Smart farms

: 24 May 2016; Hits: 14069

Zero Fly storage bags to reduce post harvest loses by 30%

Grain farmers who have been losing up 30 percent of their yield to post harvest insecticides in Kenya can now rest easy, thanks to the successful test achieved by the first ever insecticide incorporated storage bags that completely curb pest infestation.

Dubbed Zero Fly, these unique storage bags has an active deltamethrin, a FAO and WHO certified pesticide that is incorporated into the individual yarn and slowly released onto the surface of the material in a controlled and sustained manner. Grains stored in the bag is therefore continuously protected against insect infest station for the lifetime of the product.

The bags which are produced by Vestergaard and have been tested in various global markets including US, India, Senegal, Ethopia, Nigeria and Ghana are capable of killing all types of granary weevils, borers, beetles and moths that normally attack common grains including maize, rice, sorghum, groundnuts, beans and millet.

According to Vestergaard, deltamethrin is released to the surface of the yarn for a minimum of two years; hence these bags can safeguard cereals against pest attacks for at least the same period. Unlike other forms of post harvest pest control in cereals that include regular application of pesticides, which is not only hazardous but also expensive and time consuming, Zero Fly bags are self sustaining and long lasting.

These insecticides incorporated storage bags is expected to help reduce the rampant post harvest loses in the continent and perhaps help seal the continent’s huge food deficit. Currently, at least 1 in every 5 Africans go without food, even as the continent struggle to match the world in realization of post Millennium Development Goals.

According to the World Bank, a 1 percent reduction in post-harvest losses corresponds to a gain of $40 million, with farmers as key beneficiaries. The value of post-harvest losses in Sub-Saharan Africa alone is nearly $ 4 billion a year out of an annual grain value of $27 billion. An estimated 10 to 30 percent of worldwide annual food production is lost during post-harvest processes. This impacts the farmer with loss of profitability and has a detrimental effect on global food security.

Poor grains storage like the use of the same bins or bags year after year without proper hygiene provides a continuous chain of infestation, this according to Vestergaard. It explained that Insects can hibernate or even continue to feed on wooden structures of the store or hide between holes and cracks in the walls. They can then rein fest the new crop in the same store and resume feeding.

The company has already released 50kg bags in the market and are retailing at sh800. For more information about these bags, 0204444758/9 or visit www.vestergaard.com/our-product/zerofly.

Tags: FAO, World Bank, Zero Fly Bags, Vestergaard

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: 24 May 2016; Hits: 9335

Serving composite tea to crops increases foliage harvest

Preparation of composite manure helps in recycling organic matter into cheap non-chemical fertiliser for farmers. Conventionally, composite manure is applied by placing lumps of the decayed matter around stems of crops or broadcast in the field prior to planting.

But farmers can achieve faster results by minting out manure ‘composite tea’ from the manure before ‘serving’ it to the crops directly as foliage fertilizer for better results.

Inorganic foliage fertilisers, which are in liquid, are common in enhancing horticultural crop yields, moreso vegetables.

Minting composite tea from decayed manure does not require much expertise. Adding water to shovel-full manure in a gallon would pick the simple nutrients and form ions that are easily absorbed by crops.

Chlorinated water should not be used because it can cause death of beneficial micro-organisms which break down organic matter.

For maximum extraction and ionization of the mineral nutrients, the suspension is left for three to four days before sieving to obtain chelate liquid, which is rich in potassium, phosphorus ammonium ions among others.

Chelate is liquid is diluted with about 10 liters of water against one litre of composite tea before application by pump spray, watering can or any other convenient method.

The tea is sieved using fine piece of cloth to remove large particles that can block nozzles of spraying equipment.

Other than application by the foliage, stems can be served with this cup of tea, allowing for more microbes to join other beneficial colonies for continued organic matter breakdown.

Leaf application is more preferred because it minimizes loss of nutrients through leeching.

Farmers want to apply fertilizers to hasten growth of crops such as kales, cabbage and tomatoes by application of foliage fertilizers, but health conscious consumers are opting for organically produced goods.

Inorganic fertilisers also increase soil acidity besides killing beneficial organism. Application of the composite tea would not interfere with beneficial insects like pollinators.

Joseph Mwabege of Kwale County’s Shimba Hills is trying the process to substitute for chemical fertiliser he is using in his small orchard of tomatoes and kales.

He has a small composite pit he has been using for year now, but want to adopt this ‘new’ way of farming.

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: 24 May 2016; Hits: 12431

Benefits of growing crops in bags

Growing flowers around houses, verandas and other open spaces available in homesteads is normal for both urban and rural areas.

But Jeff Oburu, who opted to grow pumpkin and vine spinach, found it rewarding in including these vegetables among the ornamental plants surrounding his four-cornered house.

Risosa and enderema, as the traditional vegetables are called in Ekegusii, are grown in polythene bags. He has placed the bags outside his house at the eaves.

Although he grew them for beauty, his mother is picking between Sh200 and Sh400 in every two weeks from the sale of the vegetables, which have spread their multiple leaves forming a canopy at the lower edge of the roof.

Enderema is drought tolerant. This makes it survive and remain leafy even on small dry spells in the area. Because of its heavy canopy of leaves, Oburu’s mother found that the only way of trimming the leaves down is by regular picking.

She sells the vegetables at their Kenyenya Market, although some people have found it easy to come into the homestead straight.

“Health complications are sending more people to traditional foods. Endrema is one of them. It grows like a weed alongside the fence. But with much as mom is doing here, it is doing well. It I becoming a cash crop than that ordinary weed on the fence,” Oburu said.

Although they have not harvested any mature pumpkin yet from the vines that are snaking along the eaves of the house, he says the fruits are promising.

But the tender leaves of the pumpkin are their other source of domestic food and they hope to sell the fruits too.

What is surprising is that the vine spinach sprouts more with more harvesting.

Benefits of potting or bagging vegetables are massive.

Irrigating the individual crops requires less water. There is no waste because the water is limited in leaking out since the holes in the bags are limited.

The method also reduces chances of soil-borne diseases like nematodes, which attack tomatoes, passion fruits among other crops. If disease-free soil is used, chances of spreading nematodes attacking the crop are slim.

Not much labour is required in managing a few pots and bags. Weeding can be done by hand and the surrounding area can remain untilled. Individual fertilizer application to the plant also reduces waste.

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