General Technical Documents

Utility of canopy management in Cashew nut production - 20/02/2009

Babli M and Nayak MG.,Biomolecue Reports, 2009

Cashew, an important horticultural crop, is gaining importance as an important rain fed tree crop both in traditional and nontraditional regions of the country. The demand for raw nuts for processing by Indian Cashew Processing Factories is ever increasing and now it is around 12-13 lakh tonnes per annum. Presently more than 50 % of the raw nut requirement of the country is met from imported sources especially from African countries. These cashew nut exporting countries have developed processing facilities and countries like Vietnam which are competing with India have improved their processing capabilities. Hence it is imminent to India to enhance the production so that the country will be self sufficient in raw cashew nut requirement

Evaluating Postharvest Practices to Improve Sweet Potato Storage and Culinary Characteristics - 20/01/2009

Curing sweet potatoes right after harvest improves culinary quality and reduces postharvest losses caused by diseases and skinning. This practice, however, is seldom applied by growers in Mississippi suggesting suboptimal conditions and quality for marketing in addition to losses to postharvest diseases. This project was stakeholder driven and supported by the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council to show the benefits of curing sweet potatoes and encourage Mississippi growers to adopt proper curing practices. The objectives and activities were to: 1) conduct on-farm demonstration trials on curing sweet potatoes in Mississippi; 2) evaluate the effect of curing on diseases and culinary characteristics of Mississippi sweet potatoes; 3) disseminate information about postharvest technology through workshops and publications.

Gardening on Rooftops: the last agricultural frontier - 01/01/2008

Low cost, low technology, lightweight methods to produce food on rooftops and other locations above the ground.

Introduction

As this is being written, food riots in Port-au-Prince, Haiti are making the news. Food riots and demonstrations are starting to occur in other cities in other impoverished countries around the world. Some food producing countries are banning or restricting exports on important food staples. Leaders have little control over the high prices of food, but are desperate to know what can be done to make more food available, at a lower price.

Quite aside from these problems, there has been a growing interest in urban food production in both economically developed and developing countries. Reasons are many. Ecological benefits to the city. A desire to use more locally grown food. Opportunities for micro farming activities for profit. The wholesomeness of allowing people to experience the joy of gardening. Producing food by or for families who cannot buy what they need.

Several large cities even have some impressive rooftop gardens on large buildings. Rooftop gardening is the primary use that we have in mind for the technologies described in this book.

There is a major difference between ECHO’s techniques and those used on or contemplated by planners for most rooftop gardens in wealthier countries.

The techniques that I will describe can be done at a fraction of the expense that is normally considered necessary. They do not require specially engineered buildings to make sure that the roof can handle the weight of the soil. Gardens can even be grown on the edge of a tin roof of a shanty.

ECHO Compendium of Warm Climate Fruits - 20/01/2007

This book features both common and hard-to-find fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and bamboo for Southwest Florida.   It includes fruiting trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, fruiting vines, brambles, tropical vegetables, herbs, spices, bamboo, tropical and subtropical fruit tree ripening chart, estimated fruit yields, tree planting, fruit tree pruning, cold tolerance, drought tolerance, flood tolerance, fruit trees and saline soils, edible landscaping, plant index.

68 pages, illustrations

The Turbidity Tube: Simple and Accurate Measurement of Turbidity in the Field - 20/01/2006

Turbidity is an important water quality parameter in drinking water provision and treatment. The equipment typically used to measure turbidity can be quite expensive, and often provides results which are more precise and accurate than necessary. This high cost is a barrier to many projects in the developing world. In this paper, we will present the turbidity tube as an alternative device to measure turbidity. A turbidity tube can be purchased commercially, or can be constructed at an extremely low cost using a wide range of locally available materials. It is particularly well-suited to situations when decisions can be made based on approximate turbidity (rounded to the nearest 5 NTU). We give a brief discussion of what turbidity is, how a turbidity tube is constructed, and how to use it properly.

A Natural Farming System For Sustainable Agriculture In the Tropics - 20/01/2005

This book is an important work for tropical agriculture. There are very few resources that are truly “organic” and practical for the everyday farmer in the tropical setting. This book covers material that is extremely useful for the day-to-day operation of a farm or garden. It contains planning material that takes into account logistics as well as timetables.

This is not a guide for the agronomy student. I have identified several species that work well for us, but I do not have a planting guide for rice or corn or vegetables. These guides are readily obtained from seed suppliers and general horticultural works. If the reader looks carefully, he will find that I have given a system for natural fertilization in place of the chemical recommendations by traditional methods. Some creative adaptation will be required if your conditions and climate vary. We have a high acid clay soil that was rainforest at one time. Over the years a cogan grass has established itself. That is our starting point and our formulas can be changed for particular challenges that the reader may be facing.

This is not a How-to-do-it manual. Rather, this is a HOW-WE-DO-IT book based on my “Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics” manual. It has been used to train and equip hundreds of small-scale farmers and gardeners in the natural farming adventure. It is an adventure worth taking, as few things in life will improve general health and well being as much as quality food products grown to their full potential.

Keith O. Mikkelson – Fall 2005

Publication Chapters

Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics: A Natural Farming System 

Tippy Tap II - 20/01/2005

The Tippy Tap II (Lifewater International) is a modified design of the Tippy Tap that is easier to make and easy to use. The Tippy Tap II can be made from any container of about one to four litres capacity. A jug with a handle works best, but a Tippy Tap II can be made from any plastic container, even a two-litre bottle!

This publication is Copyright by Lifewater International