crop care maintenance

1. Crop Care and Maintenance: Growing Success in
Agriculture

2. Welcome to Crop Care
and Maintenance
● Opening Circle: Share one thing you know
about growing plants at home
● Today you'll discover the secrets of
successful crop production
● Learning Target: You will determine
different practices for caring and
maintaining crops
● Think about: What makes plants grow
healthy and strong?

3. What Are Crops?
● Crops are plants grown for food, profit, or
other uses
● Food crops: rice, corn, vegetables, fruits
● Cash crops: coffee, sugarcane, cotton
● Feed crops: grass for livestock
● Think-Pair-Share: Name three crops grown
in your community

4. Factors That Influence Crop Growth
● Sunlight: Plants need light for photosynthesis
● Water: Maintains soil moisture for healthy roots
● Soil: Provides nutrients and support
● Temperature: Affects plant development
● Compass Points Activity: Move to corners based on which factor
you think is most important

5. Cultivation: Preparing the
Soil
● Cultivation means stirring and loosening
the soil
● Methods: plowing, harrowing, hand tools
● Benefits: controls weeds, provides air to
roots, improves water absorption
● Large farms use tractors, small gardens
use hand tools
● Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face: Share what
soil preparation you've seen at home

6. Seed Sowing and
Planting
● Choose healthy, quality seeds and
seedlings
● Plant seeds 1.5 to 2 inches deep for proper
moisture
● Proper spacing allows plants to grow
without competing
● Consider plant size when mature
● Reflection Question: Why is proper
spacing important for plant growth?

7. Irrigation: Watering Your Crops
● Manual irrigation: using watering cans (labor-intensive)
● Sprinkler irrigation: spray systems cover large areas
● Drip irrigation: water goes directly to plant roots (most efficient)
● Different crops need different amounts of water
● Learning Target Check-in: Can you explain three irrigation
methods?

8. Fertilizer Application:
Feeding Your Plants
● Plants need nutrients to grow strong and
healthy
● Organic fertilizers: compost, manure,
natural materials
● Commercial fertilizers: manufactured
nutrients
● Application methods: scatter before
planting, mix with soil
● Think-Pair-Share: What natural fertilizers
can you make at home?

9. Weed Control: Removing
Plant Competition
● Weeds compete with crops for water,
nutrients, and sunlight
● Hand weeding: using hands or tools like
sickles
● Mechanical weeding: machines remove
weeds
● Chemical weeding: herbicides (requires
skill and safety)
● Compass Points: Which weeding method
would you choose for your garden?

10. Pest and Disease Control
● Pests and diseases can damage or destroy crops
● Organic methods: beneficial insects, natural sprays
● Chemical pesticides: insecticides, fungicides (use carefully)
● Prevention is better than treatment
● Appreciations: Recognize farmers who protect our food supply

11. Support Systems and
Harvest Success
● Climbing plants need support: trellises,
stakes, cages
● Materials: wood, metal, bamboo
● Proper support increases yield and
prevents damage
● Exit Ticket: Name two crop care practices
you want to try
● Closing Circle: Share one new thing you
learned about crop care today