Smart farms

: 01 December 2021; Hits: 5447

Basic mosquito net an easy guard from pests in nurseries

net

Immediate laying a of a net over a nursery bed can prevent pest which attack seedlings as the intuders search for cell sap, leaves or stems to feed on.

Many a time, seedlings die following heavy infestation, which also puts them at risk of contracting diseases transmitted by pests like insects.

A new net or repaired one would keep away grasshoppers and snails that feed on the leaves of the young plants. Caterpillars attack leaves and stems of tomatoes, cabbage, chilly, among others.

Similarly, nets would also keep off moths, which lay eggs on the seedling at night. The eggs later hatch into larvae before cutting the stems, or feed on the leaves.

White flies cause massive damage on young plants too. They suck the cell sap besides transmitting viral diseases. Notably, Access Agriculture, an agricultural research institution, says the flies die after the first application of pesticide. By the second and subsequent application, the fly could have created resistance against the pesticide.

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That means the pesticide will go to waste besides endangering humans and the environment because of their chemical components.

Laying a shield does not require much expertise. With a locally available net a farmer can pin small posts around the nursery bed and lay strong sticks from one end to the other to elevate the net to about one mitre.

Approximately one mitre of the material is covered by soil around the bed to prevent entry of pest.

Watering can be done directly from outside the shield. It should be removed only when the seedlings are ready to be transplanted.

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: 01 December 2021; Hits: 5066

How mango farmers organically reduce whiteflies by over 80%

white fly jar

ango farmers have created a trap that kills whiteflies, a pest that causes 80-90 per cent damage to the fruit, through the use of a pheromone chemical that is used to attract male whiteflies and kill them.

Kenya being the third-largest producer of mangoes in Africa and mainly exporting to United Arabs, Kenyan mangoes face stiff competition from mangoes from Nigeria, due to high infestation rate of the whiteflies. This resulted to Kenya deciding to ban the export of locally produced mangoes in a bid to combat the pest.

One such farmer who was among the first casualties of the ban was Mr. John Mutua a local farmer in Makueni County.

“When the ban first put on locally produced mangoes, my consignment was returned on the basis of high infestation by the flies. This made me suffer a great loss business-wise for me,” says Mutua.

As a result of not knowing the best way to eradicate the pest majority of farmers decide to spray their crops with several insecticides which also entirely do not help.

“The biggest mistake most farmers do is directly spraying insecticide on to the tree of the fruit. This method does not really help in eradication of the pest. Instead, they end up causing a lot of chemical build up on the fruits. Farmers could use jar traps to deal with the pest,” says Peter Wabomba a pest control expert.

The trap is a jar covered with a lid and punched holes on the sides the holes are laced with a pheromone a chemical used to attract male fruit flies within a radius of one Km of the farm. The chemical makes male flies to think they are going towards female flies to mate but instead, they die immediately they enter the jar. The more males that die, the lower the chances of fertilization, meaning that finally, the pests are eradicated.

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This use of this method ensures there is zero to minimal chemical residue on the fruit. This method of eradication was first used in Elgeyo Marakwet that has helped farmers get rid of this pest.

whitefly

“I remember during, my last planting season I Lost almost 80 per cent of my produce before I realized that it was the flies that were causing the damage. If you would look at the fruit from the outside it looked good, but once you cut it to the fruit it would be all rotten. But after I started using these traps, my produce for the past two seasons have been good and I was able to get Sh 1m after production costs are removed,” says John Kiplagat.

Another method farmers could use to protect their fruits is by sterilization of the male flies this way, once they mate with the female flies, they will not lay fertile eggs. This is a method that is set to completely eradicate this pest.

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: 01 December 2021; Hits: 5227

Climbing legumes offer Coastal dairy farmers high protein supplement

clitoria

Smallholder farmers in the coastal region of Kenya can triple milk yields from five to fifteen liters per cow by feeding their cows on creeping legumes such as clitoria and mucuna. These legumes are perennial plants rich in protein content, a key component in improving milk production efficiency and can be fed to dairy animals for up to four years.

A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics released in September 2017 shows that milk production in Kenya dropped by 17.5 per cent in the first five months of the year. The report indicates 215.9 million liters were sold to processors between January and May compared to 261.9 million liters in a similar period last year.

A research conducted by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) reports that clitoria, mucuna, siratro and dolichos legumes do well in coastal lowlands and can be mixed with Napier grass for increased milk yields in dairy cows.

KALRO’s dairy researcher Sammy Tangus said that dairy cows fed on Napier grass alone yield only five liters per cow which is inadequate for commercialization by small scale farmers in region.

“Dairy cows give more milk when they are fed on forage legumes. Legumes such as clitoria for instance are easy to grow and do not need to be weeded once they are well established, this means farmers can save on weeding costs” said Tangus.

“Farmers should not over rely on Napier grass only; they should diversify into these better forages”

Farmers can obtain legume seeds to plant in their farms at various seed producing companies such as Simlaw seeds, the East African seed company or the Kenya seed Company. One kilogram of the seeds cost Sh500.

To plant clitoria/siratro farmers should make furrows on a cultivated piece of land using a pointed stick. The space furrows should be 1.5 feet (45cm) apart. Seeds should be drilled in the furrows and covered with soil.

For dolichos/mucuna the spacing is recommended at three feet (90cm) by 1.5 feet (45cm). Two seeds should be planted per hole. Forage legumes can be intercropped with Napier grass, cassava or maize.

After three months the plants will mature and ready for harvesting. They should be cut at 6 inches above the ground and the process repeated every two to three months. Dolichos and mucuna can be cut quarterly until they dry up. Clitoria and siratro are perennial plants which can be fed to dairy animals for up to four years hence farmers will save on purchase of commercial feeds.

Clioria and siratro can yield 2500 to 3750kg of fresh forage per acre while dolichos and mucuna yield between 3500 to 4500kg.

Eight (8) kg of fresh legumes fed together with 60-70kg of fresh Napier grass will support milk yield up to 15 liters per cow per day. Growing of these legumes can save farmers 30 per cent of money which could have otherwise been used to purchase feeds.

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