Smart farms

: 18 August 2016; Hits: 10368

Housing bees maximises land usage for farmer

Farmers with limited pieces of land can keep up to 20 hives within an area of about 240 square feet by constructing temporal structures a few metres from homesteads.

Bee rearing Nyabwaroro Self-help Group Chairman Ezekiel Ndege said the simple timber structures help in restraining animals and human beings from disturbing the bees besides maximising land usage.

One may require about a quarter an acre to raise 20 bee hives under trees and artificial sheds away from homes. But such a house will need only 0.0055 acres.

“A timber walled house with an iron sheet rooftop measuring 12 feet by 20 feet can host up to 20 Lonngstrath hives placed about three feet apart. The house reduces unnecessary human and animal contact with the bees as well as safety of the bees from thieves,” he said.

BeehivehouseNdege.Nyamira. KemuntoNyamiraCountyLaban.JPG

Keeping bees near home also reduces attacks from pests like snakes and other birds, which are prevalent in forest areas and along river banks.

Ndege, however, warns that the house must have openings to the rooftop to ensure that the bees exit vertically as they go searching for nectar.

In ordinary set ups, cows, goats, and other animals may rub themselves against trees holding suspended hives, therefore initiating attacks.

Bees are aggressive when they move horizontally. If they are obstructed during their movement into or out of the hives, they take offence. One sting triggers the entire stock to rise against the ‘intruder’ because of the smell of the venom.

Nyangaresi Nyamira, a member of another group who has set up 10 hives in a timber structure, said growing crops like Napier grass outside the houses helps in redirecting any bee that may be moving horizontally to the vertical direction.

“The timber protects objects that children may throw at the hives. Animals will only rub themselves against the walls of the house, without necessarily shaking the wooden boxes. This reduces the danger of attacks,” Nyamira said.

His 10 hives are housed in a timber structure that is less than 20 metres from his house at Borioba Village, Nyamira County.

Ndege said the structures are also effective in securing the hives from harsh environmental conditions such as strong wind, the sun and the rain.

Strong sunlight makes wax to melt while rain deteriorates the wooden boxes, therefore, reducing their life span.

The roof is 15 metres high, to allow for free air circulation and reduce warming up during hot days.

Nyamira is a member of Geturi Vision Women Group, which comprises 11 women and four men.

They are supported by World Vision and Nyamira County government.

PHOTO: FROM LEFT: Ezekiel Ndege, Nyangaresi Nyamira and his wife Kerubo at one of an incomplete bee-hive timberhouse house at Borioba Village, Nyamira County on August 14, 2016. Housing bees rmaximises land usage besides reducing aggression from the insects. PHOTO BY LABAN ROBERT.

For honey enquiries, Ndege can be reached on +254716338690

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: 10 August 2016; Hits: 13331

Simple, cheap aflatoxin testing kit launched for farmers

An international agricultural research organisation has launched a cheap and easy to use device for detection of aflatoxin in harvests of cereals and seeds.

International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) scientist Anitha Seetha said the kit does not require technical skills in testing or interpreting outcomes, therefore, appropriate for every farmer.

Currently, aflatoxin tests are done by technicians in laboratories. It takes one day or more to get the result. But the easy to read kit gives results in 15 minutes.

“The device will contribute to manage and reduce the entry of aflatoxins in the food value chains, improve diagnosis for local and export trade and support the food processing industry to maintain low exposure levels in food products in our local markets as well as for export markets,” she said.

The kit will be available for farmers from October 2016, at a cost of Sh200.

Seeds and grains stored in damp areas or have not been dried to the required levels risk being attacked by the fungus, which is a deadly poison to animals and humans if ingested.

When a test sample is subjected to the kit for test, a pink line confirms presence of the poisonous fungi. Two pink parallel lines show absence of the poisonous fungi, Dr Seetha said.

Dangers of aflatoxins

Food and Agricultural Organisation says a quarter of the global food sources are affected by the aflatoxins.

Kenya destroyed 155 metric tonnes of maize in 2014 after more than 120 people died of aflatoxin poisoning.

Aflatoxins are poisonous chemicals produced by fungi attacking maize, groundnuts, cassava, chillies, sorghum, among other seeds and cereals.

Maize, Kenya’s staple food, is the commonest grain attacked by the fungi if it is stored in humid areas. Before storage, farmers are asked to ensure maize has been dried to less than 12 per cent moisture content.

Aflatoxins causes liver cancer, stunted growth in children, fluid retention, like urine, loss of appetite, reduced yields, among others.

It causes 100 per cent loss in cases of attack.

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Sunday, 15 August 2021 [quote=francismainah1@gmail.com]Hi Where do I get these aflotoxin testing kits...

Saturday, 31 July 2021 Hi Where do I get these aflotoxin testing kits.

: 09 August 2016; Hits: 28816

Factsheet on achieving 100 per cent onion germination

Farmers who follow guidelines in nursery bed establishment may save up on losses between 30 per cent and 40 per which normally result from poor seed germination.

Failing to meet more than 95 per cent, for instance in onion farming on an acre, leads to extra costs in buying more seeds to fill remaining space besides non-uniform growth of the crop.

A crop farming consultant and agronomist Timothy Munywoki says a loss of 30 per cent to 40 per cent to failed germination translates to a deficit of 300g to 400g seeds from one kilogramme that is required for an acre.

Loss of 400g seeds means there will be no seedlings for 0.4 of an acre.

“Simple routine nursery bed practices can give up to 100 per cent germination rate. A farmer will also transplant uniform seedlings at one time, which will give them better harvests at a single harvest season,” Munywoki said.

Nursery bed preparation

Prepare a raised bed of 10m by 1m in three rows. The width is limited to one metre to allow for easy passing when carrying out routine practices.

"Well decomposed manure is mixed thoroughly with soil at a rate of 50kg per row or five kilos for one square metre," the agronomist said.

Make shallow furrows 15cm apart across the bed before spraying them with a fungicide like goldazim or carbendazim at a rate of 20ml per 20litres per row. The pesticide eliminates fungal spores that may attack the seeds before germination.

Seed sowing

Sow the seeds with light soil before adding grass or plastic mulch. "Covering the seeds with a lot of soil reduces germination because food reserves will be depleted before the seedling emerges," the consultant said.

Untreated grass also may possess insects that may attack the seeds, before germination or be breeding grounds for the seedling pests. He recommends that insecticides like Lambdex be sprayed at a rate of 15ml per 20 litres of water in every row.

If the place is dry, irrigating the nursery bed three times in a day ensures sufficient moisture for the first 10 days.

Germination takes place in seven to 10 days and the mulch must be removed.

“Sprinklers and other high powered means of irrigation must be avoided because they erode the seeds before germination as well as uprooting the weak seedlings as they try to anchor to the soil,” Munywoki said.

Transplanting

Transplanting to the seed bed is done after six weeks when the seedling’s stem is pencil-thick and at about 15cm in height. The seedlings should have three to five well formed leaves at the time of transplanting. Leaves are necessary for food synthesis since the food reserves in the seeds have been exhausted.

For strong seedlings, 50g of Polyfeed Starter, 10ml Supafilm as well as 10ml Lambdex mixed in 20litres of water, should be applied at an interval of three days.

Amimax 40g and Supafilm, 10ml in 20 litres mix is applied once per week.

For strong seedlings, 50g of Polyfeed Starter, 10ml of Supafilm and 10ml of Lambdex all mixed in 20litres of water should be applied at an interval of three days. Amimax 40g and Supafilm 10ml in 20 litres mix together should be applied once per week to control fungal infection like blb, purple blotch or downy mildew.

Onions take about four months to mature.

Munywoki works for Amiran Kenya, besides offering crops farming consultancy and extension services to farmers.

He can be reached on +254728853914.

PHOTO: Amiran Kenya Agronomist Timothy Munywoki sowing seeds in an onion nursery bed in Isinya, Kajiado County'on August 6,2016 during a consultancy assignment. He offers extension services to farmers to attain high productivity. PHOTO BY LABAN ROBERT.

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