Feedback: Onion varieties which will fetch you more

BUYERS DON’T WANT MY ONIONS
My name is Caroline and I really appreciate the advice you give to farmers. Seeds of Gold motivated me to start onion farming to supplement my income.

We are now harvesting and expect a little more than three tonnes of the Jambar variety but the problem is the market.

Interested buyers are saying that they don’t buy Jambar variety because the onions appear bigger. Is this usually what happens?

Jambar F1 onion variety produces large onions and the yield is high but has a low market demand and low market price compared to other onion varieties.

People interestingly don’t like the bigger onions because they don’t want to use half and keep the rest for next cooking. Red Passion F1, Bombay Red and Red Pinoy F1 have low yields, offer smaller bulbs but have high market demand and fetch more than Jambar F1.

You can try these other varieties and see the difference.

Carol Mutua,
Department of Crops, Horticulture and Soils, Egerton University.

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WHAT TO DO AFTER BUYING CHICKEN

I started poultry farming and I had 50 kienyeji birds but after five months, they all died due to diseases.

I noted later it was because of a few since I had bought all of them from different farms in the neighbourhood. From your opinion, which is the best breed of birds that can do well in a cold area.

Paul Githinji

When outsourcing your flock from different farms, you need to keep them in isolation for prophylactic treatment and monitoring for two weeks.

During this period, provide broad-spectrum antibiotics in drinking water for the first three days, vaccinate against New Castle Disease on day eight and deworm on day 11 and 14.

The importance of this process is to prevent spread of diseases in case they were brought in by any of your neighbour’s birds and to identify sick birds that require complete isolation.

Chickens have the ability to regulate their body temperatures and with proper housing structures and correct feeding strategies, any of the chicken breeds perform equally well under the cold environment.

Sophie Miyumo,
Department of Animal Sciences, Egerton University.

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GROWING GARLIC
I am Mathew and I would like to plant garlic in Kapsabet. Where can I get good seeds?

Please contact Garlic Farm Kenya in Mau Narok on 0723713642.

Carol Mutua,
Department of Crops, Horticulture and Soils, Egerton University.

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BEST WAY TO REAR BROILERS

I would like to know which areas are most suitable for rearing broiler chickens and what are the climatic conditions that favour their growth?

Rachel

Broilers perform comfortably at environmental temperatures of between 220C to 240C, which is similar to room temperature.

If temperatures fall below 220C, birds go through cold stress and they respond to this stress by increasing their level of feed intake to warm their bodies and maintain normal body temperature.

Low environmental temperatures can be managed by provision of supplemental heat and proper insulation of the interior surface of the wall or ceiling to minimise heat loss from within the house.

On the other hand, if temperatures rise above 240C, the birds can no longer dissipate their heat and they will start to consume less feed and production will drop as a result of heat stress.

Heat stress in broilers is a serious problem as it leads to high mortality rates and production loss, especially when combined with high humidity.

This can be managed by ensuring proper ventilation within the housing unit, provision of cool drinking water and avoid high-stocking density.

Extreme environmental temperatures lower the immunity of the birds making them susceptible to diseases prevalent in an area.

Therefore, better management that include proper sanitation and vaccination schedules should be given priority to stabilise their immunity.

However, note that during the brooding period (0–3 weeks), the temperature should be higher, from 320C and gradually decreased to 240C by the fourth week, as birds are not able to maintain their temperatures.

Sophie Miyumo,
Department of Animal Sciences, Egerton University.

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VALUE OF BLACK SEEDS
I am not a practising farmer but I get a lot of information from Seeds of Gold. How can I get black seeds and what are their nutritional value or usage? I want to get their oil.

Lucy

Black seeds can be used for flavouring foods or are added to other foods. Black seed oil can be extracted by squeezing and compressing the seeds.

The oil has very many uses and health benefits, which include promoting the health of the heart by lowering cholesterol, prevents diabetes by lowering blood sugar, reduces allergies, good for the skin as it contains anti-aging properties, boosts fertility, reduces flu and fever, used in treatment of coughs and asthma, reduces high blood pressure, eliminates insomnia, relieves nausea and stomach upsets, treats toothache, inhibits breast and colon cancer as it has anti-cancer properties, treats eczema, aids weight loss, good for the hair and reduces epilepsy seizures in children.

Please contact Moonlite Foods through +91-8285078886 or email at [email protected] for the black seeds.

Carol Mutua,
Department of Crops, Horticulture and Soils, Egerton University.