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EDN Numéro 154 Maintenant disponible

EDN Numéro 154 Maintenant disponible 2022-02-01

Sommaire:

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Prolonger la durée de vie post-récolte des fruits frais: Récolter au bon moment

Tim Motis et Stacy Swartz

Extrait: 

Apprenez à reconnaître les stades de maturité des fruits que vous cultivez. Les tests de maturité peuvent être classés comme destructifs ou non destructifs. Les tests destructifs sont ceux qui endommagent ou détruisent le fruit testé. Un exemple de test destructif est la couleur de la chair, car il faut couper le fruit pour déterminer la couleur de la chair à l'intérieur. Les indicateurs visuels tels que la taille, la forme et la couleur de la peau des fruits ne sont pas destructifs. Vous n'avez pas besoin de détruire une tomate pour voir un changement du vert au rouge. Aucun test unique ne fonctionne bien pour toutes les espèces fruitières. Pour la/les culture(s) avec la/lesquelles vous travaillez, découvrez quels tests sont les plus fiables pour déterminer la maturité des fruits. Parmi ceux-ci, sélectionnez-en un ou deux que vous pouvez mettre en œuvre dans votre contexte.

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Now available in 10 languages: The ECHOcommunity App

Now available in 10 languages: The ECHOcommunity App 2022-02-01

We are excited to announce that the ECHOcommunity app is now available in English, Spanish, French, Swahili, Thai, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Burmese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Chinese. Through ECHOcommunity you can discover ideas, research, and training on a wide variety of subject matter pertaining to agriculture and community development. ECHO's resources focus on small-scale agriculture in the tropics and sub-tropics and come from ECHO staff, network members, and development partners around the globe.

Resource Library: The app is designed to allow you to efficiently discover relevant resources and download them on your mobile device. Resources added to your library remain available when there is no internet connection and can be shared with others. A "low-data" mode allows those with metered, or limited bandwidth to browse the ECHOcommunity collection of resources while using the least amount of data possible.

Plant Records: Track your crop's lifecycle events from planting through harvest in the cloud. Plant Records can be used for any type of planting, whether a trial or production planting, whether an annual or perennial.  Users who acquire seeds from the ECHO seed banks can track and automatically report the progress of seed trials using this app.

The app allows you to record relevant data such as what and when you plant, weather events, interventions such as mulching, cultivation, pruning, and harvest. Along with each entry, pictures and notes can be stored for future reference. The data is retained in the cloud, so you will be able to look back at the seeds you have tried and how the trials worked for you.

Features

  • Access to thousands of print and video resources in dozens of languages
  • Offline storage and sharing of downloaded materials
  • Ultra-low data usage mode
  • The ability to ask questions of the global ECHO community

Research Update: Does wood ash help preserve tomatoes?

Research Update: Does wood ash help preserve tomatoes? 2022-01-27

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Following the astonishing findings in an article published in November 2016 of a farmer preserving freshly harvested tomatoes in wood ash for up to 5 to 6 months, the research team at ECHO Florida decided to further investigate the potential of this technique to prolong the storage life of fresh tomatoes. We assumed that, in comparison to a control treatment of sifted sand, wood ash would extend the time over which tomatoes can be marketed or processed. To test this hypothesis, a randomized complete block design was used with tomatoes placed in boxes (4 tomatoes per box) filled with wood ash or sand. At the start of the trial, tomatoes were already ripe but unspoiled. Data were collected biweekly for tomato sugar content, visual quality, pH and carbon dioxide production. Differences in the measured parameters, between ash and sand, were not statistically significant. We were only able to preserve our tomatoes for 6 weeks. Differences between our findings and what the farmer was able to achieve could be related to ripening stage or source of wood ash. Future work could be done with tomato fruit at early (mature with slight change in color from green to red) versus more advanced stages of ripeness and with wood ash from various species of trees.

Announcing the ECHO East Africa Virtual Pastoralist Symposium

Announcing the ECHO East Africa Virtual Pastoralist Symposium 2022-01-19

29th-30th March 2022

You are cordially invited to join us for the 4th Pastoralist Symposium but this time VIRTUAL / ONLINE. It will provide a network and training opportunity for those involved in improving nutrition and livelihoods in pastoralist areas. It will consist of two afternoons of three plenary sessions and lightning talks (5 minutes focused talks) plus a live 'meet the speaker event' each day. These will feature knowledgeable and experienced speakers. The presentations are actually all pre-recorded except for the 'meet-the-speaker' sessions which are online workshops and discussion groups led by the speakers, facilitated by ECHO's experienced staff from around the world.  Participants are encouraged to register online for a $20 registration fee and that we welcome donations from good-willed individuals to help those who cannot pay this fee.

EDN #154 Now Available

EDN #154 Now Available 2022-01-12

In this issue:

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Extending Postharvest Life of Fresh Fruit:

Harvest at the Right Time

Tim Motis and Stacy Swartz

Excerpt:

Learn to recognize maturity stages of the fruit you are growing. Maturity tests can be categorized as destructive or nondestructive. Destructive tests are those that damage or destroy the fruit being tested. An example of a destructive test is flesh color, because one must cut into the fruit to determine the color of the flesh inside. Visual indicators like fruit size, shape, and skin color are nondestructive. You do not have to destroy a tomato to see a change from green to red. No single test works well for every fruit-bearing species. For the crop(s) you are working with, find out which tests are most reliable for determining fruit maturity. Of those, select one or two that you can implement in your context.

[Read the full article]

Best Practice Note 8: Tropical Dryland Agriculture Now Available!

Best Practice Note 8: Tropical Dryland Agriculture Now Available! 2021-12-16

It is estimated that drylands occupy 40% of the earth’s surface. Drylands are regions where the average annual precipitation is less than 65% of the average annual potential evapotranspiration (an Aridity Index of < 0.65). The FAO Aridity Index is defined as a 30 year average of annual precipitation divided by annual potential evapotranspiration. Thriving and even surviving in dryland climates has always been a challenge. Similarly, yearly rainfall has always been variable with droughts and floods occurring regularly for millennia. 

Read Online / Download PDF

Excerpt: 

In the face of uncertain weather each year, one way to reduce the risk of crop failure is to grow a major staple or cash crop along with at least one alternative crop. In general, a farmer would plant approximately 10% of his or her crop area to a crop better adapted to dry years than the main crop. For example, if the main cash crop is maize, then ~10% of crop area would be planted to sorghum. The factors that influence the farmer’s decision are market prices, tolerance of risk, personal preferences, as well as other social, economic, and cultural practices. Another option for diversifying is to plant annual bushes and trees that can better withstand yearly variations in rainfall.

Resource Spotlight: FMNR Introduction Video

Resource Spotlight: FMNR Introduction Video 2021-11-23

This video from WorldVision Australia demonstrates the value of the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) system. 

"In a balanced ecosystem, people and animals thrive. But when trees are cut down and land is burned, that balance is lost. Deforestation effects include soil erosion and a reduction in biodiversity. Through farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR), World Vision programs empower farmers to reverse land degradation. The simple act of pruning tree regrowth and managing land sustainably can turn small shrubs and stumps into mature trees, promoting soil restoration and increasing crop yields, firewood and livestock fodder."

ECHO International Agriculture Conference - Last Chance to Register

ECHO International Agriculture Conference - Last Chance to Register 2021-11-02

Tomorrow, we will be coming together for ECHO's Online International Agriculture Conference! If you have not yet registered for the Online Conference, please do so soon so you can begin to interact with other attendees!

EDN Numéro 153 Maintenant disponible

EDN Numéro 153 Maintenant disponible 2021-10-04

Sommaire:

Télécharger EDN 153

Productivité du Moringa avec la culture intercalaire de légumineuses

Tim Motis

Extrait: 

Les gens demandent souvent quelle quantité de poudre de feuilles attendre de leurs arbres de moringa. Le tableau 1 montre la somme de nos deux récoltes au cours de chaque année. Au cours de la deuxième année après le semis, sans légumineuses, les moringa ont produit un total de 76 g/plante de poudre de feuilles, soit l'équivalent de 255 kg/ha. Cela signifie que, pendant une deuxième année après le semis, 1 ha d'une plantation de moringa comme la nôtre peut produire l'équivalent d'un an de poudre de feuilles pour 139 personnes consommant 5 g de poudre par jour. Witt (2013) fournit le contenu nutritionnel pour 5 g (15 ml ou 1 cuillère à soupe par volume) de poudre de moringa, une quantité décrite comme une portion réaliste. 

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Fill It Full: A Simple Way to Reduce Weevil Damage in Maize Seed Stored in Airtight Containers

Fill It Full: A Simple Way to Reduce Weevil Damage in Maize Seed Stored in Airtight Containers 2021-09-27

Postharvest losses inflicted by insect pests in stored grains represent major challenge smallholder famers face in the global South. The maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) is one of the most important postharvest pests in maize. With dry maize stored in woven polypropylene bags, Likhayo et al. (2018) found that insect pests (maize weevils and another maize pest called the lesser grain borer [Prostephanus truncatus]) reduced grain weight by 36%. Such losses threaten farmers’ food security and overall financial stability.

East Africa