Smart Liberians Indigenous Future Entrepreneurs - Smart LIFE Cooperative

06/04/2025

Light Upon The Hill Farm on the move

06/04/2025

Light Upon The Hill Farm in Salala, B**g County, Totota area, Nyanquella, next to Basay Farm

06/04/2025

Moving the agriculture ahead. Protect your homes and farms. Call 0777874156/0886539915 for your fire extinguishers needs

17/01/2023

Smart LIFE people, let take agriculture to a new level. Growing for the market. Join "Demand Driven Farming" for a better tomorrow

INTERCROPPING IN MAIZE FARMING

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 Kenya 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.

17/10/2022

Dear friends. I am looking this man on the run with the collateral vehicle. Reward awaits anyone providing leading to his arrest.

18/09/2022

Smart Liberian Indigenous Future Entrepreneurs (Smart LIFE) vision is a Liberia where it's citizens have 60% claim in their economy. Join us today!!

11/10/2021

Smart LIFE VSL program 5 years business growth empowerment program 1st all members meeting on October 10, 2021

11/09/2021

Smart LIFE is currently running Seed2Forest 5 years microfinance business development program with 10 loans for your business growth

05/08/2021

Smart LIFE VSL program is now districts 1, 9,10,12 and 14 of Monsterado. More districts will be covered in August 2021. Over 20 loans to disbursed USD28K to 19 Solidarity Groups of 3-5 persons for business development. Please follow us.

16/06/2021

Good news for petty traders and smallholder farmers. Smart LIFE five years loan for business growth Solidarity Group (SG) formation form is ready for 150 persons. Get a copy. Request now