KNEC KCSE Agriculture Paper 2 Question Paper / 2015 KCSE Meru South Form 4 Joint Examination

Breed of goat kept for hair production
− Angora goat / mohair 1 × 1 = 1 mark

Reinforcing barbed wire fence
– Use of droppers.
– Use of concrete to fix posts;
– Use of wire and wooden strainers.
– Use of struts and braces. 2 × ½ = 1 mark

Causes of infertility
– faulty / failure of the reproductive mechanism;
– poor feeding;
– breeding diseases; 2 × 1 = 2 marks

Pairs tools:
i) Hypodermic needle hypodermic syringe.
ii) Leading stick – bull ring;
iii) Elastractor – rubber ring;
iv) Canula – Trocar; 4 × ½ = 2 marks

Signs of anthrax
– Lack of rigor mortis.
– Dark red blood oozing out through the natural openings;
– Non clotting blood;
– Bloated / swollen stomach. 3 × ½ =1½ marks

Control of cannibalism
– Debeaking perpetual cannibals;
– Use of battery, cage system;
– Laying boxes being as dark as possible;
– Dim light in poultry houses; 4 × ½ = 2 marks

Intermediate hosts
a) Tapeworm – pig; cattle.
b) Liver fluke – mud snail / water snails. 2 × 1 = 2 marks

Cattle susceptible to milk fever
– Heavy milking cows / high yielding cows.
– Animals fed on feeds lacking calcium.
– Cows at 3rd – 4th lactation.
– Cows which had past cases of milk fever. 2 × 1 = 2 marks

When to prepare artificial colostrums
– Death of mother cow after birth.
– Absence of a foster mother.
– Mother cow having been milked upto four days prior to parturition 2 × 1 = 2 marks

Uses of gears
– Provide different forward speeds.
– Enable reversing.
– Allows tractor stopping without switching off the engine. 2 × 1 = 2 marks

Tools to lay concrete blocks
– Spirit level.
– Plumb bob / plumb line.
– Mason’s square / tape measure.
– String / line / masons hammer.
– Masons chisel / bolsters; 4 × ½ = 2 marks

State four characteristics of clean milk
– Free from pathogens.
– Of standard chemical composition;
– No physical dirt (like hairs, dust, dung)
– Good milk flavour.
– High keeping quality. 4 × ½ = 2 marks

Maintenance of cross cut saw
– Proper storage after use.
– Oil the blade to avoid rusting.
– Sharpen the teeth;

Set the teeth properly.
– Tighten the handle screws if loose / replace broken handles; 3 × ½ = 1½ marks

Causes of grass staggers
– Magnesium deficiency 1 × 1 = 1 mark

i) Incubation period – Time from entry of disease germ (pathogen) to the time symptoms show up
ii) Mortality rate – likelihood of death to occur in the herd in case of disease infection. 2 × 1 = 2 marks

Chemical causes of diseases
– If an animal eats, swallow or inhales chemicals like acids, alkalis, insecticides and herbicides it can be poisoned.
– Stings from certain insects insensitive parts of the body can cause;
– Some weeds in pasture are poisonous if eaten by animal, for example
Thorn apply (Datura stramonia); 2 × 1 = 2 marks

Give three parts of a building
– Foundation
– Walls
– The roof

a) Ascariasis; 1 × ½ = ½ mark
b) Reasons
– Presence of adult worms
– Presence of eggs of the worms
– Haemorrhage on the intestines.
– Presence of cysts. 4 × ½ = 2 marks
c) Worms control methods
– Routine drenching.
– Maintain proper hygiene
– Practise rotational grazing.
– Burning of grazing pastures. 4 × ½ = 2 marks

a) Induction stoke 1 × 1 = 1 mark
b) Petrol engine 1 × 1 = 1 mark
c) Presence of spark plug 1 × 1 = 1 mark
d) Compression stroke, followed by power stroke. 2 × ½ = 1 mark
e) Diesel engine 1 × 1 = 1 mark

a) m; 1 × ½ = ½ mark
b) 8 – 10 minutes 1 × ½ = ½ mark
c) Preparation before milking
− Bringing the animal to the milking stall.
− Provide feed in the feed trough.
− Secure the animal’s hind legs properly.
− Wash the animal’s udder.
− Wipe the udder with a clean cloth.
− For mastitis using a strip cup
− Milk the animal; 6 × ½ = 3 marks
d) Post milking practices
– Weighing and recording milk
– Sieving the milk.
– Cooling the milk 2 × ½ = 1 mark

a) Rotational grazing. 1×½=½ mark
b) Sequence of rotation.
NB: Arrows must be continuous in one direction: 1 × 1 = 1 mark
c) A is water trough 1 × 1 = 1 mark
d) A is at the centre to make water available to livestock grazing in all paddocks. 1 × 1 = 1 mark
e) Advantages of rotational grazing
– Livestock make maximum use of pastures.
– Reduces the build-up of pest and diseases.
– Animals waste is distributed evenly in all fields or paddocks.
– Pastures area is given time to re grow before it is grazed on again.
– Excess pasture can be harvested for conservation.
– It is possible to apply fertilizers in parts of the pasture which are not in use.
– Reseeding and weeding can be done when livestock leaves a paddock for another.

a) Explain the measures taken to prevent occurrence of livestock diseases.
– Deworming to control internal parasites:
– Rearing disease resistant breed of livestock; e.g. Zebu are resistant to ECF
– Proper nutrition by providing a balanced diet to avoid deficiency diseases.​

Use of healthy breeding stock of AI;
– Control of disease vectors e.g. tsetse fly
– Vaccinating health animals before infection to create immunity against specific diseases; e.g. foot and mouth, black quarter;
– Mass slaughter / culling of animals suffering from zoonotic diseases like anthrax; rinderpests.
– Quarantine to prevent animal movement into or out of disease outbreak areas:
– Isolation of sick animals to prevent spread of contagious diseases.
– Use of antiseptics and disinfectants on equipments to kill pathogens.
– Administering prophylactic drugs to prevent infection.
– Feeding livestock on dry roughage before provide succulent roughage to prevent bloat,
– Hoof trimming to minimise occurrence of foot rot disease.
– Proper housing to prevent pneumonia. 10 × 1 = 10 marks
b) Side effects of livestock diseases:
– Reduce market value of livestock.
– Spread diseases to man e.g. anthrax and brucellosis.
– Reduce the quality of products e.g. mastitis reduce quality of milk.
– Shorten productive life of an animal.
– High mortality rate.
– Lowered production.
– Some like vaginitis cause infertility. 5 × 1 = 5 marks
c) Ways of diseases spread.
– Contaminated feeds and water.
– Insect vectors and contaminated equipments.
– Contact with affected animals.
– Open wounds.
– Inhalation of pathogens.
– Mating.
– Suckling of young ones by dams.
– During parturition / kidding / lambing / delivery. 5 × 1 = 5 marks

a) Differences between Bostaurus and Bos indicus. 10 × 1 = 10 marks
b) Advantages of battery cage system in poultry rearing. (10 marks)
– Eggs produced remain clean
– Broodiness is discouraged.
– High stocking rate /many birds in a unit area.
– Feed and water are not contaminated.
– vices like cannibalism and egg eating are reduced.
– Individual records of egg laying can be kept
– More eggs are produced per bird.
– The system requires low labour.
– Is easy to clean and disinfect.
– Sick birds are easily identified and treated.
– Feeding and watering can be mechanised
– Different classes / ages of birds can be kept
– Less spread of diseases and parasites from a bird to others.
– It is easy to handle birds during routine management practices.
– Culls / culled birds have tender meat. 10 × 1 = 10 marks

a) Siting factors for farm structures
– The location of the homestead; homestead should be sited at a point that give it panoramic view;
– Accessibility – to most part of the farm.
– Security – housing structure should be sited at safe place to avoid theft of livestock.
– Drainage, the area should have good drainage to avoid flooding.
– Direction of the prevailing wind – structures like latrines should be sited on the leeward side of homestead to avoid foul smell
in the houses.
– Relationship between structures – related structures like milking parlour and calf pen should be near one another to save time.
– Famer’s taste and preference influence site of a structure like homestead away from the roads.
– Proximity of structure to existing amenities like water supply and electricity;
– Topography of the area – a slopy ground make construction of a building very expensive due to levelling
– Future expansion – should have free space for extension 10 × 1 = 10 marks
b) Factors that influence selection of construction materials.
– Availability of materials – select construction materials that are locally /readily available.
– Cost of the materials – select material that are cheapest as long as they meet other qualifications.
– Suitability of the materials to drainage of floor – keep off rain – light the room and temperature regulation
– Suitability of materials to the prevailing weather conditions.
– Durability of materials to reduce cost of repairs and maintenance​