(a) Define climate and state three of its importance in agriculture. (b) Explain five ways in which high rainfall affects agricultural production. (c) State...

Answer Details

(a) Climate. Climate is the average weather condition of a place taken over a long period of time (usually 30 years or more). It is the composite of elements such as rainfall, temperature, humidity, sunshine and wind for a given area.

Three importances of climate in agriculture:

1. It determines the type of crops and livestock that can be produced in an area.
2. It determines the farming season and the timing of operations such as planting and harvesting.
3. It affects the growth, yield, spread of pests and diseases, and the distribution of vegetation.

(b) Five ways in which high rainfall affects agricultural production:

1. It causes leaching, washing away soluble plant nutrients from the topsoil and reducing soil fertility.
2. It promotes soil erosion, removing the fertile topsoil.
3. It causes water-logging and flooding of farmland, which damages crops and roots.
4. It encourages the spread of pests, diseases and rapid weed growth.
5. It leaches out nutrients and can make land tillage and harvesting difficult, and causes spoilage of harvested produce; however, adequate rainfall also supplies the water crops need for growth.

(c) Forms in which water exists in the soil: gravitational water (drains away freely under gravity), capillary water (held in the soil pores and available to plants) and hygroscopic water (held tightly as a thin film around soil particles and unavailable to plants).

(d) Three ways soil water may be lost:

1. Evaporation from the soil surface.
2. Transpiration through plants.
3. Drainage/percolation (deep drainage) and run-off.