KCSE 2024 Agriculture Paper 1 Marking Scheme

SECTION A (30 marks)

Four methods of draining swamps for vegetable production:

• Use of open ditches; Accept Canals & furons
• Use of underground pipes;
• Use of French drains;
• Use of cambered beds;
• Pumping;
• Planting of trees;

Four factors that determine the quality of farmyard manure:

• Type of animal used; speaes
• Type of food eaten;
• Type of litter used;
• Method of storage;
• Age of farmyard manure;

Four reasons why land fragmentation is common:

• Buying and selling portions of land;
• Inheritance;
• Resettlement;
• Settlement;
• Land speculation;
• Switching from communal to individual ownership;

Four types of soil erosion on steep slopes:

• Rill erosion; Riverbank
• Gulley; Mass wasting
• Solifluction/Mass wasting
• Land slide;
• splash

(a) Bird

• Weaver bird;
• Quelea quelea
• Sunbird; Sparrow
• Domestic fowl/chicken

(b) Rodents

• Moles;
• Rats;
• Squirrels;
• Mice

SECTION A (30 marks)

Four symptoms of viral diseases in crops:

• Leaf chlorosis;
• Leaf curling;
• Light green / yellow patches / mosaic
• Malformation / distortion of plant parts / stunted growth
• Rosette / abnormally short internodes;

Four factors that make black jack more competitive than beans:

• Ability to produce large quantities of seeds;
• Seeds remain viable in the soil for long period;
• Seeds have effective dispersion mechanisms;
• Ability to survive even where there is limited supply of nutrients;
• Short life cycle;

Four reasons tea is important to Kenyan economy

• Earn foreign exchange;
• Source of employment;
• Source of raw materials for industries;
• Provide market for industrial goods;
• Provide capital for other investments;
• Beverage supply;

Four factors of production:

• Land;
• Capital;
• Labour;
• Management / Entrepreneurship

Four pieces of information recorded in a master roll:

• Name of the worker / ID number of the worker
• Payroll number;
• Days worked;
• Rate of payment;
• Wage / salary;
• Signature of the worker
• Total pay

SECTION A (30 marks)

Four ways in which soil pH influences crop production:

• Influence choice of crop to grow;
• Influences availability of plant nutrients;
• Affects activities of certain soil organism;
• Increase incidences of certain soil-borne pests and diseases;
• Determines the type of fertilizer to apply;

Four sites of growing agroforestry trees:

• Boundaries;
• River banks;
• Terraces;
• Slopes;
• Homestead;
• Woodlot;

Advantages of timely planting:

• To escape crop pests/diseases;
• Out compete/ smother weeds;
• Benefit from nitrogen flash;
• Maximise on rainfall duration;
• Fetch high market price;
• Matures during the dry period;
• Utilize available moisture in the soil.

Four sources that can provide knowledge:

• Agricultural farmers/ centres;
• Agricultural shows;
• Farmers field days;
• Farmers cooperatives/ associations;
• Agricultural extension services;
• Media (social, print);
• Private agricultural related enterprises;

Advantages of having a title deed:

• Title can be used to secure credit;
• It confers security of tenure;
• Minimises land dispute;
• Security of tenure encourages investment in long term projects;
• Enable owner to lease part of the land for extra income;
• Facilitate sale of land;

SECTION B (20 marks)

(a) Pest - Cotton stainer / Dysdercus spp / Dysdercus cingulatus

(b) Classification of the pest

Insect with piercing and sucking mouth part

(c) Two damages caused by the pest

• Staining cotton bolls
• Sucking plant sap
• Transmission of diseases

(d) One control measure

• Hand-picking & killing
• Spray with appropriate chemicals / insecticides
• Resistant varieties
• Crop rotation / clean field hygiene

(a) Identify the correctly transplanted seedling:

G

(b) Reason

Planted at the same depth as it was in the nursery

(c) Three management practices carried out immediately after transplanting:

• Watering;
• Mulching;
• Protection / shades

(a) Calculate the plant population:

Area of the land = 5000 m²

Area occupied by one plant = 2.75m x 2.75m

= 50m x 100m

= 2.75m x 2.75m

= 661 plants

(b) Quantity of CAN required:

Nitrogen required = 100kg / 2 = 50kg

CAN contains 25% N required

SECTION B (20 marks)

(c) Cost of fertilizer

50 kg of CAN cost 5000/=

200kg CAN will cost

= 20,000/-

19. (a) Identification of:

- Striga / witch weed / Striga hermonthica

(b) Two characteristics that make weed labelled J more competitive:

- It’s a parasitic weed;

- It produces many seeds;

- Seeds remains viable in the soil for a long time;

- Seeds are easily dispersed

(c) One harmful effect of weed labelled J

- Lowers quality of wheat

Nursery establishment:

• Site nursery in well protected and drained region;
• Prepare soil to fine tilth;
• Prepare shallow drills about 10cm apart;
• Drill the seeds evenly;
• Cover the seeds lightly with soil;
• Mulch: apply mulch on the bed;
• Water the nursery bed;
• Remove the mulch upon germination;
• Construct a thin shade over the nursery;
• Water the nursery regularly;
• Carry out hardening off two weeks to transplanting;
• Apply phosphatic fertilizer

Field Management:

• Water the seedlings in dry conditions;
• Gapping is done to ensure uniform spacing in the rows;
• Weed the seedbed to keep off weeds;
• Remove the soil around the roots and expose the bulb for expansion;
• Top dress three months after transplanting with CAN fertilizer
• Control pests such as onion thrips by spraying appropriate insecticide;
• Control common diseases such as downy mildew by crop rotation and use of appropriate fungicide;
• Bend the tops to prepare the bulbs for harvesting;
• Dig up the bulbs to dry in the shade;
• Turn the bulbs daily to ensure even-drying;
• Thinning-where direct planting is done

Maize Production

(i) Land preparation:

• Clear the land using appropriate tools;
• Primary cultivation using a jembe/ox-plough/disc plough;
• Secondary cultivation to obtain moderate tilth using a jembe/disc harrow/fork jembe;

(ii) Planting:

• Plant early at the onset of rains;
• Plant at a depth of 2.5 to 10cm deep;
• Plant at spacing of 20-30cm by 75 to 90 cm;
• Plant 1 or 2 seeds per hole;
• Plant using hand method or planter;
• Plant using phosphatic fertilizers/organic manure/accept a handful of manure/hole.

(iii) Field Management:

• Weed control;
• Fertilizer application/ top dress with nitrogenous fertilizer/ N/P/K/ 200kg N/ha
• Pest control;
• Disease control;
• Watering/irrigation;
• Gapping;
• Thinning;

(iv) Harvesting

• Done after 4 - 9 months depending on variety and / at 20% moisture content;
• Maize stalks are cut and stoked to allow cobs to dry properly;
• Cobs are removed by hand de-husking
• Harvesting can also be done using combine harvesters;

Marking Scheme

Utilisation of napier grass:

• Cut and fed to livestock when stems are 1.5m high or when 3 - 5 months old;
• Stems are cut using a panga or machete 2-5cm above soil surface to facilitate fast regrowth;
• The panga should be sharp to avoid destroying the stump;
• Excess napier grass can be conserved as silage for future use;
• Using a panga or chaff cutter, chop the forage into small pieces before feeding to livestock;

Importance of any three layers of soil profile:

• Superficial layer: - contains a layer of decaying matter;
• Top Soil: contains a well aerated soil with nutrients for crop growth;
• Subsoil: an impermeable layer that delays drainage making water and nutrients available to the crops;
• Substratum or weathered rock: contains partly weathered rock that hold water, availing it to roots of big trees during dry season.
• Parent rock forms ponds of water and determine characteristics of soil in a region.

(c) Five roles of farm manager:

• Short term planning;
• Long term planning;
• Information gathering;
• Comparing the standards of one's enterprise with set standards;
• Identify weaknesses and constrains and find solutions;
• Implement farm decisions;
• Keep farm records;