NQF Level: 2 US No: 116119 Assessment Guide Primary Agriculture Plant Propagation Assessor:.......................................... Workplace / Company:................................. Commodity:................... Date:.................. The availability of this product is due to the financial support of the National Department of Agriculture and the AgriSETA.
2 Before we start T his assessment guide contains all necessary activities and instructions that will enable the assessor and learner to gather evidence of the learner s competence as required by the unit standard. This guide was designed to be used by a trained and accredited assessor whom is registered to assess this specific unit standard as per the requirements of the AgriSETA ETQA. Prior to the delivery of the program the facilitator and assessor must familiarize themselves with content of this guide, as well as the content of the relevant Learner Workbook. Please Note: This Unit Standard 116119 Assessment Guide must be read in conjunction with the generic Assessor Guide as prescribed and published by the AgriSETA. The assessor, facilitator and learner must plan the assessment process together, in order to offer the learner the maximum support, and the opportunity to reflect competence. The policies and procedures that are required during the application of this assessment are available on the website of the AgriSETA and should be strictly adhered to. The assessor must familiarise him/herself with this document before proceeding. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for the assessment process of: Title: Demonstrate an Understanding of Plant Propagation US No: 116119 NQF Level: 2 Credits: 3 This unit standard is one of the building blocks in the qualification listed below. Please mark the qualification you are currently assessing, because that will be determined by the context of application: Title ID Number NQF Level Credits Mark National Certificate in Animal Production 48976 2 120 National Certificate in Mixed Farming Systems 48977 2 120 National Certificate in Plant Production 48975 2 120 Please mark the learning program you are enrolled in: Are you enrolled in a: Y N Learnership? Skills Program? Short Course? Note to Assessor: If you are assessing this module as part of a full qualification or learnership, please ensure that you have familiarized yourself with the content of the qualification.
3 1 SO 1 Instructions to learner: Brainstorm with your partner(s) and answer the following questions. Learner Guide: Page 13 Facilitator Guide: Page 10 1. Name the environmental factors that must be controlled during propagation. Temperature, moisture content of growth media, light, ventilation, humidity 2. Define the term respiration and name the environmental factor that promotes for this process. Respiration refers to the process during which the plant takes up oxygen (O 2 ) for burning (oxidizing) carbohydrates to release energy. Water and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is released. Temperature promotes respiration. 3. Define the term photosynthesis. What substance is produced during this process? Photosynthesis refers to the chemical reaction that takes place in green plants when the plant takes up CO 2, uses the energy from light to combine it with water molecules in the plant to produce carbohydrates (food). O 2 is released during this process. 4. What methods are used to maintain the ideal temperature for propagation? (a) Open field (b) Nursery (a) Open field not much can be done. If irrigation water is available, temperature can be manipulated to a small extent. (b) Nursery an ideal temperature regime can be created for each crop species. To increase temperature heaters fuelled by gas, burning coal etc. can be used. To decrease temperature, wet walls and fans, water and air conditioners can be used.
4 2 SO 2 Instructions to learner: Explore, identify and report back Learner Guide: Page 27 Facilitator Guide: Page 11 Go around in your community and identify the crops being produced in your area. Enquire from the farmer(s) how he/she propagates the specific crop(s) and what tools and equipment are used for propagation of the crops. Also find out if they use any safety, sanitation and hygiene protocols when propagating their corps. Take pictures of the propagation material (if available), tools and equipment used in propagation and facilities where propagation is done. Make notes of the answers and answer the following questions. 1. Name at least three crops generally produced in your community. Verify it the crops mentioned is being propagated in the community. 2. What propagation method(s) are used for the crops you named for question 1? Paste pictures. Verify how the crops are propagated in the community. Can be seed, seedlings, vegetative material (tuber, bulbs etc.) and tissue culture. 3. What tools or equipment are used in the propagation of the crops in question 1? Verify what tools and equipment are used in propagating the crops in the community. Can be pruning shears,grafting knifes, seedling trays etc. 4. Do you think the farmers could have used other, more safe or applicable tools and equipment, than the ones mentioned in question 3? Defend your answer. If yes: Verify that the tools or equipment mentioned can be used. Their motivation should show there understanding of safety and keeping an open mind to new products available. If no: Their motivation should be valid. It maybe to expensive to get more applicable, modern and safe equipment and tools. The farmers may already be using the best tools and equipment available.
5 5. Why are sanitation, sterilization, safety and hygiene important? Learner should reflect his/her own experiences. Should show an understanding of how dangerous poor safety measurements, sanitation, sterilization and hygiene for their own health and also that of the crop. They should explain how diseases can be spread without proper hygiene etc. 6. Are there any safety, hygiene and sanitation protocols in place on the farms you visited? Make a list of these protocols. If yes: Verify that safety, hygiene and sanitation protocols are in place in the community. Verify the type of protocols like washing hands after using the bathroom, dipping tools and equipment into a sanitation liquid after each treatment etc. is being done. If no: Verify that there is no such protocol in place. 7. What safety, hygiene and sanitation protocols would you recommend for those situations where there are no or very little protocols in place? Learner should reflect his/her own experiences. Verify that the proposed protocols are applicable.
6 3.1 SO 3 Instructions to learner: Answer the following questions: Learner Guide: Page 33 Facilitator Guide: Page 12 1. What are the indicators of successful propagation? Trueness-to-Name Different cultivars of crops have different traits. These traits must be retained in the propagated plant material. The correct cultivar with few deviations from the original stock is expected at the end of the production chain. Trueness-to-Type The external traits of the plant, such as fruit-shape and size, must be identical to those of the mother-plant in a given environment. Freedom from Pathogens Viruses, fungi and bacteria are a threat to the survival of the crop industry and must not be present in propagated plant material. Once a plant has been infected, the pathogen may become part of the plant. Only propagating clean plant material will ensure success. 2. What are the indicators of unsuccessful propagation? Dead buds, diseased plants, mixed cultivars, and inferior plants are the main indicators of unsuccessful propagation. 3. Who sets the standards for successful propagation? The end user. It can be the farmer him/herself or a client of the nursery.
7 3.2 SO 3 Instructions to learner: Practical experience of propagating a crop Learner Workbook: Page 34 Facilitator Guide: Page 12 Go to a nursery and produce tomato seedlings with the material provided. Make notes of all that you do as you go along. Ask the manager in charge to take care of the seedlings if you are not able to go there on a regular basis. Go back to the nursery six weeks after sowing and evaluate the resulting seedlings. Take pictures of every step as well as of the final product. Now write a report on how you propagated the tomato seedlings. This includes the initial preparation of the growing media etc... Make use of your notes and pictures to facilitate this process. Evaluate your success or failure to produce seedlings which are in accordance to the guidelines set by the nursery manager. Also include any problems, mistakes etc. which was made during the propagation action and say how you can improve future endeavors. Learner should give accurate account of how the seedlings were produced. What they used, how it was used, what problems etc. were encountered. They should end off by making suggestions on how to improve future propagation processes.
8 Summative Test and Attitude & Attribute Evaluation B efore the knowledge test is undertaken, the learner must be reminded of what is expected from him / her in terms of summative and reflexive competence. Read and explain to the learner, the Preparation for Your Final Assessment section in the learner workbook. Learners and assessor should sign off this section to acknowledge that this step was completed. Please set up a knowledge test from the questions given as a guideline to learners and supply each learner with a test sheet. Supply each report with the following heading: Unit Standard: 116119 NQF Level: 2 Learner Name: Questions Model Answers 1. Describe the ideal propagation environment for a plant? 2. Explain what kinds of Hygiene procedures you would applied during the propagation process. 3. Explain how you prepared the propagation material and propagation media before propagation starts. Should indicate that temperature is very important and optimum temperature is specific for a crop. Water, moisture in the substrate, light, ventilation and humidity should also be mentioned. See session two in Learner Guide Basics of personal hygiene and sanitizing tools, equipment and growth media. Propagation material Seed treat with a fungicide if one is not yet applied. Remove all obvious diseased and damaged seeds and discard these. Vegetative material - treat with a fungicide if one is not yet applied. Remove all obvious diseased and damaged material and discard these Propagation media Soil in open field or in seedling beds do all the actions necessary to obtain a well prepared seed bed plough, incorporating chemicals (herbicides, nutrients, etc.) as well as fumigation of soil. Growth media in nursery thoroughly sterilizing and mixing of the media with nutrients and chemicals as needed.
9 Questions Model Answers 4. If you had to explain to a friend or fellow worker what kind of routine duties someone who works in a propagation environment would do, what would you say? 5. Explain what kinds of tools and equipment you can use to prepare propagation material, and how you used them correctly. 6. Give a step-by-step account of a grafting procedure. 7. Explain the difference between sexual and asexual plant propagation. Give an example of plants at each method of propagation. 8. List 3 hygiene/sanitation risks in a plant propagation environment. What risk do they pose? Start of by deciding what crop and cultivar to produce. Acquire the propagation material for that specific crop and cultivar. Then prepare the soil or propagation media. Now the propagation action can proceed. See session 2 in Learner Guide. See session 2 in Learner Guide. Sexual with seed, exp. Tomato, maize and cabbage Asexual with vegetative plant part (stem, leaf, and root), exp. Potato (tuber), fruit trees (stem grafting), African violets (leaves) and sugar cane (stem). Dirty hands spreading of diseases Dirty tools/equipment spreading of diseases from contaminated/diseased plants to non infected plants. Diseased plant material - spreading of diseases from contaminated/diseased plants to non infected plants.
10 Assessment Feedback Form Comments / Remarks Feedback to learner on assessment and / or overall recommendations and action plan for competence: Feedback from learner to assessor: Assessment Judgement You have been found: Competent Not yet competent in this unit standard Learner s Signature: Actions to follow: Date: Assessor report to ETQA Learner results and attendance certification issued Assessor s Signature: Date: Moderator s Signature: Date: