I am new  here

Hello My Fellow Farmers, I am an Organic farmer specialized in Poultry farming and Vegetable crops such as Cucumbers, Tomatoes e.t.c.

A PhD student, Syarifin Firdaus, have discovered two genes in tomato that gives resistance to whitefly. He discovered this after testing 53 wild members of the tomato family from different parts of the world. The effective one was a wild tomato from Galapagos Islands. By crossing these wild Galapagos tomatoes with local ones, the hybrid will have resistance against whiteflies.

The breeding companies: Enza, EastWest and Ewindo were partners in the research project. And as far as I know, EastWest seeds have presence in Nigeria.

Firdaus also looked for resistance to whitefly in chilli pepper plants. He tested 44 different peppers but it wasn't successful.

The finding was made in September 2012 but I can't find any recent advance yet. Does anyone has more info on this? Whiteflies can be very difficult to control. Worse still, they can transmit dreadful virus to plants.

SOURCE: https://resource.wur.nl/en/show/Tomatoes...itefly.htm

In my search for organic solutions to pests and diseases, I came across Panchakavya. The following is what I got from: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp...511534.ece.

PANCHAKAVYA IS an organic product derived from five products evolving from cow, and it has been used in Indian medicine since time immemorial. "I have modified this Panchakavya by adding a few more ingredients and the modified version has a lot of beneficial effects on a variety of crops and livestock'', said Dr. K. Natarajan, President of the Rural Community Action Centre (RCAC), a non-governmental organization, actively engaged in promoting the concepts of organic farming and bio-diesel in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu. Dr. K. Natarajan has done extensive research with his Panchakavya on various crops, animals and even earthworms. His findings have been validated by leading research institutes in the country, and he was awarded the prestigious "Srishti Sanman" by a leading developmental organization in Ahmedabad.

"The present form of Panchakavya is a single organic input, which can act as a growth-promoter and immunity booster. It is essentially a product containing:
4 kg gobar gas (biogas) slurry
1 kg fresh cow dung
3 litres of cow urine
2 litres of cow's milk
2 litres of cow's curd
1 kg cow's ghee
3 litres of sugarcane juice
12 ripe bananas
3 litres of tender coconut water and 2 litres of toddy (if available).

This will make about 20 litres of Panchakavya. The concoction is stored in a wide-mouthed earthen pot or concrete tank in open. Sufficient shade should be provided, and the contents should be stirred twice a day, both in the morning and the evening. In seven days, the modified Panchakavya will be ready, and it can be diluted before use on plants and animals," says Dr. Natarajan.

In one research, intercropping lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus Stapf.) with eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) helped to control eggplant fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee) and increase yield when compared to monocropping and the use of pesticides. But with chemical control, there was less damaged by the pest.

What can you use lemon grass for? Is there ready market for it? Possible uses include drying and mixing it with livestock and poultry feed to boost productivity. There are lots of scientific papers that have confirm the health benefits of lemon grass. Selling it might be a bit tricky because many people don't value herbs. But I think that producers of herbal medicine will buy it.

agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=PH2014000932

In an experiment conducted in southeast Nigeria, water extracts of ginger rhizomes, garlic bulbs, and neem leaves were tested to see if they can control damping-off and downy mildew diseases of cucumber. For each plant materials, 3 different concentrations of 4, 8 and 12% were tested. Tap water was used as control.

Pointe sett cucumber variety was used. Plant spacing was 50cm x 50cm on raised beds. NPK (15:15:15) fertilizer was applied at150 kg/ha using the ring method at 3 weeks after planting. Staking was done 4 weeks after planting. Harveting starts 46 days after planting at 6 days interval.

The plant extracts were prepared as follows:

Wash the plant materials separately with tap water, dry under shade, and separately crush them in a mortar with pestle. Add distilled water to each of the crushed plant material and stir for 5 minutes. Filter them separately through clean muslin clothes. Note: 4, 8 and 12% concentration simply mean 4, 8 and 12g dry plant materials in 100ml of water or 40, 80 and 120g dry plant material in 1L of water.

Cucumber seeds were treated as follows:
Soak seeds in the plant extracts for 1 hour. Drain and remove excess moisture with blotting papper, towel etc. Dry at room temperature for 2 hours before planting. The planting spots were also drenched with 20ml of the extracts.

Results: All the extracts at various concentrations significantly reduced damping off disease and increase germination rate and seedling survival.

From 4 weeks after planting, weekly sprays of the different plant extracts at all concentration tested significantly suppressed the incidence and severity of downy mildew disease. This resulted in improved growth and yield of cucumber plants when compared to control. One teaspoonful of an emulsifier (morning fresh), was added per 15L of extract. Spraying was stopped 1 week to harvest and only 4 harvests were made. But I believe better result would be gotten if spraying had continued because these plant extracts are not toxic like chemical fungicides. I just wondered why they stopped!

For control of both diseases, the most effective was ginger, followed by neem leaves and then garlic. The best concentration was 8%. Suprisingly, 4% concentrations were better than 12% concentrations against damping off. Some other research concluded that garlic extract was 50 -100% effective against downy mildew at volatile anti-microbial concenyration of 50 - 1000 ug/mL.

In terms of growth and yield, the effectiveness followed the same trend, with ginger being the best, followed by neem leaves and then garlic. Again, 8% concentration of the various extracts gave best result.

Source: https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v5i7/NOV163...Wfx1hQCtgv

Wood ash can be very good when applied to soil. But there are many precautions you'll have to take to prevent bad consequencies. It work best in soil that are acidic. When wood is burnt, about 0.43 to 1.82 percent of the mass of wood (dry basis) results in wood ash. Ash contains about 25 to 45% calcium carbonate, less than 10% potash , and less than 1% phosphate. There are trace elements of iron, boron, manganese, zinc, copper etc and some heavy metals.

Uses of Wood Ash
1. As an alternative to lime to increase soil pH. Unlike lime, it also add nuyrients to the soil.

2. In organic hydroponic solutions, it can be used to replace inorganic compounds containing calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus.

3. It can added to composts. Its high char content will help control odor.

4. As fertilizer. Although ash has low NPK value (0-1-3), it contains a lot of macro and micro nutrients that are essential for plant growth. As a result, when ash is used in place of agric lime, it can increase plant growth up to 45 percent over traditional limestone [1]. This is particularly true if the soil is lacking in some nutrients.

Wood ash has high pH (8-13) because of its high calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content (25-45%). Just like agricultural lime, it can be used to increase soil pH to desired level (different crops have different desired pH ranges). Wood ash has a liming effect of between 8 and 90 percent of the total neutralizing power of agric lime. Below are reasons why you should not apply too much ash to your farm.

1. High Soil pH: Wood ash increase soil pH. If soil pH exceed desired level, crops will not grow well because they no longer have access to certain essential minerals like phosphorus, iron, boron, manganese, copper, zinc and potassium. This will definitely lead to financial loss.

2. Ash contains some heavy metals like cadmium, nickel and chromium. Plants will absorb these metals and store them in their tissues. When human and animals eat these plants, their health will be endangered.

3. Soil Salinity: Wood ash is also rich in potassium ..... Excessive amount of these salts in the soil is bad for plant health.

How to Apply Wood Ash Correctly
To be on the safe side and avoid over application with its bad effects, you will need the service of a soil laboratory before you apply ash in your farm. The amount of ash that you can apply varies by field. It depends on calcium carbonate equivalent (CCEs), potassium content of soil and soil pH. The laboratory will conduct the following tests:

1. Soil Test: To determine pH and nutrient levels in the soil. With this knowledge, you can apply the right quantity of ash to attain desired pH and because ash already contain some nutrients, you'll avoid over application of nutrients when using chemical fertilizers.

2. Ash nutrient analysis: This is important because the nutrient content of ash from different sources varies widely. The test determines the calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of the ash and its nutrient content, including amount of heavy metals present. Ash with high amount of heavy metals should be avoided, but this is rare.

About CCE: The calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of ash measures its liming ability. The CCE tells you how well the wood ash will raise the soil pH compared to lime (calcium carbonate). CCE varies widely (25-60%) from ash to ash, making lab testing very neccessary. With proper soil tests and the CCE of the wood ash, application rates for wood ash can be calculated by dividing the recommended lime application rate by the CCE of the wood ash. E.g. if 3 tons of lime are needed per acre and the ash has a CCE of 50%, then ash application
rate (tons/acre) is 3/50 x 100 = 6 tons of ash per acre would be required to raise the pH to the desired level. If you'll be applying chemical fertilizer, knowing the nutrient content of the ash will help you to avoid over application of nutrients already present in the ash.

Applying Ash

Ash can be spread by hand or mechanically with a conventional manure spreader or lime application equipment. It can be top dressed or incorporated into the soil. To get the full benefit, incorporate the wood ash throughout the root zone because the benefits only occur where the ash and soil are in contact.

Do not apply ash immediately before planting or during early emergence because when newly applied, soil pH may be in the alkaline range and this could affect normal plant growth.

Ash is dry and dusty. It will irritate skin and eyes and can cause respiratory problem when inhaled. Protect your skin, nose and eyes with gloves, long-sleeve shirt, nose mask and safety glasses when applying ash.

Do not combine ash with fertilizers like ammonium sulfate, urea, ammonium nitrate to prevent loss of nitrogen in the form of ammonia gas.

Conclusion
The bad effect some farmers experienced when they apply ash is mainly due to high soil pH resulting from over application of ash. If you can apply ash in such a way as to maintain the proper soil pH range (depending on the crop you are growing), you'll always get good result when compared to lime application.

Ref
1. https://extension.uga.edu/publications/d...0Amendment

2. https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2279e/

In an experiment, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was effective in reducing bacteria leaf spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv.
vesicatoria) in pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. annuum ), under greenhouse and open field conditions.

Also, when applied to plant roots (by watering), LABs were able to colonise roots, produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), siderophores and solubilise phosphate.

Recommended Read: How to produce your own lactic acid bacteria

Experiment source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...014.894495

Respiratory diseases are bad for animals. If they can't breath well they may die or loose weight. I once had a bad experience with layers. One night, I noticed that many birds find it very very difficult to breath. You could hear sounds as they struggle to breath. From time to time, they will violently shake their heads as if to cough out phlem. After a course of antibiotics, they recovered but some died. Weeks later, I found out about bromhexine, a drug that can greatly improve efficiency of antibiotics used for respiratory diseases. I soon found a drug from Animal Care Nigeria that contains bromhexine. It is Conflox, containing Enrofloxacin, an antibiotic, and bromhexine hydrochloride. Below are some important facts about bromhexine.

1. Bromehexane breaks down mucus blocking the respiratory tract and this helps the animal to breath better. It also help in healing the inflammation in the oesopgagus.

2. Bromhexine alters the ability of bacteria (P. aeruginosa , E.coli , S. aureus) to adhere to the upper respiratory tract. This way, they will be flushed out.

3. Bromhexine modifies the distribution of antibiotics in the organism and increases their concentration in the respiratory system, thus making them more effective. It may be used in conjunction with antibiotics and/or sulphonamides, bronchodilators . The concomitant administration of bromhexine with antibiotics has enabled a 41% increase in spiramycin concentration in nasal secretions of heifers after two days of treatment. A 25-35% increase of tylosine or erythromycin concentrations in the serum of cows after a single administration was noted. Bromhexine also significantly increased concentrations of tylosin in serum and in nasal secretions of pigs after a single administration. Maximum concentration (Cmax) was 50-70% higher that the Cmax of oxytetracycline administered alone in cows, the absorption half-life was significantly shorter and the elimination half-life was unchanged.

4. In humans, bromhexine is used to relief painful sore throat. Relief is quick and can last up to 3 hours. Caution should be taken by patients with gastric ulceration, and usage during the first trimester of pregnancy is not recommended. Don't depend on this advice, consult a doctor if you have sore throat.

Recommended Link: https://www.ceva.co.uk/Poultry/Water-Solutions/ExFlow

I want this post to be a great resource for herbs and organic acids that can be used to booste poultry growth, immunity, egg production etc.

Herbs for Broilers
The 2 herbs: E. odoratum and O. gratissimum (scent leaves) are good for broilers. They help improve growth and build immune system against diseases. Prepare by soaking 200g of dry leaves in 1 liter warm water for 12 hours. Soak them separately and give each at 25ml per liter of drinking water. SOURCE:
https://scialert.net/fulltextmobile/?doi...2017.90.95

Images of E. odoratum from tramil.net and revolvy.com

  Revolvy.com.e.odorata.jpeg (Size: 8.09 KB / Downloads: 22)

  Tramil.net.e.odorata2.jpeg (Size: 13.45 KB / Downloads: 21)

  Tramil.net.e.odorata.jpeg (Size: 10.56 KB / Downloads: 18)

Do I need to include photo of scent leaves? Anyway:

  download (2).jpeg (Size: 10.43 KB / Downloads: 18)
From healthbid.net.

Good Organic Acids for Birds
Adding butyric acid to broiler feed at 0.2% can help maintain their performance and carcass quality.

Sodium butyrate is also good. Salts of butyrate, propionate and acetate can decrease salmonella (a disease-causing organism) colonization of chicken cecum. They reduce litter contamination and neutralize ammonia production. But note that the effectiveness of organic acids may also depend on diet composition and its buffering capacity.

If you allow poultry litter to get too wet, ammonia, a gas that smells like urine, will be released. Levels as low as 25 part per million can create costly challenges for you. At that level, you can not even detect it with your nose. Manage your litter well and boost your birds' performance. Your birds will grow well, lay well and will be less prone to diseases. Read how to manage your poultry litter. http://www.farmersjoint.com/blog/livesto...s-control/

Noiler was developed in Nigeria by Amo farm Sieberer Hatchery by crossing broilers and cockerel. Their color can be black, white, yellow, brown or gray patches. They attain 3-4kg in 4 months. Cockerels can reach 2kg in 6 months. They are good foragers and so like local birds, they can be left to find food for themselves.

Noilers are more disease resistant than broilers. Hens start laying at 22 weeks old and can lay for 2 years, giving about 200 eggs per year. Their eggs are bigger than those of local hens.

Kuroilers: Developed in India by crossing white leghorn rooster with Rhode Island Red hen or
colored broiler rooster with Rhode Island Red hens. They are also good foragers and can look like Noilers. They grow faster than noilers but need more care. They are best raised under extensive or semi intensive system as giving only formulated feed is not cost effective. They can attain 5kg in 4 months. They lay 150-200 eggs per yr and resist diseases better
than noilers.

Both breeds do not brood chicks by themselves.

Biosecurity are measures taken to prevent pests and diseases from entering the farm. It involves limiting visitors' entry, controlling vermins like rats, controlling insects like litter beetles, mosquitos, full change of cloth by staffs, foot dip with phenol at every
door etc. Rats can transmit a lot of deadly diseases to birds. They also recontaminate disinfected pens. Mosquitoes can transmit fowlpox, including the dreaded wet form of fowlpox. Litter beetles, rats, can transmit diseases and recontaminate pens. For more info on biosecurity, see www.farmersjoint.com/blog/livestock-farming/biosecurity-how-to-protect-your-poultry-farm-from-pests-and-diseases/

By the 7th day, chicks' weight shud be 4x their day old weight or more. Each 1g of weight gained by day 7 will yield additional 6g by day 35.
Good 7th day weight gain will lead to lower feed consumption per unit weight and lower final mortality. At day 7, mortality should be 1% or less.

However, for broilers that will exceed 2.5kg at slaughter, slightly lower early growth rate may benefit lifetime performance. This will give the cardiocascular and
skeletal system to develop well.

Read http://www.farmersjoint.com/blog/livesto...first-week

Do you know that floor temperature is more important than air temperature? How do you feel in cold weather, if you lie on a cold floor in a warm room? It would be uncomfortable and a health threat. Chicks feel the same
way too. To ensure that the floor is warm, start heating the pen before the chicks arrive. I also have a thick layer of wood shavings on the floor.

The first 5 days is the most critical period. Within 2 weeks they become able to regulate their body temperature. Best way to check if temperature is ok is to wat ch the
chicks. If they are panting, have their wings spread apart or staying away from the heat source, reduce temperature. If they're inactive, coming closer to the heat source, increase temperature. Chicks that are comfortable will be active and distributed uniformly throughout the brooder.

Maintaing the correct brooding
temperature will lead to higher weight gain, lower feed consumption per kg weight gain, lower mortality and cost.

Read http://www.farmersjoint.com/blog/livesto...first-week

In this post, I will be making a list of info on poultry feed that I gathered from various researches.

1. Guinea grass in broiler diet: Guinea grass can replace up to 15% maize in broilers' diet. Considering the cheapness of guinea grass, this is a welcome info.

2. Sun-dried sweet potato meal can
replace up to 50% maize in broiler and pig ration with good result.

3. Cassava leaf meal can be included at 10 - 20% in broilers' diet if methionine and energy (carbohydrate) levels are increased. It can also replace other high fiber feedstuffs like palm kernel cake.

4. Duckweed (Lemna perpusilla): When broiler feed was partially replaced with 6% fresh or 7% dry duckweed, there was no effect on feed intake, weight gain, amount of feed consumed per kg gain and meat quality. Feed cost was reduced.

But note, the diet must still be balanced nutritionally for these to
work.

Adult meat goats must not be fed more than 1% of their body weight in grain. That is, the weight of grain fed must not be more than 1% of the goat's body weight. If the goat weighs 30kg, don't feed more than 0.3kg grain (i.e. 1/100 x 30kg = 0.3kg or 300g). This is
necessary so as to avoid a metabolic disease called acidiosis. For lactating does, grain shud not exceed 1.5% of her bodyweight.

In this post I'll be sharing some very important facts about goat health. I got them when I was doing some goat research as I'm planning to start a goat farm.
1. Offer kids feed containing coccidiostat from 2-6 weeks of age. Also offer it when they are weaned.

Examples of coccidiostat and their dosage (mg/kg body weight) in braclet include:
amprolium (50 mg/kg body weight . For 5 days)

monensin (0.75g per 44kg body weight or 15g/ton feed. This is fairly toxic. Should be fed throughout feeding period)

Sulfa drugs (include dimidine, guanidine, methazine, quinoxalin,) Reduce dose by half on subsequent days and treat for 3-5 days.

Lasalocid (20-90g/ton feed)

Decoquinate (0.5mg/kg feed for 28 days. No withdrawal period needed before animal is slaughtered)

Urea molasses block is a good suplement for cattle, especially those that are fed low quality forage like rice straw, grass hay, corn stover and other crop residues. It helps make the low quality forage more digestible and the animal gain more weight and produce more milk.The block is rich in protein (from urea), energy (from molasses, grain meals etc) and minerals (from mineral premix).
.
There are different ways to produce urea-molasses blocks. Here is one:
Molases: 30%
Rice bran: 20%
Urea: 4%
Cassava meal: 23%
Soybeans meal: 10%
Bone meal: 5%
Mineral premix: 3%
Salt: 5%
Bentonite: 5%

PKC contains copper at levels toxic to sheep. But for cattle, it is a good supplement and fattening feed. Up to 80% PkC is used in growing cattle feed in Malaysia. For dairy cows, up to 50% can be used. For sheep, limit it to 30%.