Question 7
NECO
•
2024
•
AGRICULTURAL_SCIENCE
•
essay
A farmer in the middle belt region of Nigeria cultivates maize on a 2.5‑hectare field. Recent scouting has revealed the presence of two major insect pests that are causing noticeable damage to the crop.
Question Parts
(
a
)
Identify two important insect pests of maize in Nigeria. For each pest, describe the stage(s) of its life cycle that are responsible for the greatest loss of yield.
(
b
)
During a six‑week monitoring period the following numbers of the first pest were recorded per 10 m²:
Week 1: 4 Week 2: 7 Week 3: 12 Week 4: 18 Week 5: 26 Week 6: 35
(i) Calculate the average weekly increase in pest numbers.
(ii) The economic threshold for this pest is 15 individuals per 10 m². State whether the threshold has been exceeded and, if so, at which week it first occurred.
(iii) Recommend a suitable control measure that could be implemented at that stage, justifying your choice.
(
c
)
The farmer decides to use a synthetic insecticide whose label recommends a spray rate of 2.5 L ha⁻¹ at a concentration of 0.20 % (v/v). Calculate:
(i) the total volume of spray mixture required for the whole 2.5‑ha field;
(ii) the volume of the concentrate (undiluted insecticide) that must be mixed to obtain the required concentration.
(
d
)
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of employing a biological control agent (e.g., a parasitoid wasp) instead of the chemical insecticide for managing the pest identified in part (a).
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About This Question
This is
Neco
2024
Agricultural Science
Question 7.
It is one of the
essay
questions from the
2024
Neco
Agricultural Science
examination.
The question covers
Crop Pests
.