agriculture of central kenya research update. the course breakdowns 2 courses beginner course ...

Agriculture of Central Kenya

Research Update

The Course Breakdowns

2 Courses Beginner Course

Informative Basic Methods/Techniques Advanced Methods/Techniques

Hands-on Basic Only

Advanced Course Hands-on

Advanced Methods/Techniques

Corn

Spacing 1 to 4 plants per square foot

Depth 1 to 2 inches deep

Several seeds per hole (about 4)

Harvesting Each Stalk should produce at least 1 large ear of corn Harvest about 20 days after the appearance of silk

strands Kernels are fully formed but not yet fully mature

Eat, process, or refrigerate as soon as possible How does type of corn vary each process? Processing for livestock versus people?

Coffee

Planted in nursery beds until they are about 7 to 15 inches, then transferred to the fields Rotted cattle manure is used in the fields (1 liter

per square foot) First Harvest

About 5 years after first planting Single tree produces only about 2 lbs of coffee Good harvest will produce about 2500 to 3500

lbs of coffee Harvest is during the dry season

Coffee used for trade? How is it prepared for trade?

Wheat

Spacing Use a rake/plow to make furrows in the field Sprinkle about 90 to 100 lbs of wheat seed per

acre Depth

Best yield is at depth of ½ inch to 1 ½ inches Harvesting

Use a scythe and chop the wheat leaving 2 to 3 inches of stubble sticking out of the ground

Bundle the wheat together into stooks Threshing - using a flail to beat the wheat out of

the straw Get rid of the chaff (outer shell) Yields about a quart of wheat per stook

Tea

Tea comes from an evergreen shrub/bush that can grow up to 55 meters high but is usually kept below 6 feet

Harvesting Tea Higher quality tea requires only the bud and

second and third leaves to be plucked Typical tea bush will produce 3000 leaves a

year, which makes about 1 pound of processed tea

The type of tea depends on the type of processing What type of tea?

Weed Control

Manual and Mechanical Techniques – more labor intensive Tilling the ground Pulling the weeds Mowing, Brush-cutting, Weed eating Stabbing, damaging the carbohydrate storage structure Mulching

Herbicides – more expensive Determining what herbicides are needed?

Biological Control Use animals, fungi, or other microbes to feed upon

weeds Which type to use?

How not to damage crop yield Does control process depend on weed types?

Irrigation Methodology – Treadle Pump Application used often in East India Foot operated pump used for smaller plots of

land Low cost, easy maintenance Farmers can take what is needed only

No waste water

2 types of pumps Pressure (deep water) and Suction (shallow water)

Cost 100 USD

Irrigation Methodology – Flood Irrigation Cost effective method

Depending on land, can use gravity fee Can level ground for efficiency

Potentially a lot of wasted water Can flood at intervals to prevent this Can capture and reuse waste water

Unavoidable challenges during drought

Irrigation Methodology – Drip Irrigation Applies water continuously at a slow rate

Uses less water

More complicated system (than flood or treadle) System could get clogged routine

maintenance is needed Purity of water needed to prevent rusting

within system

Pest Control – Push Pull Method

Push – Pull Method Used primarily with maize Inter-plants silverleaf desmodium with

Sudan grass and maize Silverleaf repels pests (maize stemborer) Grass attracts pests

Produces sticky substance that traps and kills eggs produced by pests

Pest Control – Push Pull Method (2)

Can also be applied using different repellents and attracts on other things.

Pest Control – Push Pull Method (3)

Advantages Minimizes agro-chemicals Food security Increases income if crops are sold

Disadvantages Used often on a smaller scale (.5 acre plots) and

can be costly Requires much more maintenance after

implementation

Growing Livestock

Skills needed for growth: Labor for expanding and growing herd

Feeding and watering, mating Understanding of energy production and use

from the livestock Slaughtering, milking, production of manure

Growing Livestock (2)

Types of livestock in Kenya Cattle

80% of livestock, 90% of market production Sheep/Goats Pigs Poultry Camel

Use of Fertilizers

Goal to increase crop yield and soil fertility

Crops need 16 essential nutrients for growth

A mixture of organic and inorganic methods higher yield

Use of Fertilizers (2)

Organic Introducing livestock waste, compost, crop

residue, waste to crops Can be easily done in eco-village

In-organic Commercially produced Contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium Need higher amount of energy to produce

Additional Questions

Irrigation Management

Pest Control Community Assessment

What method of pesticide control do you use, if any? What skills are needed to maintain these methods of pest control

Livestock Community assessment

Estimation of how much livestock is needed per unit of population in the village

How does climate effect livestock?

Fertilizers When is the best time to apply fertilizers? How often are fertilizers applied? Community Assessment

What types of commercial fertilizers are used?