Observation

1. Question 3(a) was fairly popular among candidates but some candidates could not state the fertilizer requirement of cassava.
2. Only few candidates attempted question 3(b) and majority who did could not state the causal organisms, symptoms and control of these diseases.

The expected answers include:
3. (a)  Cultivation of cassava
(i)   Soil requirements
- Grows best on well drained sandy loam or clay loam
- Tolerant to poor soils
             
(ii)  Land preparation
- Land is cleared, stumped, ploughed and harrowed
- Ridges/mounds could be made
- May also be planted on flat land
                                                                                                      
(iii)  Propagation

• Propagated by stem cuttings
• Stem cuttings are planted at an angle of about 45° or in a slanting position or buried flat
• About 2/3 of the stem cutting is buried in the soil
• The cuttings used must contain a good number of nodes
• Can also be propagated by seed         

            (iv)  Spacing

• 1m x 1m
•  90cm x 90cm

            (v)  Weed control
                     -   Regular weeding is done with the use of hoe or cutlass
-   Herbicides could be used to control weeds
-   Hand pulling of weeds could be done on a small scale
          
            (vi)  Fertilizer requirement
-    Potassium fertilizer e.g. muriate of potash
-    NPK 10:10:20 or 15:15:15

           (vii)  Harvesting
-   Maturity is about 6-15 months
-   Harvesting is done by uprooting the tubers manually or mechanically

       (viii)   Storage
-    Stored in processed forms such as cassava flour, chips, garri
-    Tubers can be placed in a pit and covered with earth for storage on a small                              
scale
-    Could be peeled and kept in deep freezers

(b)  Completion of the table 
Coccidiosis     
(i)    Causal organism
-Protozoon(Eimera spp)                                                                                             

          (ii)   Farm animal affected
-   Poultry                                         - Sheep
-   Rabbit                                          - Goat


         (iii)   Symptom
-   Foul-smelling droppings                   -   Droopiness
-   Emaciation                                        -  Rise in body temperature
-   Bloody diarrhoea/dropping                -  Loss of hair or alopecia (in rabbit)

          (iv)   Control   
-  Treatment with coccidiostat
-  Regular change of litter
-  Provision of clean water and feed   
-  Use of foot bath at the entrance of poultry houses

Rinderpes
(i)    Causal organism
-  Virus                                                                                                                             
(ii)   Farm animal affected
-   Cattle
-   Goat
-   Sheep

      (iii)   Symptom
-   High fever                           -  Bloody diarrhoea
-   Reduced milk yield                     -  High mortality
-   Difficulty in breathing                  -  Lesions on tongue

          (iv)   Control   
-  Cull and destroy infected animal
-  Routine vaccination