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Grow Desmodium and Stop Striga

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Grow Desmodium and Stop Striga Mix the seed with superphosphate fertiliser When and How do we harvest the seed? about 1 handful of seed to 2 handfuls of Grow fertiliser. Harvest the seed weekly once the pods have turned brown. Hand stip the ripe pods and palce seeds in a tin. Desmodium and If you cannot afford fertiliser then mix the Stop Striga seed with fine soil. Sow it into the rows and cover over with the soil. Sun dry and then thresh using a stone. Winnow to get clean seed. Weed after 6 weeks. Keep it trimmed so that it does not overgrow in between the maize plants. Plant desmodium as an intercrop and stop Striga weed growing in your maize Store in a dry, clean tin or airtight container. Desmodium seed fetches a high price so sell in the market. Supported by: Gatsby Charitable Foundation, ICIPE, IACR- Rothamsted, It should look like this when it is fully grown. Produced by Mediae Trust KARI and the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya PO Box 39486 Nairobi. Tel 442660 Have you seen this weed in your maize? How can the weed be stopped? Why is desmodium a good plant? It is called striga. Most recommended methods DO NOT It stops striga growing. work It puts nitrogen back into the soil. Pull up the striga and burn off the field. It is a very good fodder crop for dairy cows. This is hard work and the striga comes It acts as a mulch by covering the surface back. to prevent water loss and erosion. Use weed killer. Other farmers will buy seeds from you at a This is expensive and the weeds return. good price. Plant maize varieties that are tolerant to What increase in yields would we get? striga. If you harvest 10 bags with striga then you The weed is still present, needs work, and would now get 15 bags of maize and good yields are often lower. green feed for the dairy cows all year. Feed the maize with lots of fertiliser so that How bad can it be for your yields? the plant can still produce even with the How do we grow this intercrop Striga can make you loose up to 1/2 of your striga. desmodium and maize? crop. If you used to harvest 10 bags, once Expensive, hard work, and the weeds stay. Get hold of some desmodium seed from- you have striga you may only harvest 5 bags. GOOD NEWS Kenya Seed Company ICIPE, Mbita Point, Suba District How does the weed affect your yields? What can we do that really works? Your neighbor who has started growing it. Striga weed puts its roots into the roots of the It has been found that if you intercrop maize/sorghum. desmodium with maize then you stop the You will need about 1 kg per acre. striga weed growing in the maize. How does it work? Prepare the soil carefully so that it is as fine and clean as possible.. Sorghum Make a furrow in the middle of the rows of Striga weed maize. Use a strong ponted stick.. Roots together The weed takes the food that the maize is The desmodium covers the surface of the trying to get from the soil before it reaches ground between the maize rows. It puts a the maize plant. chemical into the ground that the striga does not like. Therefore striga will not grow where desmodium grows..
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