Agric

course outline

Topics

• Meaning and Importance of Agriculture

  Covers the definition and branches of agricultural science, and its importance to individuals, communities, and nations.

• Uses of Land - Agricultural Purposes

  Includes crop production, wild life conservation/game reserves, and livestock production.

• Crop Production

  This module covers the husbandry of selected crops, including their botanical names, varieties, climatic and soil requirements, propagation, planting, cultural practices, pest and disease control, harvesting, processing, and storage of at least one representative crop from each grouping. Topics also include pasture management and crop improvement principles like Mendel's laws of inheritance. This module also covers crop classification based on various criteria such as uses, life cycle, and morphology. It covers the general husbandry practices required for cultivating selected crops effectively, ensuring optimal growth and yield. Aspects covered include land preparation, planting date, seed rate, spacing, nursery requirements, fertilization, weeding, and pest/disease control.

• Diseases of Cereals

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like smut, rice blast, leaf rust.

• Diseases of Legumes

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like cercospora leaf spot, rosette.

• Diseases of Beverages

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like cocoa blackpod, swollen shoot, coffee leaf rust.

• Diseases of Tubers

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like cassava mosaic, bacterial leaf blight.

• Diseases of Fruits

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like citrus gummosis, dieback.

• Diseases of Fibre Crops

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like black arm/bacterial blight of cotton.

• Diseases of Vegetables

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like root knot of tomato or okro, damping off, onion twister.

• Diseases of Stored Produce

  Causal organism, economic importance, mode of transmission, symptoms, prevention and control for diseases like mould.

• Important Insect-Pests of Cereals

  Covers field and storage pests, life cycle, economic importance, nature of damage, preventive and control measures for pests like stem borer, army worm, ear worm.

• Important Insect-Pests of Legumes

  Covers field and storage pests, life cycle, economic importance, nature of damage, preventive and control measures for pests like pod borer, aphids, sucking bugs and leaf beetle.

• Important Insect-Pests of Beverages

  Covers field and storage pests, life cycle, economic importance, nature of damage, preventive and control measures for pests like cocoa myrids (capsids).

• Important Insect-Pests of Tubers

  Covers field and storage pests, life cycle, economic importance, nature of damage, preventive and control measures for pests like yam beetle, cassava mealybugs, green spidermites, variegated grasshopper.

• Important Insect-Pests of Fibre Crops

  Covers field and storage pests, life cycle, economic importance, nature of damage, preventive and control measures for pests like cotton stainer, bollworms.

• Important Insect-Pests of Fruits and Vegetables

  Covers field and storage pests, life cycle, economic importance, nature of damage, preventive and control measures for pests like thrips, grasshopper, leaf roller, leaf beetle, scale insect.

• Important Insect-Pests of Stored Produce

  Covers field and storage pests, life cycle, economic importance, nature of damage, preventive and control measures for pests like grain weevils, bean beetle.

• Viral Livestock Diseases

  Covers causal organisms, symptoms, mode of transmission, effects, prevention and control for diseases like foot and mouth, rinderpest, newcastle.

• Bacterial Livestock Diseases

  Covers causal organisms, symptoms, mode of transmission, effects, prevention and control for diseases like anthrax, brucellosis, tuberculosis.

• Fungal Livestock Diseases

  Covers causal organisms, symptoms, mode of transmission, effects, prevention and control for diseases like aspergillosis, ringworm, scabies.

• Protozoan Livestock Diseases

  Covers causal organisms, symptoms, mode of transmission, effects, prevention and control for diseases like trypanosomiasis, coccidiosis.

• Control of Endoparasites

  Mode of transmission, life cycle, economic importance and control for tapeworm, liverfluke and roundworm.

• Control of Ectoparasites

  Mode of transmission, life cycle, economic importance and control for ticks, lice.