ECHO Technical Notes

Green Manure Crops - 1985-01-01

Green manure crops are crops that are [often times in North America] grown to be turned under to increase soil fertility.  Leguminous green manure crops ( i.e., those which can make nitrogen fertilizers from atmospheric nitrogen) can offer small-scale Third World farmers a tremendous number of advantages.

Something like 30% of all the increases in harvests achieved by small farmers in the Third World during the last three decades has been achieved through the use of chemical fertilizers.  As petroleum prices increase, prices of chemical fertilizers could easily become too expensive to be economically feasible for use with traditional basic grains.  Almost overnight, Third World basic grain production could plummet.  Widespread use of green manure crops could avert much of this impact.

What’s Inside:

• Comparison with Compost
• Cropping Systems
• Some Plant Species Suitable for Green Manures

Multi-Purpose Trees for Honey Production - 1984-09-01

Next to food, firewood is the most scarce item in developing countries. More than one third of the world is dependent upon firewood to supply their energy needs and ninety percent of the people in the poorest countries depend upon it as their chief source of fuel.

What better way is there to solve the firewood problem than by planting fast growing trees that will not only produce firewood but also food and fodder? Some of the most suitable trees for this purpose are also valuable honey producing trees that have nitrogen fixing properties which will support grasses.

Beehive Designs for the Tropics - 1984-08-01

Several types of hives and their construction will be described but it must always be kept in mind that availability of materials is of extreme importance. There are places where lumber is readily available at reasonable prices and, certainly, if it is termite-proof or termite-proofed it is the best and easiest material to work with. However, there are other areas where timber is very short in supply or extremely expensive and other methods of hive construction must be considered although the same principles could be adapted as those described for lumber.

Chicken Manure Tea : Research Report - 1984-07-01

One aspect of ECHO's ministry is behind the scenes for most of our readers. We help college professors and students in the sciences identify research projects that would be of benefit to the small Third World farmer. Several ideas that could be done at an undergraduate level are written up in what we call Academic Opportunity Sheets. Nathan Duddles, while an undergraduate at California Polytechnic University, did an outstanding job on one of these projects, evaluating the suitability of chicken manure tea as a fertilizer. I believe the quality of his work is at a Masters level.

Cucurbit Seed as Possible Oil & Protein Sources - 1984-06-01

The uses of cucurbit seeds as sources of oils and proteins have been reviewed by Jacks, et al. (1972). After the hull is removed, cucurbit seeds contain about 50 percent oil and up to 35 percent proteins. Most of their oil is made up of non-saturated fatty acids, thus of high nutritional values. Conjugated fatty acids among some cucurbit oils make them highly useful as drying oils. [I.e. they combine readily with oxygen to form an elastic,
waterproof film. Ed.] The proteins, on the other hand, are principally of the globulin type, and are deficient in lysine but also in sulfur-bearing amino acid. Protein efficiency ratios of about 30 to 70 (that of powdered skim milk is 80) have been measured. The PER improves with addition of lysine.

Neem - 1984-04-20

This technical note was published in the early 80's when there were relatively few sources of information on, or seed for the the neem tree. In recent years much progress has been made in each of these areas. The information contained in this technical note is still quite valuable. A good source of additional information is the National Academy of Sciences publication Neem: A tree for Solving Global Problems. Like all NAS publications, it should be available from: BOSTID Publications - HA 476, 2101 Constitution Avenue N. W., Washington, D.C. 20418. Complementary copies are sometimes provided free-of-charge to those working with Third World development organizations (use official letterhead and titles). ECHO now has it available for sale for $19.00 plus $2.00 postage in U.S.A.

Leucaena - 1984-01-19

Leucaena leucocephala ("koa haole"-Hawaii; ipil ipil - Phillipines) is a fast-growing, leguminous tree that can be used for reforestation, for firewood, and as a forage crop that can equal alfalfa in nutritional value. There are three basic types of leucaena trees: Hawaiian, Salvador, and Peru. There are also crosses between these. You need to choose the type that best fills your needs. The Hawaiian type is short and bushy. Because its yield of wood and foliage is low compared to the other two types, this would probably be a poor choice. The Salvador type (Hawaiian giant) is tall and tree-like. The trees can grow 60 ft. in height in five years. The best varieties of this type are K8 (Mexico), K28, K67 and K72. K67 is the best variety for projects that need to produce large quantities of seed. The Peru type is tall with extensive branching. The trees are good for forage. Good varieties are K6 and K62. An excellent forage-type leucaena is the Cunningham (K500) which was developed in Australia. It is a cross between the Salvador and Peru types.

Citrus Propagation & Rootstocks - 1983-01-01

What are the advantages and disadvantages of growing citrus from seed when that is possible? One obvious advantage is that it is much less labor intensive to simply sow citrus seeds and eliminate the grafting step. Another advantage is that the seedling will most likely be free from viruses that sometimes get into the budwood that is used for grafting large numbers of trees.

Amaranth Grain & Vegetable Types - 1983-01-01

Amaranth [Amaranthus hypochondriacus, A. cruentus (grain type) & A. tricolor (vegetable type)] is an herbaceous annual with upright growth habit, cultivated for both its seeds which are used as a grain and its leaves which are used as a vegetable or green. Both leaves and seeds contain protein of an unusually high quality. The grain is milled for flour or popped like popcorn. The leaves of both the grain and vegetable types may be eaten raw or cooked. Amaranths grown principally for vegetable use have better tasting leaves then the grain types.

Originating in the Americas and Europe, amaranth has been cultivated for more than 8,000 years, dating back at least to the Mayan civilization of South and Central America. It was a staple of the Aztecs and incorporated into their religious ceremonies. In the 1500’s the Spanish conquistadors prohibited amaranth production. In that area today only a limited amount of amaranth grain is grown, most of which is popped and mixed with honey to make a confection called, “alegría.” However, much of the genetic base has been maintained there because amaranth has continued to grow as a wildflower.

Muscovy Ducks - 1983-01-19

The Muscovy is a heavy bird, suitable mainly for meat production. Under good management, with proper feeding, the drakes (male ducks) will reach 4.0-4.5 kg and the ducks 2.0-2.5 kg at 16 weeks, which is usually the age at which the birds are sold to be eaten. Most of the Muscovys are pure white but black ones also exist. There is also a full range between black and white. All the birds develop red flesh around their eyes and at the base of their bills. In older drakes, it may even appear on the back of the neck and wings. With good feed, the ducks will lay about 90 eggs per year and will hatch ducklings very successfully. The breed is very hardy and can get a lot of its feed requirement in foraging. Traditionally, the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Farmer does not feed its poultry and relies on natural incubation for breeding. The Muscovy duck is ideally suited for the PNG village conditions.