Part 1 resources of crop production –
1 Climate –
Light –
Rainfall –
Air temperature –
Soil temperature –
Evapo-transpiration –
2 Tropical soils –
Soil physical properties –
Chemical properties –
Nutrient supply and fertilisers –
Part 2 principles of crop production –
3 Physiological aspects of crop production –
Photosynthesis –
Soil moisture –
Growth analysis –
Modifying the crop environment –
4 Cropping systems –
Shifting cultivation –
continuous cropping –
Mixed cropping –
Mixed farming –
Monocropping –
Crop rotation –
Ley farming –
Alley cropping –
5 Principles of crop husbandry –
Tillage –
Irrigation –
Drainage –
Crop improvement –
Propagation of fruit crops –
Crop variety and seed quality –
Planting and sowing –
Fertiliser use and management –
Weed management –
Pest and disease management –
Harvesting –
Crop storage –
Marketing of agricultural crops –
Forage crops –
Part 3 production practices –
Cereal and sugar crops –
Rice –
Maize –
Sorghum –
Millet –
Wheat –
Barley –
Acha –
Sugarcane –
Oilseed crops –
Groundnut –
Castor –
Benniseed –
Niger seed –
Sunflower –
Safflower –
Oil palm –
Coconut –
Shea butter –
Other oilseed crops –
Grain legumes –
Cowpea –
Soyabean –
Pigeon pea –
Chickpea –
Harricot and lima beans –
Other grain legumes –
Fibre crops –
Cotton –
Sisal –
Jute –
Kenaf –
Silk cotton –
Rubber –
Root and tuber crops –
Cassava –
Yam –
Sweet potato –
Irish potato –
Cocoyam –
Carrot –
Other edible root and tuber crops –
Fruit, vegetable and spice crops –
Tomato –
Eggplant –
Onion –
Okra –
Chillies –
Pepper –
Plantains and bananas –
Avocado pear –
Ginger –
Melon –
Pawpaw –
Grape –
Pineapple –
Citrus –
Guava –
Mango –
Cashew –
Date palm –
Locust bean –
Other edible fruit and vegetable crops –
Beverages, stimulants and insecticides –
Coffee –
Cocoa –
Tea –
Kola –
Tobacco –
Pyrethrum –
Forage crops –
Forage grasses –
Forage legumes –
Grass legume mixtures –
Fodder from trees and shrubs –
Cultivation practices.

"Increased agricultural production has been widely identified as the key to sustained socio-economic advancement in most of the developing nations of the world, nearly all of which lie within the tropics. Several factors have combined to place agriculture in its present position in tropical and subtropical countries, but the three main considerations are:
1. Over 60% of the workforce in the tropics is engaged in agriculture and allied fields, which provide important employment opportunities.
2. The rapidly expanding populations in the developing countries need to be adequately fed and this requires sustained increases in agricultural production.
3. Farmers need to produce substantially more than their immediate subsistence requirements to allow them to exchange any surplus for manufactured goods and services, both nationally and internationally. In many of the developing countries of the world, agricultural produce provides the only means of procuring the foreign exchange needed for development.
Agricultural production normally comprises two major aspects; crop production and livestock production. This book deals only with crop production. Increased crop production may be achieved by increasing the hectarage in use or the productivity per unit area of land under cultivation. Increasing the hectarage can be achieved by opening up new lands and by multiple cropping. Only marginal increases have occurred from the opening up of new lands across the tropics, while multiple cropping can only be recommended for areas where adequate climatic resources for production are available for a period of the year long enough to accommodate more than one crop.
The books presently available on tropical agriculture are clearly inadequate, and do not meet the demands posed by the continuous efforts to in- crease crop yields. The inevitable shift from the traditional, non-intensive methods of farming to the semi-intensive and continuous cultivation techniques has to be matched with appropriate production technologies. This book is intended to serve agricultural students at the diploma level, those studying for a National Certificate in Education or for the Interim Joint Matriculation Board, as well as those in the initial years of a first degree programme in Agriculture. In addition, the book is recommended as a reference text in tropical agriculture, particularly for people involved in agricultural services and development.
This volume is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the resources of the crop environment, including climate and soils. The second part covers the general cropping systems used in the tropics and the basic principles of crop production. The final part covers the specific production techniques for various crops grown in the tropics. As far as possible, use has been made of the latest research findings and most examples cited are taken from recent publications and research data."