CARRIBBEAN SECONDARY EXAMINATION CERTIFICATE

AGRICULTURE SCIENCE
SCHOOL BASED ASSESMENT (SBA)
CROP PRODUCTION AND COST ANALYSIS

Name of Candidate: Akeela lindo

Candidate Number:

Centre Name:

Centre Number:

Year of Examination: 2023.

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Title of Project: The effects of growing callaloo using no mulching and organic mulching from
seedlings to maturity.

Introduction

Name of Candidate: Akeela lindo

Name of Project: Crop Production

Location: Mahaicony secondary School Farm

Starting Date: 12th, January, 2022

Termination Date: th, February, 2022

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 Table of Content

Contents
Statement of Problem..................................................................................................................................5
Aim.............................................................................................................................................................6
Experimental Design...................................................................................................................................7
List of Materials..........................................................................................................................................8
Description of Activities..............................................................................................................................9
Data Collection..........................................................................................................................................17
Presentation of Data..................................................................................................................................19
Interpretation of Data................................................................................................................................22
Discussion of Findings..............................................................................................................................23
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................25
Limitations................................................................................................................................................26
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................................27
Projected Budget.......................................................................................................................................28
Actual Budget............................................................................................................................................29
Comparison and Contrast of Budget..........................................................................................................30
Reference...................................................................................................................................................32

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 Statement of Problem

Over the year’s farmers have complained about their callaloo plants not being fully developed
when exposed to direct sunlight and as such they are unable to make a maximum profit.
Therefore, as a result of this an experiment is being conducted to determine the effort of using
traditional growing as opposed to organic mulching to grow the callaloo plant.

4
 Aim

 To determine whether callaloo grows better using organic mulching.

5
 Experimental Design

For the purpose of this experiment, the researcher will sow callaloo seedling on two beds of
same dimension. The researcher will label the two beds, bed ‘A’ and bed ‘B’. The callaloo on
bed A will be done using the traditional method of planting i.e. planted with any foreign material
at its plant base. While those on bed B will be done using organic mulching i.e. a thin layer of
dried grass will be placed at the base of the callaloo plants. The experiment will be carried out
until the crops are ready to be harvest.

During the course of the experiment, the researcher will select six random callaloo from each
bed, the height and the width of its leaves will be measured while the colour will be observed.
The date recording will be placed on a table in separate columns. The researcher will then
interpret and analyse the data records to determine which method is best for growing the callaloo
plants and which one will bring in income.

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 List of Materials

 Cutlass
 File
 Garden Fork
 Shovel
 Rake
 Hoe
 Wheel Barrow
 Spade
 Twine
 Water Can
 Measuring Tape
 Pegs
 Knife
 Bucket
 Dry Grass
 Insecticides
 Knaps Sack Spray

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 Description of Activities

Land Preparation

This involves the following activities:

 Land clearing

Land clearing involves the clearing of the land to remove unwanted vegetation, foreign objects
and existing plant residue hence a plot of land was cleared manually with the use of a cutlass and
(hand pulling). The clearing of this plot of land will also help the crop plants to obtain sufficient
soil nutrients, moisture, direct sunlight, maximum yield and adequate root space. In the process
of clearing the land various objects like food boxes, glass bottles, pieces of sticks and rocks were
observed on the plot of land and discarded so as to not disrupt the next land preparation process.

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  Ploughing

Ploughing was done with the use of a large shovel as can be demonstrated in the picture. This
was done so as to break up the surface soil to a desirable depth. By doing this the sub-soil will be
exposed to sunlight and other atmospheric conditions. Ploughing will also help the soil particles
to become very loose thus allowing water and air to move through freely. While executing this
activity soil organism such as earthworms, crickets and ants were observed. They were also large
roots of existing plants such as sweet potato and cassava.

 Harrowing or chipping

Harrowing or chipping is done or used after ploughing for breaking up and smoothing out the
surface of the soil. This farm implementation was done with the use of a cutlass as can be seen in
the picture to break up large soil clods into smaller ones which makes the soil structure suitable
for planting and this activity is also used for surface tillage while its job is to allow air
movement and improves water filtration. By implementing this activity into land preparation it
reduces diseases by exposing fungi and bacteria to sunlight.

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  Construction of beds and drains

Construction of beds and drains are done with a shovel and fork so as to allow the removal of
excess soil from the root zone of plants and excess water. When excess soil water moves from
the soil to the field drains and into drainage canals, the Dry weather conditions.

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 After development of a few weeks the plants are transplanted into main field for further growth
and development which is what was done with the callaloo seedlings.

Care and maintenance

This involves the following activities:

 Irrigation or watering

Irrigation or watering was done on a daily basis where there was not sufficient waterfall but
when there was sufficient waterfall this method of irrigation was not done. This application of
applying water to the soil is to ensure an adequate supply of moisture meets the crops. When an
adequate amount of water was not distributed to the plants, they could have been seen wilting
because when the sun was too hot there was not water for the moisture of their soil or leaves to
take in. They are other ways irrigation can be done like with: a hose, drip (trickle) irrigation and

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sprinkler irrigation but the researcher decided to use a water can which can be seen in the picture
because her production was not much.

 Weed control

The method of weed control that was used is hand pulling it was advisable to pull them because
the area cropped is small and there were a few weeds. Also, the lettuce plants were not too far
from each other on the beds so hand pulling was advocated. If this type of weed control was not
done or any other type was not done the weeds would have competed with crop plants for soil
moisture, light and nutrients, weeds harbour pest, weeds increase the cost of cultivation and also
make it difficult for crop products therefore hand puling was necessary in order for the lettuce to
grow healthy and be of high quality produce.

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  Mulching

Mulching is the practice of having layer of straw, leaves, compost, farm yard manure sheets over
the soil surface of the plant but in the picture, it can be seen that the experimenter used straws.
Mulching was done after the crop was established and it was also done on plants that were
starting whither so as to bring them back to stage where they would be of good quality.
Mulching was done so as to conserve soil moisture, increase the water infiltration, adds organic
matter to the soil on decomposition and improves the quality of produce.

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 Pest and disease control

Pesticides are applied to the soil to control pests which live there. Crop pest include
nematodes which block transport vessels in plant roots, soil fungi which cause damping-
off and the root of the root. Nematodes, soil fungicides and insecticides are chemical
substances used to control these pests. Care should be taken when using pesticides and
equipment’s should be properly washed after use to avoid any contamination.

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 Data Collection

The aim of this experiment is to determine whether callaloo grows better using the traditional
way or organic mulching. Both beds were grown for four weeks and the results that were
obtained were then averaged as shown by the tables below:

Table 1 showing the average width of traditional and organic mulched beds in (cm)

Method Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 Plant 5 Plant 6

Traditional way 3.1cm 5.1cm 5.7cm 7.2cm 7.3cm 7.9cm
(Controlled bed)
Method
Organic mulching 4.6cm 9.3cm 9.8cm 10.2cm 10.4cm 11.2cm
(Experimental bed)

Table 2 showing the average height of the traditional and organic mulched beds in (cm)

Method Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 Plant 5 Plant 6

Traditional way 8.3cm 7.3cm 8cm 8.3cm 8.8cm 9.2cm
(Controlled bed)
Method
Organic mulching 9cm 8cm 10.2cm 11cm 11.8cm 12.7cm
(Experimental bed)

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 Presentation of Data

Average width of tradional beds

25
20
15
10
5
0
plant 2 plant 3 plant 4 plant 5 plant 6
3.1 3.12 3.13
Fig. 1: A column graph showing the average width of traditional beds

Average width of oragnic mulched beds

plant 5

plant 4

plant 3

plant 2

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

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Fig. 2: A bar graph showing the average width of organic mulched beds

Average height of tradional beds

30

25

20

15

10

0
plant 2 plant 3 plant 4 plant5 plant 6

8.3 8.32 8.33

Fig. 3: A column graph showing the average height of traditional beds

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 Average height of traditional beds

plant 6 12.7

plant 5 11.8

plant 4 11

plant 3 10.2

plant 2 8

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

9 9 9 9 92

Fig. 4: A bar graph showing the average height of organic mulched beds.

Average height of traditional and organic

mulched beds
Plant 6

Plant 5

Plant 4

Plant 3

Plant 2

Plant 1

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Organic Mulching (Experimental Bed) Traditional (Control Bed)

Fig. 5: A column graph showing the comparisons of the height of traditional and organic
mulched beds

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 Average width of traditional and organic
mulched beds Fig. 6:
12 A bar
graph
10

0
Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 Plant 5 Plant 6

Traditional (Control Bed) Organic Mulching (Experimental Bed)

showing the comparisons of the width of traditional and organic mulched beds.

Interpretation of Data

The data that was collected will be interpreted in this part of the SBA.

The presentation of data shows everything in the data collection but in graphs.

Figure 1 shows a column graph which depicts the average width of the traditional beds for four
weeks. The first plant being 3.1cm, the second plant 5.1cm, the third plant 5.7cm, the fourth
plant being 7.2cm, the fifth plant being 7.3cm and the last plant can be seen to have 7.9cm. In
figure 2 a bar graph was used to bring out the information on the average width of organic
mulched beds which conveys that for the first plant the width of the callaloo plants was 4.6cm, in
the second plant was 9.3cm, in the third plant it was 9.8cm, the fourth plant was 10.2cm, the fifth
plant which was 10.4cm and the last plant being 11.2cm.

Figure 3 shows a column graph which conveys the average height of traditional beds for the past
four weeks. In the first plant it can be seen that the height was 8.3cm, the second plant which
shows 7.3cm, the third plant 8cm, the fourth plant which shows 8.3cm, the fourth plant 8.8cm
and the last plant shows 9.2cm. In figure two a bar graph was used to bring out the height of
organic mulched beds and for the first plant it could have been seen that the height of the
callaloo plants is 9cm, the second plant it shows 8cm, the third plant 10.2cm, the fourth plant
11cm, the fifth plant 11.8cm and the last plant 12.7cm.
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Figure 6 shows a bar graph showing the comparisons of the average height of the traditional way
and organic mulched beds. In figure 6, plant 1 shows a height of 8.3cm for the traditional and
9cm for the organic mulched bed. This shows a difference of 1.3cm greater height for the
organic mulched bed. Plant 2 shows a height of 7.3cm for the traditional and 8cm for the organic
mulched bed. Again, there is a greater difference of 1.3cm in height for the organic mulched
plant. Plant 3 shows a height of 8cm for the traditional and 10.2cm for the organic mulched
plant. This shows a difference of 2.2cm greater height for the organic mulched bed. Plant 4
shows a height of 8.3cm for the traditional and 11cm for the organic mulched plant. This shows
a difference of 3.3cm greater height for the organic mulched bed. Plant 5 shows a height of
8.8cm for the traditional and 11.8cm for the organic mulched plant. This shows a difference of
3cm greater height for the organic mulched plant. Finally, plant 6 shows a height of 9.2cm for
the traditional and 12.7cm for the organic mulched plant. This shows a difference of 3.5cm
greater height for the organic mulched plant. Overall, the organic mulched plant showed greater
height than the traditional.

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 Discussion of Findings

In this SBA, it is stated that the aim is to determine whether callaloo grows better using
organic mulching and from the results that was gathered from seedling to maturity it is evident
that organic mulching works better and has a great effect on the callaloo plants.

. Callaloo is a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. Since the leaf vegetable used in some regions
may be locally called ‘callaloo’, ‘callaloo bush’ or dasheen leaves, some confusion can raise
among the vegetables and with the dish itself, this, as is the case with many other Caribbean
dishes, is a remnant of west African cuisine.
Mulching is the practice of having layers of straw, leaves, compost, farm yard manure sheets
over the soil surface of the plant and in consonance with The International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements (IFOAM - Organics International), mulching is the process of covering
the topsoil with plant material such as leaves, grass, twigs, crop residues, straw etc. A mulch
cover enhances the activity of soil organisms such as earthworms some reasons that makes this
statement more factual which was gathered from The International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements (IFOAM - Organics International) are; it protects the soil from water
and wind erosion which causes the soil particles to not be washed away and by that no plants can
be lost easily, prevents the soil from heating up too much because mulching provides shade to
soil though mulching sometimes increase the soil temperature because solar energy directly
heats air or soil beneath mulch through penetration and the moisture that is being retained keeps
it cool, The response of plants changes when the temperature changes, . Crop growth throughout
the growing season is determined by the genetic or environmental factors that regulate the
duration or speed of plant development. Temperature is considered the most crucial
environmental factor. Soil temperature is a measure of the intensity of heat in the soil. Heat
flows in soil, or the generation or usage of heat in soil, both have an impact on the temperature
of the soil. Overall soil moisture is determined by the porosity, texture, and structure of the soil
and organic mulching assists them in development it also keeps the soil moist by reducing
evaporation because plants need less irrigation or can use the available rain more efficiently in
dry areas or seasons, provides nutrients to the crops so while decomposition happens, organic
mulch material continuously releases its nutrients, thus fertilizing the soil all of these reasons
ultimately paved the way for increase crop growth and yield which is apparent in the results that
was gathered and According to Huang et al., the application of organic mulches to soil improved
soil health or consequently gave a higher yield These reason are also facts- based because when
you use the traditional way your plant just grows and is either being affected or dies, while
organic mulching gives the plants all the benefits that was listed above moreover in accordance
with research gate, advantages-of-mulching-in-comparison-to-non-mulching_fig1_341469731 it
states that with organic mulching no erosion happens, it adds nutrients to the soil and moderate

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soil temperature and minimum evaporation is present while in no mulching the issues are twice
and are; erosion would happen, wilting of the plant, a lot of evaporation is being lost and low
level of growth and development of the yield of the crop is perceptible. Water was the scarcest
natural resource while doing this experiment. Water use efficiency (WUE) in a cropping system
is the total biomass or yield produced per unit of water used by the plant or the soil surface.
Hence to improve WUE to improve crop quality and yield is essential. Zhou et al., found that
mulching improves yield and WUE by reducing evaporation and increasing soil transpiration so
by using organic mulching WUE was lessened and the soil benefitted which would also be the
same for the plant. Though mulching carry all of these benefits there are disadvantages to it
which are stated by timesofagriculture.com and mdpi.com these disadvantages are: heavy
mulching sometimes leads to accumulating high moisture and thus preventing the aeration in the
root zone also if the mulching is too thick or there are many straws or grass around the plant it
makes irrigation difficult which can result into flooding and farmers have to shift to the drip
irrigation system. Mulched soil has better aeration and temperature that tends to support
increased microbial activity in the soil, resulting in more thorough nitrification in mulched soil.
Mulching causes the soil to retain more moisture; it restricts the oxygen supply close to the roots
because the soil has poor drainage that’s why it is advised not to put the grass too up to the root
of the plant but around the base of it. If mulching is done close to the stem, the surrounding
moisture in the plant’s stem can serve as a haven for a variety of microorganisms, pests, and
diseases.
Therefore, all of the information that was presented above showed that organic mulching
works better that traditional mulching because of all the facts that was stated and the experiment
that was done on bed B and bed A which the researcher acquired results that showed organic
much grows faster because of it benefits and the yield it produced.

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 Conclusion

From the results that was gathered while doing this experiment, it can be concluded that
organic mulching works better than non-mulching which is evident because the data being
collected and presented by the researcher showed an increase of growth in the height and width
during the four weeks when using organic mulching and also produced callaloo that was of high
quality and healthy which shows that it had an effect on the growth and development of callaloo.

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 Limitations

Some of the limitations that were experienced during this experiment which was done to discern
if organic or no mulching works better are as follows:

 Poor drainage which caused the presence of excess water on the plot for many days
 Shortage of farming tools which caused an extension for the researcher to do land
preparation activities and substitute tools had to be used.
 Not getting enough water
 Some of the crops were bitten due to pest infestation on the farm which caused a small
amount of the lettuce to have a low yield
 Poor care and maintenance of lettuce plants by students during the four -week period

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 Recommendations

Based on the results and the limitations obtained in this experiment that was done to determine
whether callaloo grows better using the traditional way organic mulching. The researcher
recommends that:

 The drains should be dug deep in order for the proper drainage of excess water so that the
water would reach the height where it’s the same as the bed that the plants are on
especially during periods of heavy rainfall.

 The department should raise enough funds to buy tools so that the process of preparation
would not be prolonged because a shortage of tools is evident.
 A tank should be placed mainly and only for the use of the farming activities so when
rain falls there’s water and they do not have to solely depend on the pipe and a pump can
also be present in the farm so as to full enough water which would be used in times of
needs all of this can done by raising funds or contributions.
 To prevent pest infestation spray insecticides or natural pesticides, integrated pest
management (IPM) or even implement biological or cultural control.
 Enforce strict penalties for students who did not follow the stipulated timetable created
by the teacher.

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 Reference

Agricultural Science textbook 1, 2 and 3. (n.d.).

https://www.education.gov.gy/web2/index.php/students-resources/secondary-school-

resources/secondary-text-books/agricultural-science

Balvinder S, Gupta GN, Prasad KG (1988) Use of mulches in establishment and growth of tree
species on dry lands.

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8672.pdf

Iqbal, R., Raza, M., & Valipour, M. (2020, May, 18). Potential, agricultural and environmental

benefit of mulches. Bulletin of the National Research Centre.

https://bnrc.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s42269-020-00290-3

Managing Pests and Plant Diseases - Hesperian Health Guides. (n.d.).

https://en.hesperian.org/hhg/
A_Community_Guide_to_Environmental_Health:Managing_Pests_and_Plant_Diseases#
:~:text=Spraying%20plants%20with%20mild%20soapy,plants%2C%20soil%2C%20and
%20insects.

Organic Pesticides for Organic Gardening | IndiaAgroNet.com. (n.d.).

https://indiaagronet.com/Organic-Pesticides.html

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM - Organics

International). (2015, May). Mulching in organic agriculture.

https://teca.apps.fao.org/teca/en/technologies/8365

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 Cost Analysis

Projected Budget

Actual Quantity Unit Prices $ Total

income
Sale of callaloo 100 Parcels $200 $20,000
Actual - - - $20,000
income
Callaloo 110 - $10 $1100
seedlings
polythene 1 - $300 $300
insecticide 1 bottle $800 $800
Pen manure - - - -
transportation - - $1000 $1000
miscellaneous - -
Value 2 2lbs pack $250 $500
Addition
Transportation
Plastic bag
Actual - - - $3700
expenditure

Projected profit= Total projected income- total projected expenditure

P.P = $18,000- $6725

Therefore, projected profit= $11,275

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 Actual Budget

Actual Income and Expenditure

Actual Income Quantity Unit Price$ Total$

Sale of callaloo 100 Heads $200 $20,000
Actual Income _ _ _ $20, 000
Actual
Expenditure
Callaloo 110 _ $10 $1100
Seedlings
Polythene 1 _ $300 $300
Insecticide 1 bottle $800 $800
Pen manure _ _ _ _
Transportation _ _ $1000 $1000
Miscellaneous _ _ _ _
Value Addition 2 2lbs Pack $250 $500
Transportation
Plastic bags
Actual _ _ _ $3700
Expenditure

Actual profit= Actual income- Actual Expenditure

= $20,000 - $3700

= $16,300

Total Actual profit= $16, 300

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 Comparison and Contrast of Budget

Comparison of Budget

Upon completion of the project, there was an actual profit/surplus of $16.300 when compared to
a projected profit/surplus of $11,275. This shows a difference of $5,025. The reason for this
increase in profit was due to the scarcity of callaloo during that period, thus the demand for
callaloo was very high hence the callaloo was also being sold at a higher price.

Moreover, an actual income of $20,000 was made compared to a projected income of $18,000.
This shows an increase of $2,000 on the actual income. Even though 10 fewer parcel of callaloo
were sold, the actual cost obtained was higher. This was due to the high demands of the
consumer which they rushed for the callaloo because it was organic and beneficial for their
health.

Lastly, there was a projected expenditure of $6,725, while the actual expenditure was $3,700
instead. This shows a difference of $3025. The reason for this difference was because no money
was spent on pen manure and miscellaneous in the actual budget. However, money had to be
solicited for value addition, which was not projected for.

In all inclusive, there was a drastic increase in the profit/surplus obtained at the commencement
of the project and as it stated to descend to the income and expenditure it started to decrease.

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 Comparison of Project and Actual Profit/Surplus

$18,000
$16,000
$14,000
$12,000
$10,000
$8,000
$6,000
$4,000
$2,000
$0
PROFIT/SURPLUS

Projected Actual

Comparison of Projected and Actual Income

$20,000

$19,500

$19,000

$18,500

$18,000

$17,500

$17,000
INCOME

PROJECTED ACTUAL

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 Comparison of Projected and Actual Expenditure

$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$0
EXPENDITURE

PROJECTED ACTUAL

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