Smart farms

: 06 July 2017; Hits: 19910

Human urine best fishpond fertiliser, research says

Fishpond officer Fredck Misoi at Kakamega ASK SHow.JPG

Kakamega Prison Officer Fredrick Misoi at an integrated fishpond site. Human urine has been identified as the fastest generator of of food for fish. Photo by Laban Robert.

Ponds fed with human urine generate food for fish faster by four days, while saving farmers at least 24kg of commercial fertiliser required after every two weeks, a new research has revealed.

At least 24kg of commercial nitrogenous fertiliser is applied per acre every two weeks, according to the global agency, Food and Agriculture Organisation.

But a research by the University of Kalyani, India, says half a litre of human urine is required for every 4,500 litres of water to trigger multiplication of zooplankton in four days. Plankton are colonies of green microscopic organisms that are major sources of food for fish.

The research compared half a kilo of human urine with cowdung, vermicompost, chicken drippings and cow urine.

In the various setups, Moina micrura plankton grew four days earlier in the human urine than the others.

The research, which was published in the Ecological Engineering journal, said that the readiness to release the rich nitrogen and other ions in the human urine quickened the propagation process of the plankton.

A 50kg bag of CAN fertiliser costs between Sh2,500 and Sh3,000 in Kenya. A farmer using human urine in fish production can save this amount every month given that the application is twice in the same period.

Jared Mokaya, a Kenya Prisons Officer in charge of agriculture in Nakuru correction facility, said high populations of plankton also help in purifying the pond water.

“The green micro-organisms collectively produce the highest amount of oxygen in the world. In the process of food manufacturing, they absorb carbon dioxide, which is released by the fish during respiration,” Mokaya said in an earlier interview with www.farmbiz.glorycarefoundation.org.

The officer has established and helps farmers come up with integrated fish ponds where rabbits and chicken houses are constructed over fish ponds to release their waste into the water. The urine and droppings promotes growth of the plankton in the pond. Vegetables are grown over the chicken and rabbit house to be the food for these animals.

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: 03 July 2017; Hits: 9735

Crisps reduce farmer's mango losses

Mango market- CCAFS-Cgiar.jpg

A farmer posses with mangoes. Kilifi farmer is drying mangoes for sale as crisps. Photo by CGIAR.

In countering loses in rotting of mangoes due to competition and over supply during harvest, Kilifi County farmer Juma Mwaringa has moved into drying and packaging the fruit into crisps using solar and wind power.

The farmer uses the hybrid wind and solar power machines to dry chopped crisps. The drier, which has turbines and solar panels can day and night provided there is wind. Solar panels mainly tap the energy at day time.

Global United Nations agency, Food and Agriculture organsiation , says 40 per cent of the total production annually goes to waste or lost. Kenya produces about 50,000 tons annually, of which about 45 per cent is lost in waste or rotting, according to the horticultural department.

This majorly happens when the local and international market are saturated.

Mwaringa has adopted the drying of the mangoes to extend their shelf-life from less than a week to about three months or more.

“When the mangoes are in plenty, the cost drops from about Sh30 to Sh10 for each mature fruit. But with this machine, I am not worried about going bad. I no longer struggle to sell fresh mangoes along the Mombasa Malindi Road as before because the dry ones fetch more,” he said.

Mwaringa sells a packet of 250g at an average of Sh150. About 90 per cent of the fruit is water, while the rest is flesh.

On average, one fresh mango can shrink to about 170g when dry. The same mango could have earned a maximum of Sh30 in retail in towns like Nairobi yet it needs a small top up o earn more than four times.

Packaging materials cost Sh5. Sealing of the polythene bags is done by folding and passing the edge near a flame of fire.

Mwaringa chops the flesh into discs of about five centimeters wide them in the solar-panel powered gadget to quicken the water loss process.

Besides the slowed loss rate, the farmer extends the shelf-life of the mangoes to more than three months.

“I rely on roadside vending. Sometimes I visit Watamu Beach wherever I know there are many people there,” Mwaringa said.

The drier uses wind power in absence of the sun. That means the turbines can run even at night if there is wind to generate the required heat to expel the moisture.

It takes about two days to dry 10 kilos of the mangoes.

Other farm produce can also be dried using the chamber.

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: 30 June 2017; Hits: 8436

Device saves over 60 per cent nutrient leaching loss

Aquacheck at work. The device can tell farmers when to irrigate crops. Photo courtesy.

While farmers are adopting irrigation for crop production on dry spells, a study has established that unmonitored water may lead to loss of more than half of the nutrients through leaching.

A research by the Crop Nutrition Services Limited found that farmers lose up to 60 per cent of nutrients to the lower soil regions where crop roots my not reach. This leads to low productivity as the crops remain stunted as well as failure to meet the nutrients required for various functions like flowering.

“In irrigation of 16m³ per acre in one day, there was evidence of strong nutrient leaching in all sites with nitrates and calcium being the most lost at 60cm and 90cm depth,” the study revealed.

Crop Nutrition Agronomist Emmanuel Kibet said ‘blind irrigation’ does not give farmers value for their money.

Aquacheck-soil moisture probe is an irrigation system that allows farmers to manage their irrigation efficiently, it measures moisture up to six depths and even beyond (has sensors at each 10cm depth).

This allows the farmer to know the moisture levels all the way down the rooting depth thus allowing them to decide when it is right time to irrigate and what amounts of water to irrigate. Different soil types have different properties and holds different amount of water, he said.

“Leaching lead to loses of nutrient before utilisation by the crop. A farmer will be tempted to increase the frequency of fertiliser application when they notice the health of the crop is diminishing. With accurate data on how much water is available in the soil for the crop, a farmer can regulate the irrigation frequency for optimum results,” he said.

Reducing the irrigation –when not necessary from the available data- intervals decreases pumping, labour, and water bill costs.

Mr Kibet is working with farmers in Kiambu County, soil moisture sensors are being used to determine the amount of water required for the crops to do well.

The sensor, also known as Aquacheck, is installed in the soil where it keeps track of the amount of available water moisture against soil particles at a two hour interval.

The data is sent to a computer or a smart phone, where it is presented in graphs. The trained farmer interprets the results for action, the agronomist said.

If the water is sufficient, one can skip irrigation until there is need.

For one piece sufficiently monitors a maximum area of up to three acres. It can also be used in greenhouses.

Although the initial cost may be high for most small-scale farmers, Mr Kibet said the accumulated saving from the irrigation and leaching are worth investment.

With the statistics, it means that excess irrigation can drain 30kg out of 50kg applied on a given piece of land.

Kibet can be reached on +254720646976

Crop Nutrition office: +254 736 839933, + 254 720 639933

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