TIPS ON ONION FARMING

by Vengai Defu

Onion is one of the crops which is not so complicated to produce, therefore most people thrive to have a small bed in the backyard. Onions provide a vital flavour in our daily meals.
Most farmers are adopting the hybrid crops which are matching the indigenous weather conditions and disease resistant. One such onion variety is Ilanga Plus which is a Zimbabwean product produced by Avanos. Good planting season is between June and September.
Onions should be planted on loose soils to enable bulb growth and soils with good drainage system. Too much water is not good for onion plant.   Make ridges after ploughing. Farmers may use organic manure together with granular fertilizers. Superfert compound C is applied at rate of 1 000 kgs per hectare before transplanting.
Plant spacing is essential for the bulb growth and we recommend a plant population of 650 000 to 800 000 per hectare. That means 4 to 5kgs of seeds are needed per hectare.  We recommend 7 to 10cm in-row and 15cm inter-row.
When the plant is growing, apply top dressing that is calcium nitrate at the rate of 180 kgs per hectare and be split into 3 or 4 applications per 3 weeks’ interval. We do not need much since onion is a poor feeder because of its short roots.

NOTE, calcium should be applied during warm weather condition because onion poorly uptake nitrogen in cold weather. Constant soil moisture should be maintained and in hot-dry areas we advise farmers to irrigate after every 3 to 6 days.
Ilanga Plus takes 95 to 115 days to mature. When the crop shows signs of foliage collapse, reduce irrigation rate and when its 80 percent foliage collapse stop applying water.
Harvesting is now ready. It should be done during clear day to enable appropriate drying. This is very essential to avoid crop rotting. We can leave them in the field to dry but must be covered with a thin layer of grass to avoid direct heat from the sun.
If we take them to the storage room, make sure it’s properly ventilated.  When the foliage, roots and the outer bulb skin cover are dry cut at around 4 cm of the neck and packaging can take place. This variety has a good shelf life of 5 to 6 months.

PESTS
Ilanga Plus is best hybrid but we should use chlorpyrfos or carbaryl 85 to curb cutworms
Leaf miner can also be a problem but use carbaryl 85, malathion 50ec or malathion 25%.

DISEASES
Fungal diseases are the most common in onions such as blights and white mildew. We can apply mancozeb, cooper oxychloride or dithane m45.

NOTE, it must be kept dry to avoid rotting and longer shelf life.
However, farmers are advised plant this variety due to its long shelf life and can market itself. It weighs about 100 to 130g per head and has a potential yield of 45 to 65 tonnes per hectare.  That is 45 000 to 65 000kg and 15kg cost $25.00

For more information contact me on +0392264246 or +263772137202 or +263777429362
Or our sales team on +263773208930

Compiled by Vengai Defu Farm and city manager

http://www.tellzim.com/2019/03/tips-on-onion-farming.html

Farmers Urged To Opt For Short Season Varieties

Tiyani Hahlani 

MASVINGO - The erratic rainfall patterns across the province has left many farmers counting losses as the scorching sun has destroyed the majority of their crops but the farmers have been urged not to lose hope as there is still a chance to make it with short season varieties.
Speaking to TellZim News, Agritex Officer for Mwenezi District Tongai Bodi said farmers should not lose hope but should opt for short season varieties.
“It is unfortunate that the rainfall patterns this season have been erratic. We have not received enough rains and many crops have already given in to the excessive dry spell.
“Maize has failed but farmers should take advantage of the little rainfall still being received to plant beans or cow peas.
“As it has been said before, weather predictions have indicated that this year is a bad year for farmers, but this is our business, we should persevere. We have some areas where crops have already wilted beyond redemption so the only alternative is to plant early maturity crops especially in areas which received rains this week,” said Bodi.
Zaka Agritex extension officer Kennedy Pedzisai said people in Zaka especially the Chipinda area should plant sugar beans and cowpeas since most of their maize crops have been destroyed.
“I urge people to grow short season varieties and in other areas we need to liaise as communities and village heads so that they will keep the cattle and plant short season varieties like SC3O9 which need 90 days to mature.
“Other farmers must grow sunflowers,” said Pedzisai.
One farmer, Margret Banda, said she has opted to grow drought tolerant crops like sorghum, Rapoko and finger Millet among others.
“We are facing an El-Nino induced drought so the farmers should just try everything. We cannot at this point in time discourage those who are replanting because the weather patterns are changing.
 “However, we hope the government will complement our efforts and aid us in all our endeavours, if we fail we implore the government to continue supporting us with food as the season looks bleak,” said Banda
The Meteorological Service Department (MSD), has warned that Zimbabwe is expected to record high temperatures across the country especially in areas like Matabeleland South, Masvingo, much of Midlands, Manicaland and also parts of Mashonaland provinces