Practical/Field Work and Project Assessment
Practical and Field Work marks come from the record book, field layout skills, measurement accuracy and the viva on your project. Examiners check whether your numbers are correct, unit-labelled and reproducible.
Field layout and observation
A field experiment needs a stated plot size, replications and randomisation of treatments (randomised block design is standard). Record sowing date, plot dimensions, treatment, and each observation with its date; never enter a figure without a unit.
Standard practical calculations
- Germination % = (seeds germinated ÷ seeds sown) × 100.
- Yield per hectare = plot yield × (10 000 ÷ plot area in m²).
- Soil sampling: collect from 0–15 cm depth in a zig-zag pattern from several spots, mix, quarter to about 500 g, air-dry and label.
- Milk fat by Gerber method; sprayer calibration; 1000-grain weight.
Worked example
A net plot of 4 m × 5 m = 20 m² yields 12 kg of wheat grain. Yield per hectare = 12 × (10 000 ÷ 20) = 12 × 500 = 6 000 kg/ha = 60 q/ha. If the same plot germinated 180 of 200 seeds, germination = 90%. Reasoning: convert plot data to a hectare basis before comparing with the recommended yield.
Project report
Title, objectives, materials, methods, results, conclusion, and references - with photographs or tables of your own data. The viva usually probes why a treatment worked and what you would change.
Traps that cost marks
Forgetting the 10 000 m² conversion; recording a mean without replications; sampling soil from one spot only; leaving dates and units out of the record book.