Research - Posters

Poster - Stable Temperature & Vacuum for Extending the Life of Stored Sorghum Bicolor Seed, a Model for Neglected Species

Community seed banks are an important mechanism for making seeds of often-forgotten grains like sorghum accessible to farmers. Best practices for storing orthodox seed, those like sorghum that tolerate drying for prolonged storage, include maintaining low moisture and temperature. Trail et al (2021) demonstrated the potential of low-cost desiccants and vacuum for keeping seeds dry, but little has been done to validate accompanying technologies such as earthen or underground storage structures for minimizing temperature fluctuation. This 6-month experiment was conducted to assess the
importance of stable temperature, with and without vacuum, while also keeping seeds dry.

T. N Motis and A.J. Bicksler

ECHO Inc.

Poster - Effect of Wounding to Improve Adventitious Rooting & Establishment Success of Two Tropical Perennial Vegetable Species

Brian T. Lawrence1, Stacy M. Swartz2, and Timothy N. Motis2

1 School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, Cornell University, Geneva, NY, USA
2 ECHO North America Regional Impact Center, 17391 Durrance Rd., North Fort Myers, FL, USA

Introduction

Perennial vegetables can provide sustenance continuously in some agroecosystem contexts or add resilience. Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius), has been shown to strengthen the climate resilience, nutritional security, and incomes in Guatemala (Amaya et al., 2020). Katuk (Sauropus androgynus) is an additional perennial vegetable species used as food and for medicinal purposes (Agesti et al., 2023; Anju, et al., 2022; Husodo et al., 2018). Both chaya and katuk are frequently propagated using cuttings, but wounding the base of the cuttings to increase rooting and later survival in the field has not been well documented. The purpose of this study is to identify if mechanically wounding cuttings at the basal end will lead to more adventitious roots and later improve plant survival.

Poster - Control of Tree Mortality in Fruit Tree Orchards of SE Kazakhstan

In the past 10 years, there has been a significant increase in the planting of orchards in Kazakhstan, namely intensive apple systems that often rely on imported dwarf rootstocks from European nurseries. While these trees may appear to do well the first several years in the orchard, we are now seeing high rates of tree mortality. While initial observations may lead one to conclude the cause is an isolated factor, such as a fungal disease or winter damage, our evaluation of current orchard management practices points to a more complicated process in which numerous stress factors combine to increase the risk of tree mortality.

Patrick Brady
Orchard Training & Consulting, Intl

Fireless Cookers as a Holistic Poverty Alleviation Tool - 2019-11-21

Emily Kinzer 

Covenant College, Care of Creation Kenya

Research conducted by Care of Creation Kenya (CCK) among women in Kijabe, Kenya concluded that using inefficient and open cookstoves resulted in adverse health effects for the entire family, safety hazards while cooking in the kitchen and while collecting firewood, strained familial relationships, and a lack of time to fulfill other social obligations. The fireless cooker proved to be an effective, simple, and affordable tool for addressing these and other issues that often accompany those living in poverty.

A fireless cooker goes by many names including hay box, straw box, insulation cooker, and retained-heat cooker. It is a simple technology that utilizes the heat of the food being cooked to complete the cooking process or keep food warm. The fireless cooker can be insulated by cheap, local materials such as banana leaves, old clothes, grass, straw, agricultural waste, or a more expensive recycled polystyrene material.

Poster - Foods from the Rainbow

The Foods from the Rainbow poster promotes eating foods from ALL color groups. It shows through symbols, the micronutrients that each color contributes such as Protein, Iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Folate, and Antioxidants. This educational tool has been used by health promoters to teach about food diversity. You can print the poster for workshops, mothers have placed it in their kitchens, and it can be printed larger for clinics. For more educational materials visit: www.proyectocan.org

Penny Rambacher, R.D.
Founder/President
www.MiraclesInAction.org

www.ProyectoCAN.org

Leafy Greens for Health

Add greens to foods for healthier meals!

Petiole Sap Testing for Rapid Nutrient Measurements - 2024-11-13

by Matt Lollar, UF/IFAS Extension

Petiole sap testing is an educational tool andservice provided by the University of Florida/IFASExtension. By using portable meters, extensionagents provide vegetable farmers with informationon the current nitrogen and potassium nutrientstatus of their crop, delivering immediate analysis.This information allows farmers to identifywhether their crop nutrient status is low,adequate, or high without having to wait forresults from a lab. Research has shown that petiolesap is more sensitive to nitrogen rate changes thanleaf tissue analysis.

Poster - Super Proteínas

Organización: Proyecto CAN (Cocina, Agricultura, Nutrición)

El afiche de super proteína explica las mezclas vegetales de una forma simple y práctica. Promueve el consumo de proteína completa ya sea animal o vegetal en tu plato saludable. 

Este material es parte de nuestro programa de nutrición “Comidas saludables, Familias saludables” que cuenta con 4 módulos con temas de nutrición.

Si deseas conocer más de nuestro programa de nutrición, escríbenos en nuestra sección de Contacto en este sitio web.

Poster - Low-Cost Natural Building Options for Storing Seeds in Southeast Asia - 2019-01-20

Given the proper facilities necessary to store seeds long-term, whereby low temperature and low humidity are kept stable over time, it is very possible to store most orthodox seeds for several years at a time in the tropics (Harrington, 1972). Unfortunately, implementation and maintenance of the proper facilities can be very costly. Thankfully, many diverse options currently exist, from expensive, high-tech facilities down to low-cost, low-maintenance models. At ECHO, we operate our own range of seed storage facilities at our various seed banks around the world.

Poster - Farm-Generated Pig Feeds - 2019-01-20

The integration of livestock on a smallholder farm is key to its productivity. Livestock play a unique role on the farm, transforming plant materials and other waste products into important sources of protein, either for consumption on the farm, or for sale beyond it. Pigs are one of the most efficient in this sense, as they are omnivores, and will eat a wide variety of food types, making them excellent ‘waste disposal’ partners.

On the ECHO Asia Farm we seek to create our own ‘Farm-Generated Feeds’ in order to use the materials we have available on the farm, as well as to bring down our costs of production. In addition to the meat produced, we also highly value the manure, which we compost and use in crop production. To make our feeds we our most readily available resource, banana stems. These are fermented to break them down and used as a base for our pig feeds, being mixed with various other low-cost raw materials that are locally available, including rice bran, corn meal, and fish meal, etc…