Weeding

Weeds prevent plants from growing well (see Booklet No. 2, page 24).
They take out of the soil the mineral salts that the crops need.
The weeds must be removed.
Weeding can be done with the hand hoe (see page 6), or with an animal- drawn cultivator (see page 10).
Sowing in rows makes weeding easier. The cultivator has tines that cut the weeds between the seed rows.

Weed- cutting tines for fixing to a cultivator

You must weed each time new vveeds grow.
For cotton and groundnuts weed three or four times.
With an animal- drawn cultivator you can only get rid of weeds between seed rows. Remove the weeds among the plants in a row by using the hand hoe.
Weeding must be done when the weeds are still small. Then the work is easier and quicker. Weeds are destroyed more easily when they are still small.
Let the cut weeds dry between the rows.
They will rot and form humus. They will also protect the soil against erosion.

Earthing up

Earthing up, sometimes called ridging up, is putting earth round the collar, or crown, of plants (see Booklet No. 1, page 15).

Earthing up

With certain plants, such as maize and millet, adventitious roots then grow in the mound of earth.

Hoeing

With some soils the surface gets hard after rain; a crust of earth is formed. Water rises in the crust as it rises in lumps of earth {see Booklet No. 4, page 30).

· The earth crust must be broken up to prevent the water rising. This is called hoeing.

Hoeing

· Rain that falls on a well- hoed soil goes in easily. It does not run off the surface. It is not wasted.

· Hoeing is done with a hand hoe or with an animal- drawn cultivator.

Weeding often serves both purposes: it gets rid of weeds and breaks up the soil crust.

Thinning

Thinning is removing surplus plants.
When you sow in seed holes, you put in four or five seeds. They grow together.
There are too many of them and some must be taken out.
Then the plants that are left can grow better.
As a rule the two best plants in each seed hole are left.
Thinning should be done when the plants have a few leaves, but before they are too big.
In pulling out the surplus plants, the soil is disturbed.
So it must be pressed down again round the plants that are left.
The first weeding and thinning are done at the same time.

Thinning