Topic 6 of 7 · Form 6
Agricultural engineering, irrigation and mechanisation
Human, animal (oxen, donkeys), mechanical (tractors) and renewable (solar pumps, wind). The power take-off (PTO), hydraulics and drawbar of a tractor.
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Farm power
Human, animal (oxen, donkeys), mechanical (tractors) and renewable (solar pumps, wind). The power take-off (PTO), hydraulics and drawbar of a tractor.
Tillage and implements
Primary tillage (mouldboard and disc ploughs, rippers), secondary tillage (harrows), planters, sprayers (calibration), and harvesters. Conservation tillage reduces soil disturbance.
Worked example: A knapsack sprayer delivers 0.4 litres over a 20 m² test area. Find the application rate per hectare.
Rate = 0.4 × (10 000 ÷ 20) = 200 L/ha
Irrigation
- Methods: surface (furrow, basin), sprinkler (overhead, centre pivot), drip.
- Irrigation scheduling: based on crop water requirements (evapotranspiration × crop coefficient), soil water-holding capacity and rainfall.
- Water quality (salinity) and drainage to avoid waterlogging and salinisation.
- Efficiency: drip about 90%, sprinkler about 75%, surface about 50–60%.
Farm structures
Animal housing, storage (granaries, silos, cold rooms), dams and weirs, fencing and dip tanks.
Renewable energy
Solar-powered boreholes and irrigation are expanding in rural Zimbabwe.
Check yourself
- Which irrigation method has the highest water-use efficiency?
- Give one advantage of conservation tillage.
- State one cause of salinisation.
Show answers
- Drip irrigation.
- Any one: less erosion, better moisture retention, lower fuel and labour costs, improved soil structure.
- Evaporation of irrigation water leaving salts behind, especially with poor drainage.
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