Pests

: 31 January 2019; Hits: 6316

New app to help western Kenyan farmers diagnose plant diseases using satellite data

screenshot PlantVillage cropskenya science A screenshot of plant diagnosis results with PlantVillage app. Photo courtesy.

Researchers from Penn State University have developed a smartphone application program, PlantVillage that through satellite data will enable cassava and maize farmers from Western Kenya scan and analyse diseases affecting their crops and take immediate, proper remedy actions.

According to a 2016 research by a team of scientists from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Western Kenya is one of the food baskets of Kenya with crops such as maize and cassava among others being the main foods crops grown in the region.

However, the yields of these crops have remained far much below the world averages mainly due to pests and disease.

Therefore in order to develop sustainable disease management strategies, proper identification and diagnosis of crop diseases is important.

PlantVillage comes in handy by using artificial intelligence and satellite data to effectively inform even the smallholder farmers on the danger approaching and be able to make best decision on how to approach it.

All a farmer needs to do is to point a smartphone with the app at a diseased plant, and artificial intelligence will analyze the leaves and tell out exactly what has gone awry, so that the farmer can appropriately treat the problem.

“If the plant is not doing well, then the farmer has to do something very different from what has been done before, either apply a pesticide, plant a different crop or start irrigating,” said David Hughes, Penn State biologist and the app developer.

The satellite data also reaches years into the past, so the farmers can see how well their plants are performing historically. On top of that, they can compare their performance with their neighbors’. Meaning, maybe it’s not a rainfall problem but a pest problem that’s holding their crops back.

The researchers have been testing the new system in Western Kenya, handing out phones to ‘lead’ farmers, who travel around the community bringing insight to their neighbors.

“We're able to tell them they have a problem, and with the AI assistant go into the field and see if that problem is a disease that's causing a decrease in the yield or it's actually drought,” Hughes says

With this satellite data, though, farmers can react before it’s too late.

In addition to the detective work, the app is gaining new powers thanks to eyes in the sky. Using free satellite data from the UN, PlantVillage can monitor biomass on a plot of land, giving small-scale farmers insight into how their crops are developing.

Write comment (0 Comments)

: 29 January 2019; Hits: 8275

How to control deadly goat disease

Farmers can control the deadly mange disease in goats by using a new treatment method which involves mixing of crude caster seed oil and tamarind fruit solution.

The disease is a major killer of goats in the dry areas of Tharaka Nithi and Mbeere regions as it spreads faster and can wipe put the entire flock according to research by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization.

The disease is caused by mites that burrow into the skin causing severe itching, loss of fur, dry rough crust, emaciation and death. This causes losses to farmers as they cannot sell skin from an infected goat while at the same time infected meat is discarded.

In this, use crude castor seed oil (do not use refined castor oil) mixed with tamarind fruit solution, at one tin (two kilos) of castor seed oil to one and half tin (one kilo) of tamarind solution.

A kilo of tamarind costs roughly Sh149 in Kenya while castor seeds retail at Sh30 per kilo.

Driver who resigned to venture into goat farming does not regret

KALRO’s new goat breed suitable for arid areas has potential to yield eight liters of milk a day

goat triplets

To prepare the mixture, roast the castor seeds on a pan until they start popping and turning dark then pound the roasted seeds in a mortar or use a grinding stone. Pour them in to a cooking pot and add water then heat it until the oil shows on the surface and remove it to cool.

As for tamarind fruit, soak the fruit in a bucket of water and stir them to make a thick paste then remove the seed and residues from the paste.

After both are ready, apply the castor oil with tamarind paste on the animal’s body using a hand brush once every four weeks.

This method cuts costs by half compared to chemical use and is more effective.

Write comment (0 Comments)

: 28 January 2019; Hits: 8159

Researchers develop new drought tolerant finger millet varieties resistant to blast disease and striga weed

Farmers will soon benefit from drought and disease tolerant millet varieties after they were developed by researchers at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization in collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

“During the first phase of our project, we have identified millet samples showing resistance to drought striga weed and blast disease,” said Benjamin Kilian, the Project Coordinator.

According to the Treaty Benefit-sharing Fund Project, by using improved varieties and better agronomic practices, farmers’ yields growing the grain could increase from 0.5–1.0 tonne per hectare to 3.0–5.0 tonnes per hectare giving small-scale farmers access to higher yielding finger millet varieties can contribute to economic development and poverty alleviation in Kenya.

Blast disease causes 30 per cent losses on millet on average annually in Kenya.

According to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), striga weed infests over 20m ha of crops in sub-Saharan Africa each year causing losses estimated at Sh100bn thereby affecting over 100m people who depend on agriculture and specifically maize and millet to sustain their livelihoods.

ABC\'s of Finger millet

Brewery wants sorghum and millet

millet bajra cultivation kenya

Millet farming in Kenya. Courtesy

In East Africa, the weed infests over 1.4m hectares yearly with Kenya accounting for 340,000 ha of the total land invaded by the weed. Millet production in Kenya has dropped by half since 2013 due to the infestation by the weed and blast disease from 1.4m bags in 2013 to 0.6m bags in 2017 according to the Economic Survey 2018 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

The striga weed normally causes stunted growth of cereal crops like millet maize and wheat by attaching itself to the roots of the host plant extracting essential nutrients and moisture necessary for growth.

The Kenyan ministry of agriculture has urged maize farmers all over the country to plant millet, cassava, sorghum and amaranth crops to be used for blending maize flour in a move aimed at reducing overdependence on maize for food and income and improve the country’s nutritional needs.

Maize consumption is estimated at 98 kilograms per person per year, which translates to roughly 30 to 34 million bags (2.7 to 3.1m metric tonnes) per year, according to Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy And Development 2016 research.

The ministry estimates that the blending of millet , cassava, amaranth and cassava with maize flour will reduce maize consumption from about 30m bags per year to about 20m bags over the same period while the surplus will be exported.

Write comment (0 Comments)