Study Agriculture notes on Natural Disasters for O-Level. Useful for revision, homework, and exam preparation in Zimbabwe.
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This is the O-Level Agriculture notes. It is a free notes for revision.
FORM 4 AGRICULTURE NOTES GENERAL AGRICULTURE Environmental factors Natural disasters - Natural disasters are events or harsh environmental conditions that threaten crop and livestock production and survival. Effects of natural disasters on agriculture Hailstorm - This is a form of precipitation that falls as ice stones of varying size. Effects of hailstorm on crops - Damage plant parts such as leaves, flowers, stems or even total crop destruction - Leaf crops such as tobacco are often damaged resulting in heavy losses - Fruits may be hit and fall prematurely resulting in serious production losses Effects of hailstorm on livestock - Hailstorms result in death of some small livestock and newly born animals - Large ice stones usually kill livestock animals that are not properly sheltered Effects of hailstorm on farm structure and machinery - Large ice stones damage roof tops, glass window panes resulting in disruption of operations - Hailstorms may break farm vehicle wind screens and mirrors and other delicate parts of farm machinery resulting in a lot of costs being incurred by the farmer in replacing the damaged parts Floods - Flooding is a condition when areas that are usually dry land are covered with large volumes of water - Floods are a result of heavy and excessive rainfall - Siltation of rivers and poor surface drainage increase the chances of floods - Low lying areas e.g. Muzarabani in Zimbabwe, are prone to flooding. Effects of floods on crops - Crops are destroyed by flooding condition due to lack of aeration in the soil - Flood waters weaken root anchorage and uproot crops or leave crops bent down and covered in mud Effects of floods on livestock - Death of livestock due to drowning - Destruction of pasture leading to reduced livestock feeds - Spread water borne diseases RODRECK WISEMAN NYAKABAWU 1