Zambia Agribusiness Society

The livestock industry generates huge amounts of manures which contain significant nutrients, organics, heavy metals and pathogens. Applications of livestock manures to soil can recycle nutrients, increase soil organic matter, and improve soil physical conditions. On the other hand, hazardous materials such as heavy metals and pathogens potentially lead to environmental contamination. China is one of the largest producers of animal manures in the world, with an annual output of more than 1.9 billion tons. Among all the manures from livestock and poultry in China, swine, cattle, and chicken are the greatest outputs, and thus the main sources of animal wastes. What is Manure? Most farmers think animal dung is manure. Animal dung is not manure, it is just dung. And it is not advisable to apply it directly into your crops. Why? The dung will start decomposing, and the process will produce heat, which can damage the roots and kill your crops. The crops cannot acce

The common ingredients are whole maize, maize bran, cotton seed cake, soya beans, sunflower and fishmeal (omena). In addition, farmers need to add several feed additives (micronutrients, minerals and vitamins) to ensure their birds have a balanced feed that meets their daily nutrient requirements. Ingredients are cheaply available, especially after the harvesting season. Depending on the cost of ingredients, farmers who make their own feeds at home save between 30 to 50% for every 70kg bag of chicken feed, depending on the source of their raw materials. Due to government regulation, major feed companies have reduced the standard quantity of feed from 70kg to 50kg per bag, but the price of feed still remains almost the same. This means that farmers who are able to make their own feeds make great savings on feeds which take up to 80% of the production costs. To formulate feed, farmers have to use the Pearson Square Method . In this method, the Digestible Crude Protein (DCP) is

There are over 250, 000 plant species in the world. About 30, 000 of them occur as weeds in various agro-ecosystems and about 18, 000 of these cause serious damage to crops throughout the world. Weeds today are considered to be the most important pest group which interferes with utilization of land and water resources. The losses caused by them to horticulture are greater than any other pest category. Definition Some of the several definitions given to the term “weed” are listed below. A weed is a plant: 1.     Growing where it is not desired; 2.     Out of place; 3.     Growing where something else should grow or nothing should grow; 4.     Whose potential for harm is greater than for good; 5.     Extremely noxious, useless or poisonous; 6.     Whose economic value has not been discovered. Careful examination and analysis of these definitions indicate that the term “weed” is very much relative to a situation, time, and to an individual concerned. In general, du

There are over 250,000 plant species in the world. About 30,000 of them occur as weeds in various agro-ecosystems and about 18,000 of these cause serious damage to crops throughout the world. Weeds today are considered to be the most important pest group which interferes with utilization of land and water resources. The losses caused by them to horticulture are greater than any other pest category. Definition Some of the several definitions given to the term “weed” are listed below. A weed is a plant: Growing where it is not desired; Out of place; Growing where something else should grow or nothing should grow; Whose potential for harm is greater than for good; Extremely noxious, useless or poisonous; Whose economic value has not been discovered. Careful examination and analysis of these definitions indicate that the term “weed” is very much relative to a situation, time, and to an individual concerned. In general, due to the following reasons, weeds are undesir

Soft rot of cabbage is caused by the bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum, previously called Erwinia carotovora. It is a major problem during wet weather and can be more severe when plants lack sufficient calcium. The pathogen is generally spread by irrigation water, rain, several species of maggot flies and other insects. Disease development is usually favoured by warm temperatures of 25 to 30°C, humid conditions or following periods of wet weather that lead to free moisture on plant tissues. Symptoms: 1.     Cause the formation of water-soaked spots. These spots enlarge over time and become sunken and soft. 2.     Interior tissues beneath the spots become mushy and discoloured, with the discoloration ranging anywhere from cream to black. 3.     Seepage from affected areas. 4.     In severe cases of infection, leaves, stems and roots may decay entirely. 5.     A strong disagreeable odour from the rotten tissues. 6.     Breakdown of plant tissues. Disease Management:

In organic crop production, you would keenly agree with me that fertilizer and pesticide are the most limiting resources during the production process. However, rabbit urine can be a very cheap solution to this production problem as it can be used as fertilizer and pesticide. It would not only help to reduce the high cost of organic farming but also increase the quantity and quality of the crop produced. It is important you find means to control pests and increase the fertility of the soil if you truly want to be successful as an organic farmer; not just any means but a cheap means. I am sure you do not want to produce at a high cost. One of the cheapest sources of fertilizer and pesticide in organic farming is the use of rabbit urine. Rabbit used to be reared as a pet but the nutritional composition of rabbit meat has created an untapped market for rabbit production. Farmers now rear rabbit for meat and wool; further studies have shown that rabbit urine can also serve as fertilize