(a) Describe the cultivation of Cowpea under the headings: (i) soil requirement; (ii) method of propagation; (iii) spacing [ 3 marks ] (b) Name one disease ...

Answer Details

(a) Cultivation of cowpea

(i) Soil requirement: Cowpea does best on well-drained sandy-loam soil of moderate fertility and slightly acid to neutral pH (about 5.5 to 6.5); it tolerates fairly poor soils but not waterlogged ones.

(ii) Method of propagation: It is propagated by seeds, sown directly at stake.

(iii) Spacing: About 30 cm within rows by 60 cm to 75 cm between rows (roughly 25 cm x 75 cm), 2 to 3 seeds per hole.

(b) One disease and two field pests of cowpea

Disease: cowpea mosaic (viral) disease (also bacterial blight, Cercospora leaf spot).

Field pests: pod borer (Maruca) and pod-sucking bugs (also aphids, thrips).

(c) Four cultural methods of controlling crop pests

1. Crop rotation.
2. Early/timely planting and use of clean/resistant seeds.
3. Regular weeding and destruction of crop residues/alternate hosts.
4. Correct spacing and proper field sanitation (also flooding, hand-picking).

(d) Four human activities that promote deforestation

1. Bush burning and clearing of forest for farming (shifting cultivation).
2. Indiscriminate logging/timber felling.
3. Building of houses, roads and towns (urbanisation).
4. Fuel-wood/charcoal gathering, mining and overgrazing.

(e) Agro-forestry practices

(i) Alley cropping: Growing arable/food crops in the alleys (spaces) between rows of planted trees or shrubs (usually leguminous), where the trees are periodically pruned and the prunings used as mulch/green manure to enrich the soil.

(ii) Ley farming: A system in which land is put under arable crops for some years and then under grass/pasture (ley) for grazing for some years in rotation, to restore soil fertility.