Weed control is one of the most important activities in smallholder agriculture and success or failure depends on effective and timely management of weeds. Poor weed control at the beginning of the season may greatly reduce ...

Animal traction direct planters place seed and apply basal fertilizer uniformly at correct application rates. However, poor calibration will result in lower or higher plant densities and over- or under-fertilization, which ...

Farmers believe what they can see and experience. A powerful vehicle for CA extension is the use of demonstration plots. On these defined land areas, new agronomic concepts are shown to farmers. Demonstration plots are ...

One of the principle reasons why farmers plough the soil is to control weeds. Tillage is easy and weed control can be complete. Weed control without tillage is more complicated and requires much more knowledge. A lot of ...

The growing of two or more crops on the same piece of land in the same season is called intercropping. Crops grown as intercrops should be of different growth habits, canopy structure and rooting architecture. Maize for ...

Dominant weed species in smallholder farming systems are broadleaved annuals and perennials, and grasses. The most common and difficult to control broadleaved weed species on smallholder farms are (Wandering dew), (Mexican ...

Conservation agriculture (CA) is a crop management system based on three principles: a) minimum soil movement (no soil inversion by tillage) b) soil surface cover with crop residues and/or living plants and c) crop rotations ...

Soil tillage leads to the breakdown of soil structure and land degradation (see bulletin on land and soil degradation) and is therefore not sustainable. However to be able to plant into unploughed soil, special methods or ...