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The Traditional Field Crops manual is designed as a learning tool and on-the-job reference for Peace Corps Volunteers involved in small farmer crop improvement programs in maize, sorghum, millet, peanuts, beans and cowpeas. Although written to be readily understood by nonspecialists, the manual contains much information useful to trained agriculturalists and to planners and trainers. Primarily designed to help Volunteers develop and strengthen the agricultural skills they need for successful work with the target crops, this manual focuses on the following areas:
· Surveying and interpreting the local agricultural environment and individual farm units
· Developing agricultural extension techniques and practices
· Providing basic "hands-on" and technical skills for extension workers in operations from farm land preparation through harvest, including some routine troubleshooting.
To do this, the manual provides a summary of current crop production recommendations under varying conditions of climate, soils, management ability, and available capital; identifies useful field references and other technical resources, including information on improvements in equipment for small farmer row crop production; and reviews recent research advances and extension efforts in target crop yield improvement with special emphasis on the role of international crop institutes. Scientific names are used along with common names to avoid confusion, as one common name may refer to a number of different species.
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