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TOPIC: ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
SUB-TOPIC:
- Climate factors
- Biotic factors
- Edaphic factors
Agricultural activities such as crop and livestock production are affected by several environmental factors.
These environmental factors determine and influence the distribution of crops and livestock as well as the performance and productivity of crops and livestock.
SUBTOPIC: CLIMATIC FACTORS
Climate can be defined as the average weather condition of a place measured over a long period of time (over 35yrs). Elements of climate include temperature, sunlight, wind, rainfall, relative humidity, pressure, radiant energy and cloud cover.
Temperature: this is the degree of hotness or coldness of a place at a given time. The effects on plants and animals include;
-
- It is essential for germination
- It is essential for growth of plants.
- It is necessary for photosynthesis
- It affects distribution of crops and animals.
- It affects maturity of crops i.e; ripening of fruits.
- It also determines the rate of evapo-transpiration.
Sunlight:
- Sunlight is necessary for germination and maturity of seeds.
- It is the major source of energy for all living things.
- It is the major ingredients for photosynthesis.
- Sunlight account for the opening and closing of the petals of certain flowers e.g sunflower.
- Sunlight affects the length of day, this is refered to as Classification of crops base on day length includes:
- Long-day plants which require longer day light. For example, most cereal like millet, sorghum, etc , spinach.
- Short-day plants which require shorter day light. For example cocoa, kola, tobacco, okro, soyabean and oil palm.
- Day-neutral plants which require equal period of day and night, that is about 12 hours of sunlight and darkness respectively for example tomato, sun flower, maize, garden egg, etc.
Sunlight is equally essential for the performance and production of poultry. It affects evapo-transpiration. Absence of light lead to etiolation in which the plants leaves becomes pale and the stem elongated.
Wind: Wind refers to air in motion and accounts for the different seasons in the tropic.
- It helps in the ripening of some fruits like cotton.
- Wind affects the level of rainfall.
- It can either increase or reduce evap-transpiration.
- Wind is essential for the dispersal of fruits and seeds.
- It is one of the agents of pollution.
- It can cause erosion
- it also causes serious damages to our crops in form of lodging.
- Wind can spread diseases by carrying air borne spores and other pathogens.
- It determines seasons in Nigeria. For example, south west trade wind brings rain while north east trade wind brings harmattan or dry season.
Rainfall: this is defined as the released of excess condensed water vapour in the atmosphere in to the earth, it has the highest effect on agricultural production in Nigeria.
- Rainfall supplies drinking water for animals especially in the desert areas.
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