Zambia Agribusiness Society

 Forking in carrots Introduction A disease in plants can be defined as any disturbance brought about by an agency/factor which interferes with manufacture, translocation or utilization of food, mineral nutrients and water in such a way that the affected plant changes in appearance and or yields less than a normal, healthy plant of the same variety . Causes of Plant Diseases Plant diseases are of two types viz., infectious and non-infectious . The infectious type are caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. Nutritional deficiencies, mineral toxicities, lack or excess of soil moisture and light, low or too high temperatures, soil acidity or alkalinity constitute the non-infectious type. Usually, a disease causes a progressive and continuous disturbance of cellular activities that eventually become manifest as symptoms. A symptom is a visible or otherwise detectable abnormality arising from disease. Disease symptoms should be closely observed, as they often give indications ab...

The number of farmers that do not keep farm records is shocking. Some of them complain that they are always busy and don’t have time, while others say that they know how to manage their farms without always writing things down. These are the reasons and attitudes that make us fail all the time we practice farming. You will even find others taking all their receipts at the end of the month/year to an accountant friend to help them calculate production costs and profitability. The problem with this picture is that the accountant will not know what has really been going on at your farm thus causing a lot of irregularities with your financials. Keeping farm records is an important activity in farming. The records have to be accurate and up to date reflecting on all activities that occur on the farm. Knowledge acquired from keeping good farm records is priceless. Farmers should always have their farm records ready before they do any financial analysis, financial decision or budgeting. Impor...

It is spring and that means it is time for farmers to get out into the fields and start planting. Farmers have to dodge rainstorms and when skies are clear they might work through the night to get seeds into the ground. Iowa has amazingly rich and robust soil for those seeds to germinate in. That rich, black topsoil does need some preparation for the ideal growth of seeds. But, have you ever wondered why farmers plow their fields before they plant? Seeds are typically only planted an inch below the soil surface. Farmers want to give those seeds the best chance of germinating and growing. That means mechanically preparing seed beds by breaking the ground. Soil can become dense and compact. Plowing also makes it easier to plant. Plowing breaks up the blocky structure of the soil which can aid in drainage and root growth. Plowing fields can also turn organic matter into soil to increase decomposition and add nutrients from the organic matter to the soil. Many farmer...

We get into business with different motives. However, because entrepreneurship is a jungle of sorts only the very best survive as the weak ones are easily eliminated. Statistics show that 80% of businesses in operation today will fail in the next 5 years. So what makes some entrepreneurs better than others? What type of entrepreneur are you? I would like to present to you 6 types of entrepreneurs and how they cope with challenging times. 6 types of entrepreneurs exposed 1. Survivalists They were forced by circumstances to become entrepreneurs. For instance, they finished college or high school, tried looking for jobs but weren’t lucky enough. Because they had to find means of survival, they moved on to the world of business. They simply sell to survive. If they are lucky to get an employment opportunity, they normally quit entrepreneurship and off they go into the formal economy. Most of their businesses don’t live to see their second birthdays. 2. The copycats A good n...

Poultry farming is one of the fastest-growing businesses in Africa. It's a highly profitable business if you run it in the most appropriate manner, which provides a conducive environment for the birds. If you are planning to invest in poultry this year, here are 10 key areas to focus on to stay ahead of the competition. 1. Don't buy cheaper feed Feed is the biggest component of the cost of any chicken production, be it meat or egg production. It accounts for 70 percent of all the other components. The major component of feed is maize and soya and those two are not cheap. Buy feed that will consistently give you the target kilo of meat per feed fed and the target amount of eggs per kilogram of feed at a lower cost and not at a cheaper cost. The two are different. 2. Measure the feed you give your flock daily Some farmers just give feed to their birds. This must stop if you want to make a profit. You must measure a gram per bird of all the feed allocations daily as per the establ...

So here are the top 10 questions about raising backyard chickens: 1. Do I need a rooster for my hens to lay eggs? Okay, stop laughing! You didn’t always know the answer to this question. I will tell you that this is the most commonly asked question we get, so no one should be embarrassed. The answer is no, unless you want chicks. If you’re just looking for eggs to eat and /or some nice yard pets, hens minus the rooster can provide you with plenty of farm fresh eggs without a single crow to wake you up in the morning. 2. How long do chickens live? The life expectancy of most standard chicken breeds shielded from predators and deep fryers can range from 8 to 15 years. There are many reports of pet chickens living as long as 20 years! With the increasing popularity of raising chickens as pets, I imagine someone will develop a new line of chicken coops such as nursing coops or assisted living coops for the growing population of elderly chickens. All joking aside, chickens are very hardy an...

A shortage of nitrogen is the single most common reason for a cabbage crop not reaching its full yield potential. This applies equally to the quantity applied as to how to conserve it and maintain its correct level. Nitrogen comes in different forms and can easily be leached from the soil. We should anticipate leaching and take appropriate measures when it happens. A wait- and-see approach will cause a loss in yield. All the required nitrogen can be applied at planting and some farmers do so successfully. But they may lose out badly if heavy rain leaches the nitrogen from the soil. How much nitrogen is required? Usually around 200kg N/ha. It depends on how much is already present in the soil before fertilising as well as how much nitrogen is tied up in organic matter and becomes available when the organic matter mineralises, which in turn depends on weather conditions. Many variables are involved. But with a significant difference in profitability between an average crop and a good...