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CLOSE THIS BOOKBetter Farming Series 01 - The plant: the Living Plant; the Root (FAO - INADES, 1976, 29 p.)
The living plant
VIEW THE DOCUMENT(introduction...)
VIEW THE DOCUMENTWe make two experiments

Better Farming Series 01 - The plant: the Living Plant; the Root (FAO - INADES, 1976, 29 p.)

The living plant

· Man is born, lives and dies.

The plant too is born, lives and dies.

· Man eats, feeds.

The plant too eats, feeds.
The plant gets its food in the soil, through its roots.

· Man breathes.

The plant breathes too, through its roots.

· Man reproduces himself, has children.

The plant too reproduces itself.

It has flowers.
It has fruits.
It has seeds.

We must study how plants live.


Man and plant are born live and die

We make two experiments

We are going to see how a plant is born, that is, make it germinate.
A seed germinates when the stem and the root come out.

Then we shall lift a plant.
Like this we shall understand better the course on the plant.

We shall make these two experiments at the same time.

This will enable us:

to see better,
to observe better,
to understand better

how a plant grows and how a root is made.

First experiment

MAKING A PLANT GERMINATE

1. Take some containers which are no longer wanted, for instance, stone jars, empty cans, cracked gourds or gourds with holes in them.


Making a plant germinate

· Make a hole in the bottom of each container.

Make it big enough for a pencil to go through.


Container is big enough for a pencil to go through

· Fill the containers with sand.

You will easily find some.
Do not press the sand down.
Leave some space above the sand.
This space should be about equal to a finger's thickness.

· Put your containers under a tree so that they are not in the sun.

Put them on big palm fronds or on branches so that they do not touch the ground.


They must not touch the ground and be out of sun

· Get some water.

Pour water into your containers.
It should flow over the edge.

· The water will pass into the sand and will make it damp.

The surplus water will flow out through the hole in the bottom.
The containers are separated from the ground by the palm fronds or the branches.
The water can easily flow away.


Water can easily flow away.

· The surplus water does not flow out quickly.

It stays on the surface of the sand.
That is because the sand you have taken is too fine.
You must begin again.
Otherwise the seeds may not grow.

· Look out for young goats and pigs.

They may knock over the containers.
Put up a screen to protect your seeds.

2. Leave your containers of damp sand for a whole night.

The next day take four or five seeds of maize, millet, cowpeas or beans.
Sow one seed in the middle of each container.

3. The way to sow.

Push your finger very gently into the sand as shown in the sketch below.


Push the finger into the soil

· When you have put the seed in the hollow made in this way, cover the seed with a very little sand.

· After sowing, water lightly.

If the water uncovers the seed, add some sand.
Water every morning before the sun is really hot.

· Two or three days later, the root will grow, and five or six days afterwards the seedling will come above the soil.

The seed has germinated.
The stem and root come out.

Second experiment

LIFTING A PLANT OF MAIZE OR MILLET

One part of the plant is below ground the root.
Take care not to damage the roots in lifting them out of the ground.

How to get the roots out of the ground

· You must pour a lot of water round the plant.

Take a gourd full of water.
Pour the water all round the plant.
Wait until the soil is very damp.
If your finger will not go easily into the soil, pour on still more water.
It is very important for the soil to be very wet, otherwise you will break the roots in lifting them out.
If the plant does not come out of the ground easily, pour on still more water.

· When you lift, take hold of the plant as near to the ground as you can.


Right way for seedling for transplating

· The part you are holding is called the stem.

The part that comes out of the ground is the root.

Right way to hold the seedling for transplanting

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