ABU releases new maize variety with enhanced Vitamin A.

Institute for Agricultural Research at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria(ABU) has released three new varieties of maize, one of enriched with Vitamin A. The new varieties have potential for high yield and they were tagged SAMMAZ 49, SAMMAZ 50 and SAMMAZ 51. “SAMMAZ 49 and 50 are hybrids with orange colours respectively,” said Ibrahim Abubakar, executive director of the institute, at its review and planning meeting. “SAMMAZ 49 is pro-vitamin ‘A’ hybrid and yields up to 7.8 tonnes per hectare. “SAMMAZ 50 is drought and striga tolerant with yields of 9.3 tonnes per hectare, while the third variety SAMMAZ 51 is open pollinated. more

How to reduce cost of irrigation farming.

Nigeria has huge potentials for irrigation with dam projects spread all over the country. However, most of the dams the ones that government have invested on are either abandoned for years or are less than 50% utilized. Irrigation farming is one of the methods to ensure a nation can produce food all year round thereby doubling the amount of food produced and ensuring foodsecurity. 

The other methods to ensure all year farming is the hydroponics and aeroponics systems,these use minimal land,less water and zero pesticides. 

The incorporation of these methods on a broad scale will boost production of food and feed for livestock.Read also this The high cost of irrigation equipment, ineffective and wasteful irrigation techniques have made efficient irrigation difficult for many farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Ibrahim Umar Abubakar, Director, Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, who is also an irrigation expert, shared his thoughts on how to cut cost

FADAMA III provides N2.8m solar borehole for Niger community.

FADAMA III provides N2.8m solar borehole for Niger community.The FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF) in Niger has provided solar borehole worth N2.8 million for Kasakoguin community in Wushishi Local Government Area, Aliyu Kutigi, the State Project Coordinator says. Kutigi made this known in Minna on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). continue

How to grow tomatoes with LED lighting.

Philips Lighting took a select group of leading global tomato growers, owners and consultants to visit three innovative French tomato growers with 100% LED installations during the fourth Philips High Wire Event. Philips Horticulture LED lighting is hosting the trips to the Kernoas greenhouse, with two seasons of experience growing with 100% LEDs, the Tomate Jouno greenhouse, specializing in year-round production of cherry tomatoes and Le Jardin de Rabelais, which grows vine and cherry tomatoes in its new Suprimair 3.4 ha greenhouse. continue

Making cows more environmentally friendly by feeding hydroponic fodder.

Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt have published a paper revealing an important discovery surrounding plants used to feed livestock; that plants growing in warmer conditions are tougher and have lower nutritional value to grazing livestock, potentially inhibiting milk and meat yields and raising the amount of methane released by the animals. 

           

 The higher amounts of methane are produced when plants are tougher to digest -- an effect of a warmer environment. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, around 25 times better at trapping heat than carbon dioxide and more than 95% of the methane produced by cows comes from their breath through belching and farting . Diet plays a vital role in control of methane emissions related to cattle thus various strategies have been proposed to stem these emissions. 

The change in diet of cattle to more easily digestible and metabolisable feed ensures less regurgitation,more absorption and less methane emission. Farming without soil also referred to as hydroponics refers to growing plants in nutrient rich media under controlled temperature and humidity to produce fresh fodder for animals,which are highly nutritious, easily digestible and free from pesticides. Cattle fed with hydroponic fodder grow fast, produce more milk,beef and less gas. The animals have access to the full nutrients from the cereal or legume,the minerals protein and fat are liberated in the fodder making it a great alternative. Cows normally have access to 20% of energy in the grain diet while with fodder system 95% of the energy is available for growth and reproductive health and performance. The short span of growth from seed to fodder within 7 days ensures that animals have fresh fodder all year round.

How Azolla can combat malaria and other mosquito borne infection.

Malaria is a global issue with about 200 million people infected yearly ,all hands are on deck to eradicate malaria completely by control of mosquitoes,production of vaccine,provision of nets for prevention of bites and education on sanitation to destroy breeding sites of mosquitoes. 

 Mosquitoes also are linked to Zika virus infection, chikungunya, dog heartworm, dengue, yellow fever,eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis, this clearly shows why eradication of mosquitoes is very important. 

Mosquitoes also affects animals resulting in death if critical cases,in poultry avian malaria is a subtle killer while horses react to bites with hypersensitivity reaction and encephalomyelitis in severe cases. see 

The host range of mosquitoes are widespread making them a public health concern and hence a major target to ensure health care for all and pet wellness and animal welfare as a whole. 

The azolla fern can eradicate mosquitoes without use of chemicals and also not disrupt ecosystem . The azolla fern is a miracle fern that has found usefulness as livestock feed,bio fertilizer,biogas substrate and mosquito repellent. 

The harvested Azolla fern can be dried and spread around premises to repel mosquitoes. Azolla can be used to eliminate mosquitoes on a larger scale by forming dense mat on the surface of the water, preventing adult mosquitoes from laying eggs and also reducing the emergence and development of mosquito larvae.

Azolla as a feed ingredient in broiler ration.

Azolla as a feed ingredient in broiler ration. A study was carried out to determine the viability of adding Azolla to broiler diet on performance and cost analysis.

 The study reported in International Journal of Poultry Science 1: 29-34, 2002 ,shows that a 5% inclusion rate of Azolla in broiler ration is viable both for performance and cost implication. 

 The experiment was conducted with 120 seven days old Vencobb commercial broiler chicks and continued up to 42 days of age to determine the feasibility of Azolla as a feed ingredient in broiler ration. The broilers are randomly allotted to four dietary treatments; T (control diet without Azolla meal), T (diet with 5% Azolla meal), T (diet with 10% Azolla 1 2 3 meal) and T (diet with 15% Azolla meal) diets replacing sesame meal by Azolla meal. The composition of Azolla meal contained 4 25.78% crude protein, 15.71% crude fibre, 3.47% ether extract, 15.76% ash and 30.08% nitrogen free extract on the air-dry basis. Live weight, production number and protein efficiency were (P< 0.01) significantly improved at the level off 5% Azolla meal in broiler ration. Feed conversion ratio and energy efficiency were significantly (P< 0.01) improved in diet with 5% Azolla meal and control diet. 

The study concluded that the use of up to 5% Azolla meal in a broiler ration may help improve performance and this inclusion rate in a broiler diet is also determined as a safe level. Azolla meal had no deleterious effect on the palatability of broiler diets.

 A farmer using Azolla shares her experience; farmer from sunshine chickens harvest a lot of Azolla to feed the three (3) batches of Sunshine Chicken they have in the farm. They are fed pails and pails of it daily..

 All ages eat azolla ,not limited to broilers as layers also feed on Azolla with bigger eggs as an advantage. Continue