Six simple inventions to help you double production

Innovation is crucial for the growth of any sector; agribusiness is a not an exception. Seeds of Gold today unveils innovations to help you control ticks, make biogas from chicken droppings and prevent soil diseases in tomato greenhouses.

Trap that kills ticks in pastures

Most farmers struggle to curb ticks by spraying their animals with acaricides. This, however, costs a lot of money, besides the chemicals polluting the environment.

A university professor is keen on helping farmers’ eliminate ticks using a cheaper method.

Prof Rosebella Maranga, the deputy vice-chancellor, Administration, Finance and Planning at Multimedia University, has developed a simple device dubbed Tick Trap, which kills ticks using biological methods.

“Tick Trap targets non-parasitic ticks, that is those in pastures before they attack animals to cause diseases,” Prof Maranga, a parasitologist, says.
Up to 97 per cent of ticks are found in vegetation where animals graze, she says.

“A good number of control methods target ticks on animals, the reason why most farmers struggle to curb the parasites in vain. Ticks spend most of their time in pastures, where they wait to attach themselves to cows, sheep or goats.”

Animals produce carbon dioxide, which attracts the parasites. The trap uses a similar principle to lure ticks.

“It uses attractants in form of chemicals normally produced by animals and male feeding ticks,” Maranga says of the device made of aluminium plates and patented by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (Kipi).

The Tick Trap has four sections namely, the outer and inner plates for holding killing agents; a metal tube at the centre, which holds dry ice that produces carbon dioxide to attract ticks; a plate at the top of the device, which dispenses pheromones and lastly a rod that secures the trap firmly on the ground.

“The biological killing agent used in the trap is neem, but one can also use fungi extracts. The ice and the pheromone attracts the ticks to the trap. The neem then kills the ticks as they strive to reach the pheromone. The trap covers a radius of seven metres and takes two hours to wipe out 90 per cent of ticks.”

According to Prof Maranga, when placed in pastures, the traps wipe out ticks faster. Therefore, it is a preventive measure to mop up ticks from pastures as it does not kill ticks attached to an animal.

Once a tick is infected, it transfers the killing agents to others in pasture. The trap has successfully been used by farmers in Nyanza and Eastern regions.
“I have not mass-produced the gadget because of lack of funds, but I am working on that. I hope to get a sponsor who will help me take the product to farmers.”

The trap, which costs between Sh500 and Sh1,000, can be used by both large and smallholder farmers. It can also be used in game parks and by pastoralists.

“I developed the device to offer farmers a friendly method to eliminate ticks. The chemicals are locally available. Ticks are deadly. A female tick lays about 10,000 eggs in the grass or soil, so it is imperative we eliminate them in their habitats.”

Making biogas from chicken droppings for Eggs’ incubation

Biogas from chicken dropping, according to researchers at Egerton University, can be used for brooding purposes and for incubation of eggs.

“This innovation adds value to animal waste, helps in curbing waste disposal and greenhouse gas emission challenges,” says Sophie Miyumo, research assistant at the university, who worked on the innovation.

To produce the gas, a farmer works with an anaerobic digester. “The plant is composed of an airtight container commonly known as the digester, in which the waste is dumped and decomposed, and a tank that harnesses the gases emitted by the slurry commonly known as the gas holder.”

She says biogas is far superior to other renewable energies. Biogas plants can generate power continuously and this is independent of sun, wind and water.
“Chicken manure is costly to dispose when a farmer does not grows crops. Turning it into biogas therefore helps,” says Miyumo.

The quantity of poultry waste to be fed into the digester will depend on the output (gas) required by a farmer and what the gas is being used for. 

“About 30kg of poultry waste is required per day for domestic set-up. This can be produced by 450 birds. In the case of artificial incubation of eggs and artificial brooding of chicks, about 10kg of poultry waste is required per day. This can be produced by 150 birds. A combination of both will require 600 birds to produce 40kg of poultry waste per day to ensure effective gas production.”

The cost of the equipment depends on the capacity of biogas an individual wants to produce. An equipment with a capacity of 3.5 cubic metres goes for Sh40,000 whole a 5.5 cubic metres gadget goes for Sh55,000. The bio-gas can be used for domestic purposes, including cooking, lighting, radio, TV and charging phones.

Organic Control of Soil Diseases in Greenhouses

Farmers can now control soil-borne diseases and root-knot nematodes in their tomato greenhouses using an organic method that sustains the health of soil ecosystem, the people who work in greenhouses, consumers and leads to high crop yields.

The method uses plants with bioactive compounds against root-knot nematode infestation. The organic nematocide is made from Lippia or Ocimum plants at flowering stage. They are chopped into approximately 0.5cm to enable proper mixing with soil and to increase the surface area for decomposition activity.

“Lippia and Ocimum can be used separately. The other alternative is to use both mixed at equal rates. But mixing the two plants  may not be possible because in a locality you may find only one. So, one can use 13 to 27 tonnes per hectare,” says Peter Caleb, a horticultural scientist at Egerton University, who is behind the innovation.

The plants will provide nematicidal properties as well as nutrients for tomato production on decomposition.

“Application of fresh biomass materials of the plants reduces the population of root-knot nematodes, the damage on greenhouse tomatoes, and improves growth, yields and post-harvest quality of tomatoes,” he says.

They further provide crops with potassium, calcium and magnesium essential for tomato sweetness and extended shelf life due to stronger outer fruit covering.

The benefits of this organic method include affordability and eco-friendlier alternative to chemical nematicides, which farmers have relied on to control plant parasitic nematodes in greenhouses.

“Nematicides are costly, persistent in the soil and are blamed for contamination of groundwater sources. Consequently, several of them have been withdrawn from the market on account of environmental concerns. It is, therefore, necessary to find alternative nematode management options that are non-chemical and eco-friendly,” Caleb says.

Tomato growing under greenhouse conditions is highly susceptible to soil-borne diseases. In early infestations, root-knot nematodes do not produce any visible above-ground symptoms, but the infected plants will wilt and die, while flowering and fruit development is reduced.

“A farmer needs to be assisted for the first time to know the specific plants used and to get the rates right,” he advises.

Lippia and Ocimum are locally available. In vernacular, lippia is known Muthiethi (Kamba), Muthirithi (Kikuyu and Meru),Mwokiot (Kipsigis), Mosonyon (Pokot) and Sinoni (Samburu).

Ocimum is known as Oluorochieng’ (Luo), Anchabbi (Borana), Vumba manga (Digo), Vamba Manga (Giriama), Chesimia (Maragoli), Lemurran (Samburu), Mrumbawassi (Taita) Loguru and Ichoke (Turkana).

Supplementary Feed Ration for camels during drought

Sustaining milk production from camels when on natural forage is a challenge to peri-urban camel keepers in arid lands.

Natural forages substantially diminish during dry spells. One, therefore, requires affordable supplementary feeds to boost nutrient supply needed by the animal for milk synthesis.

Animal scientists at Egerton University have formulated an innovative supplementary feed for camels during dry spells.

“The feed is formulated using barley straw, acacia pods, maize germ, molasses, urea and mineral lick,” says Dr Issack Noor, an animal scientist at the university, who is behind the feed.

Depending on accessibility, acacia pods may be substituted with maize germ. Farmers can feed 4kg to a lactating camel only in the evening, and then it is allowed to take care of its calves during the day.

Compared to natural range browsing, the innovative feed with maize germ can improve milk production by 50 per cent and minimise loss in body weight.

“This innovative feed ration enables camel owners to sustain animal body condition and milk production for food and for sale. With market orientation, milk price will be high and feed supply through market will be attractive,” adds Noor, who worked on the project with Professors Omedo Bebe and Abdi Giliye, from the Department of Animal Science of Egerton University, and the Ewaso Ng’iro North Development Authority.

In using the innovative feed ration, camel producers can practise semi-zero-grazing where the milking herd will go out to forage during the day and offered the supplementary feed ration in the evening when in the corrals.

“Unlike other domestic animals, formulation of supplementary feed ration for camels has not attracted commercial interests due to several challenges,” Noor says.

“The specific nutritional requirements of camels have not been adequately established and this has impeded supplementation protocol.”

Making Camel Milk Yoghurt

Many Kenyans are used to cow milk yoghurt, but researchers have shown that one can make the product from any animal milk, including camels’.

Researchers from Egerton University have developed a new way of processing camel milk into yoghurt using stabilisers, gelling and thickening to improve texture of the product.

High-value product

“This is essential for marketing because camel milk, unlike cow milk, does not thicken easily, yet consumers want thick yoghurt,” says Dr Patrick Muliro, a dairy science technologist, who came up with the innovation, while working with Professors Omedo Bebe and Abdi Guliye and Dr Noor Isaak.

The invention aims at addressing challenges of processing camel milk into yoghurt, a high value product with longer shelf life than cow’s milk.

“Camel milk has huge commercial opportunities in urban centres where a large population of pastoral communities value the milk for nutritional properties.

Pastoral communities have traditionally exploited nutritional health properties of camel milk to cure diabetes, tuberculosis, stomach ulcers, and gastro-enteritis,” Muliro says.

This opportunity for commercialisation and branding with nutritional health attributes has been exploited by a local firm Vital Camel Milk Ltd, which owns a camel milk processing plant in Nanyuki.

However, they only pasteurise raw milk and package for niche market in Nairobi.

Raw camel milk or sour milk called Suusa is popular with pastoral communities in urban centres.

“Processing camel milk into yoghurt reduces milk losses from spoilage, especially under unhygienic milk handling.”

Yeast and Molasses -treated Maize Stover for cows during dry spell

Effective utilisation of large quantities of maize stover and other crop residues available after every harvest can solve the problem of inadequate supply of good quality forage to the dairy cows in smallholder farms.

Shredding of the stover either in the field or at home will reduce the bulkiness while adding a formulation of molasses, urea, yeast and ruminant salt dissolved in water to form a liquid mixture is good for cows, particularly during dry season.

“One mature dairy cow can be given 10kg of shredded maize stover mixed thoroughly with the mixture containing 2kg molasses, 150g urea, 10 to 15g yeast and 200g ruminant salt, all dissolved in three to five litres of water in a plastic bucket,” say P. Migwi and Olivier Kashongwe of Egerton University, who are behind the innovation.

“The liquid mixture is normally sprinkled on the shredded maize stover using a watering can and then thoroughly mixed in readiness for feeding,” they add.

For a cow producing milk, this ration is not adequate to meet nutrient requirements for both maintenance and milk production. “Such a cow, therefore, needs some supplementation with daily meal or home-made concentrates at a rate of 1kg for every two-to-three litres of milk per day. Adequate water and minerals also need to be provided to the cow,” the researchers say.

The researchers worked in conjunction with Kenya Agricultural Research Institute through the East African Agricultural Productivity Project in developing the product.

Stover must be well-stored to protect it from vermin infestation (termites and rats), then processed through shredding and supplemented with protein and minerals to sustain milk production during dry season.

“Stover when unprocessed has high content of lignified fibre and low content of protein nitrogen, which limit intake by cows because they take a very long time chewing in the process use a lot of energy to digest in the rumen. Consequently, in this form, cows fed stover produce low milk.”

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