Pests

: 24 August 2017; Hits: 7711

Simple Method to reduce storage losses in beans

A farmer harvesting beans

Many smallholder farmers are grappling with post-harvest losses of their beans due to poor storage and attack by pests such as bean bruchids (grain weevils).

The bean bruchid is a major pest of stored beans. The damage caused by the pest has a negative impact on the value and marketability of the crop and can even change some quality characteristics of the crop, including the taste.

The holes made by the larvae often make the crop unmarketable. Losses of up to 40% of the harvested crop have been reported in some places like Machakos County.

Bruchids feed within the bean, leaving beans with many holes and low weight.

According to Kenya Agricultural Research Organization, Bruchids can be controlled by:

Mixing 2 match boxes full of Actellic Super with a 90 kg bag of bean grain. Actellic super can be obtained at certified Agro-vets in various towns and shopping centers in Kenya at between Ksh. 120 to Ksh. 1,000 depending on quantity.
Mixing the dry bean grain with wood ash at 5 kg of ash per 90 kg bag of beans.
Mixing a teaspoon of corn oil like Elianto per 1 kg kimbo tin of grain.
Sunning and sieving:

If you have 1 or 2 bags of beans and you live in a sunny area, sunning and sieving kills the eggs and larvae and makes the adults fly away.To use this method do the following:

Spread out the beans on a mat under the sun for about 6 hours.
After sunning the beans sieve them using an ordinary kitchen wire sieve or use a flat tin sheet with holes punched in it. This cuts down on costs.
During the first 3 months after harvest, sieve the beans once every 2 weeks. After 3 months, sieve the beans once every 3 weeks.

Farmers in Machakos found sunning and sieving to be the best control method because storage loss is reduced by killing the pests’ eggs. It allows farmers to save money as the method uses natural means. By sunning and sieving, the beans are not harmed or damaged and they will germinate well. The vigor of the small bean plant is also not affected. The beans thus stay clean and taste nice and there is no risk of poisoning from insecticide.

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: 23 August 2017; Hits: 10686

Alfacyper-M 100EC insecticide fights maize streak virus

50ml package of Alfacyper-M 100EC. It is available in different packages affordable to farmers.

Maize farmers are set to enjoy the sweat of their labour which for long has been affected by deadly maize diseases like streak virus with Alfacyper-M 100EC now affordable to most small holder farmers.

Under natural infection conditions, maize streak disease can cause yield losses that vary between 33-55% in East Africa as per the National Farmers Information Service (NAFIS).

The virus is transmitted by leafhoppers (Cicadulina spp.) and the symptoms include white to yellowish streaking on the leaves. Plants infected at early stage usually do not produce any cobs and this is a very big loss to a farmer.

Disease development is promoted by prolonged wetness on foliage, extended dew, Relative Humidity (97-100%) and relatively warm temperatures (24-35° C).

For farmers keen to use Alfacyper M EC, it is advisable to start spraying one month after planting or when leafhoppers are seen on the crop or when one plant show symptoms.

Using 20-litre spraying pump, mix 20-30ml of the chemical per 20 liters of water adding each time depending with the size of the farm or garden.

“A litre of Alfacyper-M 100EC goes for Sh1400 and there are different packages affordable to our customers,” said Abbigail Luvisa, Marketing Manager Murphy Chemicals (E.A.) Ltd.

Alfacyper-M 100EC is one of the registered crop pesticides for use on crops by Pest Control Products Board (NCPB) under registration number PCPB (CR)0492-p(i).

However, prevention is better than cure. For farmers who would like to avoid the costs of the drug they can plant certified seeds, plant early in the season at the onset of rains, keep the field free from weeds, and rotate maize with non-grass crops like potatoes and avoid overlap of two maize crops.

Farmers are also advised to often monitor their farms at least three times a week and should they identify a plant showing symptoms of the virus, the plant should be uprooted, fed to the livestock or burnt.

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: 21 August 2017; Hits: 9154

Maize Nixtamalization reduces aflatoxin by 60-70%

Aflatoxin infested maize

Farmers who have been grappling with afltoxin on their maize and other food crops in Kenya can reduce aflatoxin by a process called nixtamalization developed by researchers at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Organization (KALRO). Aflatoxin is a highly poisonous cancer-causing chemical produced by a fungus scientifically known as Aspergillus flavus.

With maize being the staple food crop in Kenya, aflatoxin poses a major public health scare to most consumers of the diet. The infestation by the fungus has led to a significant amount of harvested grains going to waste leading to importation of maize in Kenya.

Nixtamalization typically refers to a process for the preparation of maize, or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, and hulled.

To protect maize from aflatoxin, lime precooking needs to be done using 4kg of dried maize, 6 liters of water and 100gm (2 table spoons lime). If lime is not available, use 1 cup of sieved maize cob or bean Stover ash (soaked in water and sieved).

Boil the water and the lime. Clean maize and stir while cooking for 20 minutes or until the grain peels easily by hand. Remove the maize from the fire and let it cool or 3 hours. After that, wash while rubbing the grain on a sieve. Mill the grain when still wet to make a dough “Masa”. Use the dough to make many products such as tortilla, crackles, scones, pancake, cookies, and crisps. Alternatively dry the pre-cooked maize, grind into flour and make Ugali.

Nixtamalization reduces aflatoxin in maize by 60-70%. The process improves bio-availability of protein & Niacin. Niacin prevents pellagra (drying cracking of the skin and mouth). It also increases calcium and phosphorus that give strong teeth and bones. The procedure also diversifies ways of utilizing maize and market potential.

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