Agricultural Science · Lesson 14

Practical 1: crop specimens, weeds, pests, diseases, fertilisers and germination tests

WAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

WAEC: 4 questions, 1½ h, 60 marks; NECO Paper I, 1 h 30 min): crop specimens and planting materials, weeds and control, crop pests and damage, crop diseases, fertilisers and manures, seed viability; drawing and exam technique.

NECO: 4 questions, 1½ h, 60 marks; NECO Paper I, 1 h 30 min): crop specimens and planting materials, weeds and control, crop pests and damage, crop diseases, fertilisers and manures, seed viability; drawing and exam technique.

What you will learn

Describe the format of WAEC Paper 3 and NECO Paper I in Agricultural Science.
Identify crop specimens and their planting materials.
Identify common weeds and suggest control.
Identify pests from specimens or damage and suggest control.
Recognise disease symptoms and state cause and control.
Identify fertilisers and manures and state their uses.
Carry out and calculate a germination test.

Key points

Paper 3: four questions, 1½ h, 60 marks; NECO Paper I 1 h 30 min.
Crops: name, group, planting material, pests, diseases.
Weeds: spear grass, nut grass, Siam weed, Striga, with control.
Pests: identify by damage and mouthparts.
Diseases: cause, vector, symptom, control.
Fertilisers: grades and application methods.
Germination test and percentage.

Start here: The Agricultural Science practical paper

Agricultural Science has a practical paper in both WASSCE and NECO SSCE, and it is the paper where well-prepared students collect easy marks by identifying specimens they have seen on the school farm.

WAEC Paper 3

WAEC Agricultural Science Paper 3 is a practical paper for school candidates and an alternative to practical paper for private candidates. It consists of four questions, all compulsory, to be answered in 1½ hours for 60 marks (so about 15 marks and 22 minutes per question). Papers 1 (objective) and 2 (essay) are taken together as a composite paper.

NECO Paper I

NECO calls the practical Agricultural Science Paper I: Practical (paper code 2001). In the 2026 SSCE timetable it lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. The objective and essay papers are NECO Papers III and II. NECO does not publish a detailed scheme of marks for the practical, and the number of questions and marks in its practical paper could not be confirmed from an official source. Past papers suggest its questions follow the same pattern as WAEC’s: specimens labelled A, B, C… with questions on identification, uses, features and simple experiments. Follow the instructions on the front of the paper.

What the syllabus says is assessed

Agricultural ecology: rocks, soil samples, soil properties (texture, water-holding capacity, porosity, capillarity), fertile and infertile soils, organic manure.
Agricultural engineering/mechanisation: farm tools and equipment, tractor-drawn and animal-drawn implements, irrigation and drainage equipment, identification, uses and maintenance.
Crop production: crop plants and their parts, weeds, pests and their damage, diseased specimens, planting materials, fertilisers.
Animal production: breeds of livestock, feeds, livestock pests and diseases, farm structures, livestock equipment.
Practical agriculture: farm records and accounts, observation and data from the farm.

WAEC also expects school candidates to keep a practical notebook recording laboratory work, observations on the school farm, field trips and specimens collected.

The question pattern

A typical question: “Specimens A, B and C are granite, limestone and marble. (a) Identify the specimens. (b) Classify them by mode of formation. (c) State three characteristics of each.” Another: “Study specimens D–G (farm tools). Name each, state one use and one maintenance practice.” Identification is the gateway to every mark, so the rest of this unit and ap2–ap4 drill it.

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Practice questions

1. Maize belongs to the crop group

cereals
legumes
roots and tubers
beverages

Show answer

A: cereals
Zea mays.

2. Cowpea is a

cereal
tuber
fibre crop
legume

Show answer

D: legume
Rich in protein.

3. Yam is propagated mainly by

stem cuttings
grafting
setts or minisetts
seeds

Show answer

C: setts or minisetts
Tuber pieces.

4. Cassava is propagated by

suckers
stem cuttings
seeds
setts

Show answer

B: stem cuttings
20–25 cm long.

5. Urea contains about

46% nitrogen
15% nitrogen
20% phosphorus
60% potash

Show answer

A: 46% nitrogen
Straight N fertiliser.

Key words

Specimen: Labelled item provided for identification in the practical.
Planting material: Part used to propagate a crop: seed, sett, cutting, sucker, corm.
Geocarpy: Development of fruits underground (groundnut).
Vector: Organism that carries a pathogen (e.g. whitefly for cassava mosaic virus).
Rhizome: Horizontal underground stem with nodes.
Systemic herbicide: Herbicide absorbed and moved within the plant.
Viability: Ability of a seed to germinate.
Frass: Excreta and debris left by boring insects.
Cauliflory: Flowers and fruits borne on trunks and branches (cocoa).

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