AGRIBUSINESS: WHAT CAUSES TOMATOES TO SPLIT AND HOW DO YOU PREVENT TOMATO CRACKING.

AGRIBUSINESS: WHAT CAUSES TOMATOES TO SPLIT AND HOW DO YOU PREVENT TOMATO CRACKING. Tomato farming is very lucrative and as such many farmers are investing in the value chain to increase profit margin. Tomatoes must be whole and fresh for it to command premium price,hence split tomatoes is not what farmers bargain for,so what causes this and how to stop it. AGRIBUSINESS: WHAT CAUSES TOMATOES TO SPLIT AND HOW DO YOU PREVENT TOMATO CRACKING. Fluctuation of temperatures sometimes can cause problems for newly growing tomato transplants. It is therefore very crucial to mulch your plants, either with organic mulch such as straws, wood chips or plastic. The mulch will conserve water and also prevent disease from spreading. When it comes to mulch and tomatoes, plastic mulch has shown to be the best mulch to help prevent tomato cracking. Sometimes, if you have a lot of rain after a spell of really dry weather, you’ll find splitting tomatoes on your tomato plants. AGRIBUSINESS: WHAT CAUSES TOMATOES TO SPLIT AND HOW DO YOU PREVENT TOMATO CRACKING. A split tomato problem is really caused by lack of water. If you take away water, the tomatoes cannot stay lush and juicy, and the skin will crack just as your skin cracks if you do not have enough moisture. And when the tomatoes receive a large amount of water quickly after this, they fill with water and the skin bursts at the cracks like an overfilled water balloon. How to Prevent Tomato Cracking This cracking problem in tomato is more than just an aesthetic problem. You will realize that through these cracks bacteria and fungus can be introduced into the fruit and cause them to rot or provide an easy access to pests. AGRIBUSINESS: WHAT CAUSES TOMATOES TO SPLIT AND HOW DO YOU PREVENT TOMATO CRACKING. For you to prevent splitting in tomatoes, you will have to water your tomato plants once a week with about 1-2 inches of water. To keep tomato cracking to a minimum, be sure to keep your tomato plants watered evenly on a regular basis. Protect them from a severe drought in your absence by setting up a watering system on a timer. This way you can water your farm when you aren’t home to do it and you won’t have to deal with severe tomato cracking. It’s as easy as that to solve a split tomato problem. Finally, be sure to fertilize your tomatoes according to the instructions on your tomato fertilizer. Fertilizer or manure is important to keep the soil healthy enough to help your plants produce as many tomatoes as possible. If you follow these rules, soon enough you will have plenty of tomatoes to enjoy and to sell.

TILAPIA FARMING: WHAT YOU REQUIRE TO ESTABLISH A SMALL FISH POND.

TILAPIA FARMING: WHAT YOU REQUIRE TO ESTABLISH A SMALL FISH POND. The first thing is the A) design of the Pond. When choosing the pond site and configuration, there are a few variables to be considered. A portion of these are:1)Source of water to fill the pond. 2) How to bring water to the pond: The general rule is that the pond water inflow and outflow should measure up to the pond volume over the time of a month. On the off chance that the inflow is too low, water quality may experience the ill effects of oxygen exhaustion as well as collection of toxins. In the event that the water surge is too high, a lot of valuable green growth might be flushed out from the pond. The water should keep the pond full all through the culture period. The pond should top off in under seven days. Place screens on pond deltas and outlets to keep out predators, creepy crawlies and undesirable fish and furthermore to hold the cultured fish. B)Size, shape and pond depth: Moderately shallow ponds are profitable. In any case, the shallow end ought to be no less than 0.5m deep to keep away from invasion by weeds and predation of the fish. The size and state of the pond can shift contingent upon the fish species, fish populace and the farmer’s preferences. It’s important that on the off chance that you need to produce fingerlings, you will require all the more small ponds while a food fish producer requires moderately large ponds.

Taraba Govt to set up cassava processing plants .

Taraba Govt to set up cassava processing plants . Flags off distribution of 5m stems IITA cassava variety to farmers The Taraba state government has expressed readiness to establish three Cassava Processing Plants in the three Senatorial Districts, with a view to improving its agricultural productivity. Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, who made the assertion while flagging off the distribution of 2018 cassava stems to farmers said the initiative, came as a result of the excellent performance of cassava farmers in the 2017 cropping season. CCIshaku noted that the establishment of the Plants was aimed at creating markets for the finished products and also to provide an enabling environment for healthy competition among the cassava producers in the State. see

AGRIBUSINESS: 5 PROFITABLE AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS YOU CAN STARTUP AS A STUDENT..

5 PROFITABLE AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS YOU CAN STARTUP AS A STUDENT. 

 1. CASSAVA It is a perennial woody shrubs with an edible roots, which grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, cassava forms the major part of our daily food and no one can go a whole week without it. 

 Cassava is processed into a number of product and is very essential in Nigeria as food and industrial raw material, as many food is derived from cassava such as. Cassava tuber as food, Fufu , Garri , Abacha , Amala flower , starch and cassava flour. 

 Setting up cassava farm is a premium idea as a student for you to invest and as it requires relatively low startup capital and time, there is market for cassava year in year out and it will bring whopping sum to your bank account. 

 2. Vegetable farming. Vegetable farming is one of the easiest farming that anyone can venture into and the demand for vegetable is all year round, it can create cool stream of income for you as a student, vegetable you can grow include UGU,OKRA, TETE, BITTER LEAF,EFO,EWEDU etc… more

Women in Africa are ready to go : Investing in African Women Makes Good Business Sense.

Investing in African Women Makes Good Business Sense. There is little doubt that Africa will witness rapid yet uneven economic and demographic growth in the next 20 years. The continent’s rise can positively affect the global economy by introducing a decisive regional economic force that must be reckoned with. The very steps that will enable this progress — such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, widespread investments in communications, transportation and distribution infrastructures, a greater emphasis on advancing agro-industry, and broad changes in education systems to prepare market-ready graduates to fuel the continent’s rise — are lagging. This is not new. Since the last century, Africans from diverse communities as well as thought leaders have lamented the lack of coherent strategies in individual countries, regional groupings and Africa at large that address shortcomings identified by governments and multilateral organizations.

AGRIBUSINESS :How to weave cash from cassava bags .

AGRIBUSINESS :How to weave cash from cassava bags cassava bags.Cassava can be transformed into a biodegradable paper which is not only environment-friendly but also enables food to be stored for long periods. The ban on the plastic paper bag carriers in Kenya, businesses are struggling to find affordable substitutes in line with the new environmental conservation directive. AGRIBUSINESS :How to weave cash from cassava bags . The ban has had a significant ripple effect on businesses, consumers and jobs. But there are many possibilities with cassava tuber. Cassava farming, for a long time, has been considered an option for the poor. What farmers have not recognized is that this neglected tuber is a ‘hidden gold’ yet to be exploited. AGRIBUSINESS :How to weave cash from cassava bags . The crop has the potential to transform farmers’ lives through value addition. For long, cassava has been used as food and occasionally processed into fine flour and supplied to industries that make confectioneries. But this trend is likely to change with the ban on plastic bags. You can weave cash from cassava bags .

Genetically Modified Children: New Film Unveils the ‘Monstrous’ Child Deformities Caused by Agrochemicals in Argentina.

Genetically Modified Children: New Film Unveils the ‘Monstrous’ Child Deformities Caused by Agrochemicals in Argentina. The shocking film "Genetically Modified Children" unveils the horrors of decades of chemical-intensive agricultural practices in Argentina, where the majority of crops are genetically modified (GM) and routinely doused in dangerous agrochemicals, and the chokehold big tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and chemical and seed giants have on poverty-stricken farmers desperate to earn a living. The film, produced by Juliette Igier and Stephanie Lebrun, shows the devastating health effects the region's agricultural sector is having on children,1 an increasing number of whom are being born with monstrous physical deformities. Some of the children's cases are so severe that, without a medical intervention, will result in death before the age of 5. The film begins with the crew traveling from North Argentina in the Province of Misiones to the Brazilian frontier, an agricultural region that was one of the nation's first to begin growing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the mid-'90s. Featured in the film is Ricardo Rivero, regional head of the local electricity company. He learned that the reason families cannot pay their bills is because often they are taking care of a sick or handicapped child, and receive no assistance from the Argentinian government. The film shows them visiting the humble home of a tobacco farmer where they meet Lucas Texeira, a 5-year-old boy with an incurable genetic skin disease. The family believes it was caused by the mother's exposure to Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller early on in her pregnancy. No one told her it was toxic, she says. The genetic mutation that caused her son's condition left him with no pores in his skin, which means he doesn't perspire. The heat from his body stays inside, causing him severe and painful itching that leads to frequent crying spells. Mr. Texeira expresses his sadness over Lucas' condition, as well as his fears that he could have another child in the future with a similar deformity.