Zambia Agribusiness Society

In Africa maize does well when intercropped with beans or other legumes. The intercropped legumes should be sown at the time of first weeding in order not to crowd out the young maize plants. Since maize is a heavy feeder and takes considerable nutrients out of the soil, it can only be grown continuously on the richest soils or when heavily fertilized. Recommended legumes for intercropping in Kenya are: beans, pigeon peas, cowpeas,  groundnuts  and  soybeans . Other crops that have been tried with varying success include: 1.     Potatoes 2.     Cassava 3.     Pumpkin Intercropping maize with beans and other legumes regulates pests (leafhopper, leaf beetles, stalk borer, and  fall armyworm ) and increases the land utility. Intercropping Canavalia (Canavalia spp.) with maize improves soil productivity. Intercropping maize with beans and squash enhances parasitism of caterpillars. This practice increases fo...

Purple, green, orange, yellow, red? No, these aren’t colours of M&Ms. These are some of the colours you’ll see on agriculture crop seeds that have been treated with the latest technologies to fight diseases and pests. Treating seed is nothing new. Farmers have been using different types of seed treatments dating clear back to 60 A.D. In this blog post, you’ll learn more about how farmers use them today and why. So, just what is Seed Treatment? Seed treating is the act of applying a product to a seed prior to planting. When seeds go into the ground, there are many diseases and pests just waiting to take advantage of those young seeds and seedlings for their own benefit. Farmers want to protect their investment so treating seed is one way to help prevent crop loss. There are a variety of treatments, but the main categories include fungicides, insecticides, and antimicrobial products. Fungicides  are chemical compounds or organisms used to kill fungi or their spores. Typic...

Garlic is one of the easiest and most satisfying crops for home vegetable gardeners to grow. It yields two useful crops; the garlic bulbs themselves, and delicious green “scapes” a month earlier. Because it is usually planted in the fall and begins to grow early in the spring, garlic provides the garden with something green and encouraging, long before other crops have germinated. About garlic Freshly harvested garlic, ready for curing. Garlic ( Allium sativa ) is a member of the onion family. Garlic varieties are classified into softneck and hardneck (also known as topset) varieties. Hardneck varieties produce a false flower stalk called a scape, and generally produce fewer, larger cloves than softneck varieties. As a general rule, hardneck varieties are hardier and better able to withstand our cold winters than softneck varieties. Softneck varieties are required if you plan to braid your garlic. Starting materials Garlic doesn’t produce flowers or seeds. The individual cloves...

Please note that urea on its own cannot be fed to goats. ·          The use of urea in goats requires the following steps and mixing rations. ·          When crushing the maize we recommend hard crushing (at least 5mm screen sizes). ·          Dissolve urea in water before mixing. ·          Use a ration of 1:20 between urea and maize crush. ·          A 50kg of urea dissolve in 75 to 100 litres of water (you can do this overnight). ·          Sprinkle the syrup on a tonne of maize crush or proportionately and mix thoroughly. ·          This feed will be 13 to 15% CP and can now be fed to goats in quantities between 1kg to 2kg maximum per day. ·          Go...

Goat farming can be a very lucrative business if done right. Choose the right breeds of goats for your location and experience and you could raise superior livestock. Here’s all you need to know to prepare your goat farming business plan. Livestock production is one of the most important activities of agriculture. If you’d like to turn a profit raising superior livestock, then consider goat farming. Goats provide milk, meat and fibre. Goats have played multiple roles in the support of mankind in the last 7000 years and is one of the oldest species of domesticated animals. Many small farmers and backyard raisers have found you can earn a lot of money raising goats. So, if you are thinking of starting a goat operation, then this article is for you. An effective business plan is a must for taking hold of business opportunities. With goat farming being a highly profitable business idea, it is just as necessary to make a proper goat farming business plan before starting a farm. It...