How to grow onions successfully and keep the best pig breeds

TEACH ME HOW TO KEEP DUCKS

I want to know how to rear ducks and which are the best breeds.

Charles Kimani

Ducks are different from chickens when it comes to rearing. You can choose to brood day-old ducklings or hatch eggs using a hen.

So many breeds are available in the market, including Grimaud Hybrid Pekin or White Layer Breed, which is specifically used for egg production.

Make your choice depending on whether you want to rear the birds for meat production, foraging or as pets.

Feed them on waterfowl pellets or chicken layer feeds for those laying.

Ducklings, however, need more niacin (a white crystalline acid of Vitamin B found in meat, fish, legumes and whole-grain foods and is used to treat and prevent pellagra) than chickens do, so adding brewer’s yeast to their feeds in a 5 per cent ratio is recommended.

Ducklings have extremely fast growth rate and the niacin helps their bones develop well. Don’t forget leafy greens and grit that assist in grinding food in their gizzards.

Once your ducks reach laying age, usually around six months, provide crushed oyster shell or eggshell for strong eggshells.

Offer them clean drinking water daily and ensure their pens are free of faecal matter. Water troughs should be cleaned regularly and must be deep enough so that the birds can submerge their entire head to keep their mucous membranes moist.

You should also provide a sunken trough for them to wash themselves as this helps to moisten eggs during setting. It is also important to provide them with a safe, secure housing as they cannot fly hence are vulnerable to predators such as dogs.

A small coop with a door would be ideal and supply litter on floor for warmth and dryness. They each hatch 12 to 15 or even more ducklings at a sitting, at least twice a year.

They are generally healthy and hardy, therefore, aren’t susceptible to external parasites or diseases.

Felix Akatch Opinya,

Department of Animal Sciences, Egerton University

I NEED ADVICE ON CONTRACT FARMING

Kindly advice on how to go about contract farming for the new Egerton beans in Banita, Nakuru County.

I am based in Nairobi but I am planning to do mixed commercial farming on 7.5 acres in Nakuru.

I am interested in the following crops: Chelalang, Tasha and dolicho beans, groundnuts, chilli, moringa, melons, oranges and mangoes.

Also urgently advice on the following: Do you offer training and consultancy services so that I do not go wrong, and which of the above crops offer the best combination and financial returns?

Lastly, where do I also get my soil tested and at what cost?

Peter.C.N.Kinuthia,

Partner&Managing Director,

Ultimax skills & Solutions

Egerton bean varieties Chelalang and Tasha can grow well in Nakuru. It is also possible to grow all the other crops under intensive mixed farming on your 7.5 acres.

For further details on contract farming, please contact the Egerton Agro Science Park Seed Unit on email: [email protected].

Before you start, you need to draft a proper business plan to guide you in your agribusiness.

All the crops are profitable but you will need to sit down with the experts to ascertain the gross margins and the suitability of the weather and environmental conditions. Ensure you also have market for your produce to avoid making losses.

You can have your soil tested at Egerton Soil Science Department at Sh1,000 per sample or other institutions with soil testing facilities like MEA Ltd Nakuru and KALRO, Njoro.

Pricing per sample varies per institution but ranges between Sh800 and Sh1,500 depending on the properties and elements tested.

Lilian Jeptanui

Egerton University Crops

Horticulture and Soils Department

SWITCH FROM POTATO TO ONION FARMING

I am currently growing potatoes in Narok and I am soon going to harvest, but selling is a problem. Now I want to switch to onion farming. Please advise.

Dick Ajele

Potato farmers have been having many challenges due to low prices.

But things are changing as county governments implement new packaging regulations that stipulate that all produce that include maize, beans, potatoes and rice must be packed in 50kg bags.

Farmers are advised to have their own weighing scales to avoid exploitation.

As you venture into onion farming, put the following in mind. There are two types of onions, the bulb and spring.

You can grow either of the types in Narok. The bulb onions varieties include Red Creole, Bombay Red and hybrids like Sivan F1 and Hybrid Frare F1.

Good varieties for spring onions include Spring Green Bunching and White Lisbon.

For better returns, buy certified seeds from an established nursery. Onions mature three to five months for bulb and four to six weeks for spring.

They require rain of 500 to 2,000mm per annum hence can be grown at the onset of the long rains and during the short rains.

Land should be prepared to a fine tilth before transplanting since the seedlings are very tiny.

Recommended spacing is 30 by 8cm or do direct sowing in drills 30cm apart and later thin to 8cm between plants. The seed rate is 3kg per hectare.

Fertiliser requirements for best yields are 200kg per hectare (2kg per 100 metre squared) of TSP during planting with organic manure requirements of 40 tonnes per hectare (400kg per metre squared) planting or top dressing with Calcium Ammonium Nitrate fertiliser at a rate of 300kg per hectare two to three weeks after planting.

Harvesting is done three to five weeks for bulb onions and four to six weeks for spring onions. With proper management and serious crop protection from pests and diseases, the yield goes up to seven to 10 tonnes per hectare (approximately 3.4 tonnes per acre).

Onions don’t have serious pests and diseases but look out for Downey mildew where a mould develops in the plant making it to fall. Dry control by using copper based fungicides.

Other diseases include Purple Blotch, Onion Rust, Fusarium Basal Rot and White Bulb Rot. To manage the above diseases, use certified seeds, do crop rotation and practice field hygiene.

Lilian Jeptanui

Egerton University Crops

Horticulture and Soils Department

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REAR PIGS?

Please share the right information on pig farming; from feeding, diseases, major markets and viability of the business, the best breeds, time taken to mature and best area that they survive well.

Farmer

Pig farming is a lucrative venture if well-managed but it is worth noting that not all areas in Kenya are suitable for the business.

This is because pigs, unlike their wild tropical cousins warthogs, cannot adapt to hot tropical climatic conditions.

This is because their sweating glands are located at the snout, not on their bodies, they have a thick fat layer below their skin and some breeds have white bodies predisposing them to heat, stress and sunburns.

However, with modification of internal micro-environment in their housing, they can be raised anywhere in the country.

The most common breeds are Landrace, Large White, Duroc and the Saddle Back.

Each of these breeds has advantages and disadvantages. Large White and Landrace are white, have a fast growth rate, are prolific breeders and are highly acceptable in the market due to their skin colour.

They are, however, not suitable for outdoor rearing as they are very susceptible to sunburns.

Duroc and Saddle Back are hardy, prolific and suitable for outdoor rearing.

Pigs, like poultry are monogastrics (have simple stomach) thus require a high quality diet to maximise on their genetic potential in production and reproduction.

You should establish a reputable feeds industry where you will be getting high quality commercial feeds for the different classes of the pigs.

Pig diseases are common especially in piglets and can be attributed to poor management, otherwise with proper care, incidences of diseases are lower.

Common diseases include scours, pneumonia, nutritional disorders and internal and external parasites.

Properly managed pigs take about six to nine months to attain sexual maturity and market weight (60kg to 110kg).

Other than areas where religion restricts consumption of the animals, pig market is inexhaustible in urban areas.

Wangui, James Chege

Department of Animal Sciences,

Egerton University

KUCHI CHICKEN

My name is Collins Oduor currently living in Busia County. I am a medic but I have great interest in agribusiness.

I liked the photo of Jane Kipsant, the chairlady of ACK Soin Mothers Union in Kenenei, Keiyo South holding Kuchi cockerels. Please connect me with her so that I can get the breed.

I need the contact of Jane Kipsant so that I can acquire Kuchi chickens.

James Njiru

I need the Kuchi breed. Please help me to get them because I believe they are the best.

James Wambura

EDITOR: Kindly talk to Amos Ndungu of Sigona Poultry Farm on 0725645250.

CAKES FROM BANANAS

Please share the contacts of Margaret Amimo, the secretary of Hamisi Horticulture Development Group.

Njagi Ruiru

EDITOR: Talk to Margaret on 0713066334.

GROWING PEPPER

I have a farm in Aldai, Nandi County. I am interested in farming pepper and, therefore, request for the contacts of Rupa farm in Eldoret. 

Cecilia Kosgey

EDITOR: Talk to Wilson, the manager, on 0735737191.

POTATO FARMING

We came across an article on Ann Chepngeno, the garden peas and potato seeds farmer. We would like to get her contact.

Norda Industries

Gopi

EDITOR: Ann is available on 0722552231.

PAST COPIES OF SEEDS OF GOLD

I refer to the request by Elizabeth Chege on January 15, who wanted past issues of Seeds of Gold.

Our facility, the Denise C. Hogan Library in Kenya, Zimmerman estate, Nairobi keeps a separate file for Seeds of Gold. Many customers come and use the file. Kindly ask her to visit our library.

Harrison Kilonzo

Director

0724369655

APPRECIATION

Let me take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate the Seeds of Gold team for the good work. 

I can proudly say that through you, I am now on the path of financial freedom.

You have made farming interesting and I am grateful. I have an interest in stevia having read it from your pull-out.

My two acre farm is in Kiambu. Please send me contacts of companies offering stevia market.

Mercy

EDITOR: Please talk to PureCircle, a company that deals with stevia farmers on +254 0518002540, www.purecircle.com, Email: [email protected]

The agricultural information I get from this pullout is invaluable. I get inspired every time I read Seeds of Gold. I feel like a calf suckling its mother’s nutritious milk.

Henry Auma

EDITOR: Thank you for the support, and keep reading.

SIMPLE MODEL FARM

I need the contacts of Amos Ndungu, the owner of Sigona Rabbit and Poultry Farm.

Dr Kibata Githeko    

EDITOR: Talk to Amos on 0725645250.

ORNAMENTAL BIRD FARMING

I was impressed by Dr Emmanuel Kisangani’s farm. Please share his contacts so that I can reach him.

Tela Alusala

EDITOR: Talk to the farmer on 0719661422.

ASK THE EXPERTS

Do you have any question or enquiry on agribusiness, marketing, logistics, processing, innovation, and technology?

Our pool of experts from Egerton University will respond to your questions with proper advice.

Please send your questions to: [email protected]. Read us online at www.nation.co.ke/seeds of gold