Insecticide Resistance: How to Use Insecticides Correctly

By FarmersJoint in Crop and Plantation

Insecticides are used by crop farmers to control insect pests that attack crops. It is a well-known fact that world-wide, some insecticides are losing their effectiveness due to insecticide resistance – i.e. some insecticides no longer kill insects they’re meant to kill. US farmers lost 7% of their crops to pests in the 1940s. Over the 1980s and 1990s, the loss was 13% even though more pesticides (including insecticides) were being used. There are several factors that can cause this but we won’t be considering them here. Rather, we’ll learn how to control pests in such a way that prevents/minimizes insecticide resistance from occurring.

Why is Insecticide Resistance so Bad?

The word tuta absoluta will continue to strike terror into the hearts of tomato farmers. It is a moth – a flying insect that can cause 100% yield loss in tomato farms. Farmers tried to kill these little insects with
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How to Control Weeds and Conserve Water at the Same Time

By FarmersJoint in Crops
Setting up plastic mulch with drip irrigation. Drip tapes not shown

Weeding is costly. Irrigation is also costly. If you have a large farm you’ll appreciate what I mean. Because of the labor intensive nature of weeding, laborers charge high prices for weeding. Money spent on fuel for irrigation is also costly. But thank God for mulching. It helps you to control weeds and conserve water at the same time.

Weeds compete with crops for nutrients and thus hampers growth. They also attract pests and diseases to the farm. One secret to having a bumper harvest is proper weed control – especially when the crops are young.

Fig 1: Cucumbers growing in plastic mulch. Image source: phollar Nairaland

A mulch is a layer of material covering the soil surface. It blocks sunlight from reaching weed seeds and thus prevent them from germinating. Because of the covering, most of the soil moisture will remain trapped in the soil.
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Revealed: How to Increase Your Plant Yield By 30%

By FarmersJoint in Crops
My Young Moringa Tree

My Young Moringa Tree

The tip I’m about to share with you will help you increase your plant yield by 25-30%. And it works with almost any crop. Thanks to Moringa tree. The leaves of this tree is rich in vitamins, minerals, ascorbates, phenolics, antioxidants along with macro- micro nutrients and amino acids. They contain all the essential amino acids in a good proportion. All these combine to make this tree wonderful. But all these are not the only things that makes Moringa important as a plant growth promoter. The growth promoting effect also comes from the growth hormone (zeatin) that can be found in the young leaves and shoot.

 

Why Use Moringa Leaf Extract?

Moringa leaf extract accelerate growth of crops, improve resistance to pests, diseases and stress conditions and increase yield by 20 to 35%. Soak your seeds in this extract and their germination
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How to Reduce Pest Attacks on Crops with Aspirin

By FarmersJoint in Crops
Uncoated and coated aspirin

Aspirin is a salicylate and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is taken by humans to prevent heart attacks and stroke. It is also used to reduce fever and relieve mild to moderate pain from conditions such as muscle aches, toothaches, common cold, and headaches. It may also be used to reduce pain and swelling in conditions such as arthritis. But do you know that plants can also benefit from aspirin? Scientists have found out that aspirin can help plants to:

1. fight off diseases (fungal, bacterial and viral)

2. tolerate stress conditions (salty soils, high temperature, drought, cold) [1] and

3. improve plant growth.

Aspirin contains Acetyl Salicylic Acid (ASA), which can change to salicylic acid (SA) when it dissolves in water. Salicylic acid is present in fruits and vegetables, with more in herbs and spices. Interestingly, scientists have also discovered that aspirin and a diet rich in fruits
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