-
Improved Push and Pull Project causes impact in the community
Innovation showcased to farmers in Iganga District
One of the innovations under incubation in the ResilientAfrica Network’s (RAN) Eastern Africa Resileince Innovation Lab, Improved Push and Pull Innovation excited farmers in Eastern Uganda. as they witnessed the controlled gardens mushrooming with the Striga weed (the major constraint to maize production in the region) being suppressed. This innovation is in its piloting stage engaging maize farmers in Iganga District.
Improved push pull project brief
- Project fully funded by RAN is setup in Iganga district, Uganda
- Project aims at improving maize production by controlling Striga weed, stem borer pest and naturally improve fertility of soil without use of herbicides, pestcides nor fertilizers.
- The Striga weed (purple witch weed) is a parasitic weed which affects cereals like maize, sorghum and sugarcane and is very common in soils with poor fertility
- A maize garden infested with Striga weed and coupled with pests (like maize stem borer) limits productivity, reduces yield and makes farming unattractive
- The New improved push and pull project works on the premises of intercropping maize with Silver leaf Desmodium and lining the garden with Napier grass and Sesbania sespan
- The project consists of 3 treatments i.e.
- improved push pull plots
- (consists of maize,desmodium,napier grass and sesbania legume)
- Maize and desmodium plots
- Pure maize monocrop plots
- The 3 treatments have been replicated 4 times with a total of 12 setups
