as shown in Table below.

Climatic region Cereals grown

Tropical Maize, finger millet, sorghum and rice.
Sub-tropical Maize, rice and wheat.
Warm Temperate Barley and barley.
Cold temperate Oats and rye.

– Compared with other crops, they give high dry matter yields (grain and straw) per unit land area.
– Practices carried during production can be mechanized, e.g., planting, weeding, harvesting, threshing and
winnowing.
– Compared with other crops, their production is less labour intensive.
– Are used for brewing beer, livestock feeding, source of biofuel, industrial starch, etc.

2. INDUSTRIAL CROPS
– Are crops that supply raw materials to industries, e.g., cotton, tobacco, sunflower, pyrethrum & jute.

3. TUBEROUS CROPS
– They include sweet potato, cassava, true yam, irish potato
– Are source of food, especially carbohydrates
– Are a source of starch, glucose, used to manufacture syrups & alcohol.

4. OIL CROPS
– Include sunflower, simsim, soybean, groundnuts
– Are important source of oil & livestock feed
– Some are rich in protein
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5. GRAIN LEGUMES
– They include common bean, cowpea, pigeon pea,
– Are a source of protein
– Are important in nitrogen fixation

SYSTEMS OF AGRICULTURE IN UGANDA WHERE ANNUAL CROPS ARE GROWN

1. The banana-coffee system
 Is centred around the northern shores of lake Victoria
 Rainfall is bimodal and evenly distributed (1000 - 1500 mm) throughout the year.
 Soils are of medium to high productivity.
 Bananas are the main food crop and robusta coffee is the main cash crop.
 Maize is a secondary cash crop and sweet potatoes a secondary food to bananas.
 Other cash crops grown include tea, sugarcane and cocoa.
 Livestock are generally not integrated into this system, but exotic dairy cattle have been introduced under
the stall feeding system.
 No crop rotation though a wide range of annual crops are mixed with coffee/bananas
 Vegetation is mainly forest-savannah with pastures suitable for intensive livestock production.

2. The banana-millet-cotton system

 Found around Lake Kyoga
 Is a modification of banana-coffee system
 Rainfall less stable than for the banana-coffee system.
 So there is greater reliance on annual food crops, mainly millet, sorghum and maize.
 In the drier areas, livestock rearing is the main activity.

3. The Montane system

 Practiced in highland areas of Kigezi, Ankole, Bugisu, Sebei and Rwenzori at altitudes 1500-1750 m a.s.l.
 They receive high rainfall
 Banana is major staple food in Bugisu & Ankole, sorghum & irish in Kigezi; banana & cassava in Kasese;
and maize, sweet potato & beans in Sebei.
 Arabica coffee and tea are the main cash crops.
 Other food crops – sweet potatoes, cassava, field peas, beans, groundnuts, maize, yams & irish.
 Some temperate crops like wheat, barley and apples are also grown.
 High population intensities & intensive agric. are the norm because of small holdings of about 1.5 ha
 Fewer animals are kept under intensive system and are fed on crop residues.

4. The Teso system

 The area receives bimodal rainfall.
 The dry season is usually longer and runs from December to March.
 Soils are sandy-loams and have medium to low fertility.
 Farmers use ox-cultivation since soils are light
 Vegetation is savannah grassland which is ideal for grazing.
 Staple foods are millet, maize and sorghum, while cotton is the major cash crop.
 Farmers practice crop rotation
 Other crops are oil seed crops (groundnuts, simsim and sunflower), sweet potato & cassava
 Mixed agriculture (agro-pastoralism) is practiced
 Cattle are important source of manure and draught power (main agricultural technology).
 Livestock are kept extensively in the areas which are tsetse fly free.

5. The northern system

 This system is practiced in the savannah areas located in Lango & Acholi (Northwest of Teso)
 Rainfall in these areas is monomodal and is about 800 mm annually.
 Dry season is so severe that drought tolerant annual crops are cultivated / grown.
 These include finger millet, simsim, cassava, sorghum & pigeon peas.
 Tobacco and cotton are major cash crops.
 No defined crop rotations
 The grassland is short and communal grazing is practiced.
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6. The West Nile system

 Rainfall pattern resembles that of the northern system, with more rain at higher altitudes.
 The system is in the sub-humid zone where the vegetation is mostly grassland.
 Mixed cropping is common with a wide variety of food crops which include cassava, finger millet, sorghum,
simsim and cowpeas.
 Main cash crops are tobacco and cotton.
 Livestock activities are limited by the presence of tsetse fly.

7. The pastoral system

 Covers areas in the north-east, south west and central of the country.
 Annual rainfall is less than 1000 mm
 The vegetation is mainly short grassland.
 Drought resistant crops (sorghum, bulrush millet and groundnuts) are grown.
 Human population density is low, with transhumant (Karamojong) & sedentary (Bahima) pastoralists.
 Milk and meat are the main sources of livelihood.
 Milk is exchanged or sold for food. Some milk is instead churned to make ghee.
 Livestock productivity is low due to overgrazing, poor quality breeds which are indigenous and poor pastures.
 Breeds are mainly the Ankole and local zebu cattle, and Ankole x Friesian crosses, the Small East African
goat, Mubende and Kigezi goats
 Pastures are of low quality.
 In Karamoja the graziers keep moving with their herds, and their movements are dictated by the weather as
they search for pasture and water.

Characteristics of agriculture in these systems

1. Agriculture is heavily dependent on small scale producers.
 Farmers own 0.5 – 10 hectares of land.
 The implication is that all our emphasis should be on small scale farmer.
 There is a lot of pressure on land leading to land fragmentation.
 There is high tendency of farmers to intercrop.

2. Average productivity of land and labour are very low.

 This is due to low technology used. Basic tools used are the hand hoe, axe and panga.
 Ox cultivation is used by a few farmers
 No institutions to cater for the farmers, e.g., no bank provides loans to farmers.
 Enormous losses occur on these farms due to lack of farm stores, so the produce is stored on
verandas, in residential houses.

3. Dependency on a few crops for food and money.

 Farmers suffer whenever prices fluctuate
 Level of diversification is low.
 Many crops can be grown successfully but farmers lack the know how / skill

4. Very little value is added to the produce as it comes from the farm.
 Produce is sold in raw form; hence farmers earn little income from it.

5. Dependency on nature.
 In all these systems, agriculture is rain fed.
 Irrigation has not been tapped, even where it is possible.

Constraints of agriculture in these systems

1. There is no / limited investment to modernise agriculture.
 Improved technologies are lacking
 Capital flow into agriculture is very low (even budgetary allocation by government is low). In Uganda, about
85 % of the population is involved in agriculture. Only 15 % of the population buy food. So, the capital flow
from the 15 % to the 85 % is very low.
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 Compared with Britain, 97 % buy food and only 3 % are agricultural producers. Thus the flow of money to
the 3 % from the 97 % is high.
 In Uganda, there are no institutions to cater for the farmers’ financial needs.
2. Excessive land and soil degradation on most farms.
 Deforestation when looking for virgin land is a big problem.
3. Land disputes.
 These are occurring between those with large pieces of land and those with small plots.
 No proper land policy in Uganda. Policies to address land issues are needed.
4. Marketing problems.
 Road network is still poor.
 Arrangements for the marketing of products are still poor, and middlemen are the main beneficiaries.
 Crop finance is lacking.
5. Lack of strong farmer organisations
 In Uganda, liberalisation of the economy killed the cooperative movement. Cooperative unions failed to
function properly.
 Associations that can speak for the small scale farmer are needed.
6. Lack of extension information.
 Extension service needs to be improved.
7. Dependence on external funding.
 External donors dictate terms and mainly serve their interests (i.e., fund the production of commodities
they are interested in.)
8. Dependency on nature
 Rainfall is becoming more erratic and irrigation technologies are not yet adopted by farmers.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANNUAL CROPS IN THESE SYSTEMS IN UGANDA
1. Climatic conditions
 Climate is defined as the daily weather conditions of a place or region. Components or elements of climate
are rainfall, atmospheric temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine (light) and pressure.
 It is the most important single factor governing the distribution of annual crops.

a) Rainfall
 Rainfall is the source of water that is needed by plants for germination of seeds, uptake of minerals from the
soil and it is one of the raw materials for photosynthesis.
 Good rainfall results in good plant growth and eventually good yields.
 Rainfall distribution and reliability affect the distribution of annual crops.
 Inadequate and/or poorly distributed rainfall within a year affects crop growth, leading to poor crop yields,
both in quality and quantity.
 Rainfall in southern Uganda is well distributed with two rainy seasons, where as the northern part receives
one rainy season and a long dry season.
 Drought tolerant annual crops like millets and sorghum, and those with a long growth period, like some
varieties of cotton, are more dominant in northern Uganda.
 Annual crops with shorter growth periods (e.g., maize) are common in the wetter south. Sweet potatoes are
for all seasons and thus are widely distributed in all the farming systems.

b) Light intensity and duration

 Light intensity has a direct influence on photosynthesis. Rate of photosynthesis is optimum when a certain
amount of light is reaching the leaves of plants, as long as other factors responsible for photosynthesis are
not limiting.
 Some plants like cotton, maize, rice and sorghum grow well under high light intensity. Central Uganda is less
suitable for cotton due to frequent over cast skies that create low light intensity.
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 Plants like barley, wheat and soybean prefer lower light intensities for proper growth.
 Light duration refers to the relative lengths of the light and dark periods within a day.
 Day length on the equator is always 12 hours, while in the temperate regions day length varies with the
season, up to 16 hours during summer and only 8 hours in winter.
 This variation influences crops that grow in each of these regions. Thus, temperate plants, e.g., wheat,
barley and roses can only grow and give high yields when they are grown in temperate regions where day
lengths are longer.
 Crops, like soybean & rice that perform well in the tropics cannot flower when planted in temperate regions.

c) Temperature and altitude

 Temperature influences the germination of seeds, water loss from plants by a process called transpiration
and from the soil by evaporation.
 Temperature of a place is influenced by altitude. For every 300m rise in altitude, temp. drops by 1.7 – 2.2 0C.
 Temperature influences crop distribution by having an effect on growth, flowering and fruiting.
 Thus, crops adapted to low temperatures (like those which have been introduced from temperate regions)
are more suited to the highland areas.
 Others which are adapted to high temperatures perform well when grown in lowland areas.
 There are crops which perform well in wide range of altitudes, maize (0-2500 m) & sweet potatoes (0-2100 m).

d) Relative humidity (RH)

 This refers to the amount of moisture (water vapour) present in the atmosphere compared with the amount
when the air is saturated at a given temperature.

 RH (%) of air at a given temperature = Moisture content in the air x 100

Moisture content of saturated air
 Relative humidity affects the rates of transpiration and evaporation.
 Loss of water from crops and soil surfaces is known as evapotranspiration.
 Areas with low RH can support crops that are able to tolerate high rates of evapotranspiration.

e) Wind
 Wind is described as air in motion.
 It influences agriculture in various ways: E.g. (a) it is responsible for cross pollination of flowers, (b) formation
and distribution of rainfall (c) the spread of some pathogens, (d) when moving very fast it destroys crops and
farm houses, and (e) can cause soil erosion on bare land. These adverse effects can be overcome by
planting windbreakers & ensuring that land is covered by vegetation.

2. Topography
 Refers of the nature of the land surface, i.e., it could be hilly, gently sloping, flat, or undulating.
 It influences the type of soil, the nature of drainage and the source of water supply.
 Certain types of crops, like maize, millet, sorghum grow best on sloping land where the soils are well drained
and will not grow in valleys where there is water logging, while others like rice grow well in wet areas.

3. Soils (Edaphic factors)

 Soil types vary from place to place, leading to a variation in crops that exist in different areas.
 Soils in hilly areas are shallow and contain small amounts of nutrients, and can support shallow rooted crops.
 Some low lying and have shallow sandy soils which can only support a few crops, because they tend to lose
a lot of moisture through evaporation and drainage, and minerals through leaching.
 Deep, fertile and well drained soils are usually found at the foot of mountains and hills.
 Soils found in upper slopes of a hill are shallow, reddish and have low fertility.

4. Social and economic factors

 A particular crop tends to be grown more in an area where it serves as staple a food (e.g., finger millet in
northern & eastern Uganda. Cotton growing declined Buganda due to interest in coffee
 In some areas land tenure systems affect the distribution of crops. This is the case where land is owned
communally. Everyone is free to use communal land as long as he/she uses the land as agreed upon, e.g.,
for cultivation or grazing.
 Farmers who try to increase the productivity of their farms are often discouraged either by lack of market for
their products, or by long distance from their farms to the markets.
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5. Biotic factors
 These are concerned with interactions between plants and/or animals in an environment. For example,
human activities affect the distribution of crops and livestock.
 In densely populated areas, people tend to grow more food crops than cash crops and keep few livestock
like cattle, sheep and goats.

6. Selection and breeding

 Newly developed cultivars have wider distribution than those in which there is low research going on.

7. Government policy
 Government is in favour of cash crops

8. Availability of labour
 For example, maize is favoured because it does not require a lot of labour like millet

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CEREALS

 Growth is a process of permanent / irreversible increase in dry weight or organic matter of a plant arising
from synthesis, cell multiplication and cell expansion. It starts from localised tissues called meristems.
 Development is the progression of a plant through recognizable phases from seed up to maturity.
 Cereal crops go through three major developmental stages (phases) from planting to maturity. There are:

PHASE I
 Covers the period from germination through initiation of leaves until the growing tip undergoes changes into
floral primodia (ear initiation).

Seed germination
This is the emergence and development of a seedling to a stage where the aspects of its essential structures
indicate that it is able to develop into a satisfactory plant under favourable conditions.

Types of germination:
i) Epigeal germination – occurs in seeds of dicots such as legumes (beans, cowpeas, and soybean). Here
the cotyledons emerge above the soil surface during germination.
ii) Hypogeal germination – occurs in monocots such as cereals (maize, millet, sorghum, rice, wheat), in
which the food storage structures remain below the soil surface during germination.
 During germination, there is resumption of metabolic activity and food reserves are mobilized when seed
absorbs (imbibes) water.
 Water is first absorbed by colloidal absorption and later by osmotic forces.
 Stored food is mobilized (activated) by enzymes and translocated to growing areas (meristems).
 Metabolic activity is followed by respiration, although initially it is hindered by scarcity of oxygen due to
presence of seed coat.

Factors influencing seed germination

a) Seed viability – ability of the seed to germinate under favourable growing conditions. Poorly developed seeds
do not germinate and produce normal seedlings.
b) Seed vigour – the sum total of those properties of a seed that determine the potential of activity & performance
of the seed during germination and seedling emergence. It is those properties that determine the potential for
rapid uniform emergence & development of normal seedlings under a wide range of field conditions.
c) Seed size – large seeds have greater vigour and often germinate better than small seed especially with
deeper planting depth, although small seeds may germinate earlier
d) Seed dormancy – Is a situation where seeds fail to germinate in spite of having been exposed to conditions
necessary for germination. Breaking of seed dormancy can be done using hot water or conc. acids (H 2SO4,
HCl), a process called scarification.
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e) Soil moisture content and oxygen – germination requires good soil moisture: air ratio. Well aerated soil is
needed for good seed germination.
f) Soil-seed contact – Seed must be in firm contact with soil to allow entrance of water into the seed.
g) Seed-borne pathogens – Seed-borne fungi & bacteria can prevent seedling establishment
h) Soil-borne insect pests – These can damage the seed if not dressed with insecticides.
i) Soil temperature – very high & very low temperatures affect biochemical processes of germination
j) Soil salinity – excessive salt content in the soil (especially in semi-arid areas) reduces germination including
seedling root and shoot extension.
k) Depth of planting. Correct planting depth ensures uniform germination and uniform plant stand. The deeper
the seed is planted, the longer it takes to germinate and thus less uniformity of growth. Also, when smaller
seeds are planted deeper in the soil, even if they germinate they die before they emerge from soil because;
their food reserves get used up before they emerge & begin to photosynthesize.

Tillering
 Tiller production is very important in cereals especially where management is poor. For example, where less
seed than required was planted, tillering compensates.
 Tillering occurs in three stages:
a) Stage 1. Initiation of tillers
b) Stage 2. Tiller emergence from soil
c) Stage 3. Growth and survival of the tiller
 Tillers are produced in turns on the sides of the main plant, and are normally produced from the first foliage
leaf node below the ground.
Main plant

1 2
3 4

 The tillers become progressively smaller. Tiller number 4 will be the smallest.
 In cereals, the extent to which varieties produce tillers depends on:
(i) Availability of nutrients: These include N and P. Over supply of N in early stages leads to overproduction
of tillers, which in turn leads to mutual shading. That is why split application of fertilizers is recommended.

(ii) Light intensity: This is essential especially in tiller initiation. Low light intensity leads to less tillering. That
is why agronomists stress proper spacing. Close spacing limits tillering ability.

(iii) Type of cereal: Maize does not produce tillers (unless during some growing seasons when it produces
nodal tillers due to excessive food manufacture), while sorghum may produce 2 – 6 tillers; wheat 3 – 10;
finger millet and rice up to 20 tillers.

 Also in phase I, there is rapid development of leaf area index (LAI) due to rapid leaf expansion.
 There is rapid increase in dry matter. All young leaves are unfolding during this stage, thus rapid rate of
photosynthesis.
 Actual number of leaves produced by a cereal plant depends on environmental factors and the variety
produced. E.g., wheat can produce 6 – 10; maize 12 – 18 & sorghum 10 – 14 leaves depending on variety
and environmental factors.
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Figure 1. Physiological curves of growth and development of cereals

Germination and
establishment Ear initiation Anthesis
Phase I Phase II Phase III

Number of
tillers per
unit area
Surviving
tillers produce
heads

TDM
Total DM
& LAI

LAI

Grain weight
Head weight Head weight
and
grain weight

Time

PHASE II
 Is described as the ear or head development phase. Floral primodia undergo development into phase II,
which begins at the ear initiation until the head emerges out of the leaves.
 At this point the plant has flowered. In the field, this stage is recognised by counting 50% of the plants with
flowers. This is the anthesis stage (i.e., 50% of the plants flowering).
 The main stem initiates the head first which is followed by other tillers in their order of development.
 Some of the activities of phase I continue, such as unfolding of leaves, increase in LAI.
 What happens in phase II depends on:
i) Availability of nutrients especially N and P. Hence the reason for split application of fertiliser so that
some is applied in phase II.
ii) Availability of water. Any irrigation schedule should include some irrigation in phase II.
iii) Other conditions that favour rapid growth. Such as weed free conditions, pest & disease control.
 In phase II, the total dry matter is still increasing. It is the phase of most rapid growth, e.g., stem elongation
is very rapid.
 Late tillers may try to come up and are shaded out so that carbohydrates produced in phase II are destined to:
i) stem elongation
ii) development of tillers
iii) growth of vegetative part of the ear
iv) root growth
v) leaf expansion and growth
vi) some are wasted in tiller death
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 In phase II, tiller production rises to a peak and then declines. It is phase II that determines the number of
tillers that survive up to maturity.

PHASE III
 This is the grain filling phase. The grains initiated in phase II start gaining weight as they mature. Thus,
phase III ends at the physiological maturity.
 It is the last phase of development and covers the period between anthesis and physiological maturity.
 It is also called the ripening phase because it is during this period that grains mature and ripen.
 Some activities of phase II continue. No new leaves are formed unless a late tiller survived.
 Maximum LAI is reached, and thereafter, death of leaves starts (i.e., leaf senescence sets in).
 Rate of senescence depends on:
a) Availability of nutrients. Some fertilisers should be applied at the end of phase II, to prevent rapid
decline in LAI.
b) Stresses. Such as moisture stress (drought), temperature stress, and disease and pest attack.
 Very little growth occurs in phase III, yet the grains are filled from current photosynthesis. There is very little
translocation of materials from older leaves to the grains.
 Once anthesis stops, then grains do not fill.
 In terms of grain filling, the ear contributes 20–30%, flag leaf 30–40%, & lower leaves 30–40%.
 In maize, the tassel should be as small as possible to reduce shading of lower leaves and also to have as few
assimilates as possible going into feeding the pollen grains.

Physiological maturity
 Physiological maturity is at the stage of grain development beyond which there is no further significant
increase in its dry weight.
 In seed production, this is the stage of maximum seed viability and vigour.
 Once a crop attains physiological maturity, the quality of the grain starts to deteriorate.
 In case of soybean & pigeon peas, changes in colour of grain and pod coincide with physiological maturity.
 In maize, moisture is withdrawn from the kernels starting from the top, resulting in a dent at the top of the grain
in dent maize varieties.
 Moisture loss in the kernels progress to the bottom of the kernels until the margin between the solid starch
and liquid endosperm are observed.
 The harvest maturity is attained when maize grain attains moisture content of less than 30%.
 Moisture content is gradually reduced and the seed becomes dormant.
 Some seeds have no dormancy, while others have prolonged dormancy periods.

Senescence
 Senescence refers to events and processes involving the cellular breakdown of the leaf tissue and the
subsequent mobilisation of materials released during the process.
 It is a normal process in the life of plants, and is a terminal stage in the development of plant organs (leaves,
flowers, stems and fruits).
 It normally occurs after cessation of growth and starts towards the end of the grain filling period.
 It increases at an increasing rate during grain filling period in crops, e.g. maize, sunflower, sorghum.
 During senescence, concentration of chlorophyll and enzyme Ribulose biphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) in
chloroplasts, and the rate of photosynthesis declines.
 This is followed by complete loss of chlorophyll.
 Nitrogen released is exported to the developing grain & all metabolic activities inside chloroplasts cease.
 Leaf senescence is also associated with reduced and eventual termination of root growth.