Level: JHS, Basic 8 | Subject: Integrated Science | Strand: Cycles | Topic: Crop Production
Read the summary notes first, then try these questions. Go back to the summary notes for this topic.
Part A has 20 tick-box questions. Part B has 5 essay questions with a marking guide at the bottom.
Test Yourself: 20 Objective Questions
Tick one answer for each question, then press Review answer. If your answer is wrong, it will be marked first, then the correct answer will show in green.
1. A fertile soil is one that has
2. Which of these can cause loss of soil fertility?
3. Growing different crops in turn on the same land is called
4. Which crop adds nitrogen to the soil?
5. Low-growing plants that cover the soil are called
6. A benefit of cover crops is that they
7. Which of these is organic manure?
8. Compost is made from
9. A disadvantage of too much chemical fertilizer is that it
10. Leaving a piece of land unfarmed for some years so it can recover is
11. Putting dry grass or leaves round crops on the soil is called
12. Which method helps to control soil erosion on a slope?
13. Bush burning reduces soil fertility because it
14. Rubbing moist soil between the fingers to find out if it is sandy or clayey is the
15. Yellow leaves and stunted growth in a crop may show that the soil
16. Multiplying plants is called
17. Cassava is usually propagated by
18. Plantain and banana are propagated by
19. Yam is propagated by
20. Joining a bud or shoot of one plant onto another plant to grow together is
Essay Questions
- (a) What is soil fertility? (b) State four causes of loss of soil fertility. (6 marks)
- Describe four ways of maintaining soil fertility. (8 marks)
- Explain how crop rotation helps a farmer. Give one example of a crop rotation. (4 marks)
- Describe a simple test you can do in the school garden to find the type of soil. (3 marks)
- Name four ways of propagating crops and give one example of each. (4 marks)
Essay Questions: Marking Guide for Teachers and Parents
- (a) The ability of the soil to supply enough nutrients and water for crops to grow well (2). (b) Any four: continuous cropping, soil erosion, leaching, bush burning, overgrazing (1 mark each).
- Any four (2 marks each, 1 for the method and 1 for how it helps): crop rotation, cover cropping, application of manure or compost, mulching, fallowing, controlling erosion, avoiding bush burning.
- Different crops use different nutrients, so no nutrient is used up (1). Legumes add nitrogen (1). It breaks the cycle of pests and diseases (1). Example: maize, then beans, then cassava (1).
- Take a little moist soil and rub it between the fingers (1). Sand feels gritty, silt smooth and clay sticky (1). Compare the results from different places in the garden (1).
- Any four with examples (1 mark each): seeds, e.g. maize; stem cuttings, e.g. cassava; suckers, e.g. plantain; tubers or setts, e.g. yam; grafting or budding, e.g. mango.
Education Always (education.inspiringalways.com). Original practice questions, not official WAEC or BECE questions.