In Africa maize does well when intercropped with beans or other legumes. The intercropped legumes should be sown at the time of first weeding in order not to crowd out the young maize plants.
Since maize is a heavy feeder and takes considerable nutrients out of the soil, it can only be grown continuously on the richest soils or when heavily fertilized. Recommended legumes for intercropping in Uganda are: Beans , pigeon peas, cowpeas, groundnuts and Soybeans.
· Other crops that have been tried with varying success include
· Potatoes, Cassava, Pumpkin.
Intercropping maize with beans and other legumes regulates pests (leafhopper, leaf beetles, stalk borer, and fall armyworm) and increases the land utility. Intercropping Canavalia (Canavalia spp.) with maize improves soil productivity.
Intercropping maize with beans and squash enhances parasitism of caterpillars. This practice increases food sources for beneficial insects whereby increasing abundance of natural enemies. The intercropping system of maize-beans-squash is a low input and high yield strategy in the tropics. Maize yield is increased by as much as 50% over monoculture yield. Although the yields for beans and squash are reduced, the overall yield for the 3 combined crops is greater than when grown separately in monocultures
Push-pull Desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) and molasses grass (Melinis minutifolia) when planted in between maize rows keep the stem borer moths away. These plants produce chemicals that repel stem borer moths. In addition desmodium suppresses the parasitic witch-weed Striga hermonthica.
Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and Sudan grass (Sorghum vulgare Sudanese) are good trap crops for stem borers. Napier grass has its own defense mechanism against crop borers by producing a gum-like-substance inside its stem, this prevents larva from feeding and causing damage to the plant. Both grasses attract stem-borer predators such as ants, earwigs, and spiders. Sudan grass also increases the efficiency of natural enemies, in particular parasitic wasps, when planted as border crops
Alternative uses of maize in mixed cropping
Shading of vegetable crops by planting single rows between vegetables in areas of high intensity of sunshine can increase yields of intercropped vegetables.
Use as support for runner beans for export or local consumption.
PLANNING TOMATO FARMING ON A SPACE OF ONE ACRE.
If you have got money and you want to do serious tomato farming business, just know that the bigger the land space that you want to use, the more the capital you will require for investment.
Planting on one acre will cost between 8.5 to 9 millions as overall capital (including equipment). That means half an acre will cost you about 4.5 millions gross capital. First of all, if you are planning to do tomato farming, make sure that your farm is located near a water body e.g a dam or well, for irrigation purposes.
By investing 8.5 millions on 1 acre of land, you can make between 37 millions to 60 millions financial outcome. A season for tomato farming is 4 months. Let's breakdown the requirements to consider;
1. Renting land (300,000/=) a season.
2. Hiring a tractor for preparing land (250,000/=)
3. Buying seeds. You will need Ansal F1 (250g for 550,000/=) or PADMA (250g for 400,000/=) hybrid seeds. Ansal f1 can give 100 big tomatoes per plant, and PADMA can give up to 200 sightly smaller tomatoes per plant, but Ansal F1 is more marketable due to its big size. 1 acre of land can accommodate about 5000 plants altogether.
4. Mulches. You will need to buy dry grass to cover the land. This will cost you 2 millions.
5. Herbicides. You will need weed master 2 litres (costs 28000/= per litre) and 2,4 D 1 litre (25000/=).
6. Pesticides: You will need Rocket 1 litre (45000/=), Imitrust for termites 1 litre (12,000/=), and Benocap 10 litres each at 40,000/=.
7. Fertilizers: You will need DAP 50kgs (200,000/=) and CAN 50kgs (200,000).
8. Fungicide: You will need Indo FIL 25kgs (500,000/=) each at 24000/=.
9. Back pack sprayers (2) each at 80,000/=.
10. Water pump (2.5 millions), for pumping water from the water body to the farm through a pipe.
Labour: You will pay labourers 200,000/= during planting and 1.5 millions during harvesting and 200,000 during spraying.
An acre will give you an average of 150 boxes of tomatoes. Labourers will harvest each box at Shs 10,000/=, making up the 1.5m.
At the beginning, you will need to prepare a nursery bed of 4 x 4 meters, put some manure, put your seeds and surround it with a sack. Sprinkle water to keep it with moisture. Transplant after 2 weeks.
When planting, plant the seedlings at a spacing of 45cm by 60cms. Dig the planting holes to a depth of 6 inches. If you apply manure, carefully incorporate into the soil before planting. Apply DAP fertilizer at a rate of 80kg per acre. Make sure that you cover your land with mulches at an early stage of your plants' growth. If you are planting on a hilly area, use terraces.
The business is widely profitable if you are using hybrid seeds. The only factor that could be a big challenge is heavy rains with storms which can destroy your farm.
The level of profitability can be determined by the selling prices in the market. However, at most cases, you will sell each tomato at 100/= (farm price).
Contact us for more tomato farming information.
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