KGA partners carry out farmer trials on soil fertility

Posted on 17. Mar, 2010 by tonyj in Growing, Livestock, News PMN

Gliricida planted among sweet potato field at Takwa Germplasm Centre

How to improve soil fertility under declining bush fallows is a major problem for farmers across solomon islands. Land is under increasing pressure. Three KGA partners are currently testing soil fertility improvement methods using organic farming approaches. The methods are

• glircidia ( a legume tree coppiced for nitrogen rich mulch)
• vetiver grass (a contour erosion control plant that also provides good mulch to build soil organic matter)
• mucuna (or velvet bean – a vigorous ground cover planted as a legume fallow – it rapidly improves the soil fertility
• animal manures – small amounts of pig or chicken manure make a big difference to soil fertility
• composting – adding organic matter back to the soil using compost made from local organic materials

The methods – all proven already at various farmer schools and lead farmers – are being demonstrated to local farmers through their local networks.

For more information on these trials and methods please contact Andrew Nanau at Kastom Gaden.

Seeds of Mucuna are available from the PMN – contact Thecla Vapusy.

Some of these methods are covered in KGA training manuals.