Kilolo - 4th CVP Visit

Partner: King of Kings, Woodbury, Minn.
Tuesday January 27, 2009
Pastor Yona Kinganga and the recently ordained evangelist David Mapepele from the Luganga preaching point was there.
10 attendees from Kilolo

The plot is located right next to the church and the corn looked great. These were the best looking plots that we’ve seen so far. One can tell that this congregation and the pastor take these plots seriously. Some of the corn was shoulder high. There was a noticeable difference between the CVP plot and the neighboring fields, the corn was a foot to 18 inches taller. The pastor pointed out that they ran out of fertilizer part way (about 90%) through the plot, again demonstrating a marked difference that the proper fertilizer applied in the correct manner can have. What a great visual reinforcement of what we are trying to teach them.

Most of the corn rows were 60 cm apart, but they ranged up to the 70s and one was as high as 80 cm apart. There was an average of 23.6 cm between plants in a row. These were the highest plant densities we’ve encountered so far.

The bean plot had been weeded and the residue had been placed in 60 cm rows. This was the first CVP plot that we have visited where the bean plot had been weeded before we got there.

Today we delivered 100 kg of NPK, 100 kg of CAN, 16 kg of Uyole Market seed. I bottle of Thionex had been previously delivered.

We met in church and reviewed the plot activities. The first rain occurred on November 23, 2008. The corn was planted on December 1, 2008. Places where corn did not emerge were replanted two weeks later on December 15 & 16. The corn has been weeded twice, on December 17–22 and again on January 12-16. The corn was sprayed with insecticide (Thionex) on January 10-11, 2009.

Ibrahim went through the hand outs. He emphasized the importance of weeding, that lack of weeding can be the biggest deterrent to crop yield. He also emphasized seed spacing at planting, since we are trying to fertilize high plant populations to maximize yield it is important to properly space the seeds so that we actually get high plant populations.

Ibrahim asked if they have experienced any benefits from the teaching we have done and the demonstrations that have been conducted. Some of their responses were:
· The use of soil tests to determine fertilizer recommendations, and not just guessing as to how much to apply.
· Appropriate fertilizer measurements to assure application of the correct amount.
· The advantages of using fertilizer, they can see the impact of using fertilizer.
· Minimum tillage reduces the cost of production, the community has also noticed the advantages of minimum tillage.
· Placing the residue between the rows of corn has helped to control weeds.
· They used to plant 3 seeds in a hole about 60 cm apart. They thought that planting seeds 20 cm apart was too close. With fertilization, they can see the advantage of close planting, and having single plants at 20 cm instead of having three plants at 60 cm.
· In the past they mixed crops, now they realize that one crop at a time gives the best results.

Ibrahim demonstrated the placement of the second application of fertilizer (CAN) 5 cm on each side of the corn plants. The fertilizer should be placed 5 cm from the plant along side of the row and not in the row. Ibrahim demonstrated how to plant and fertilize the bean seeds. First dig a row or trench with the corner of the hoe, or if the ground is hard dig a continuous trench by digging at 90 degrees to the direction of the trench. Place the bean seeds 9 cm apart, or about the width of one’s fist, and then place one cap of fertilizer between the bean seeds. Finally cover the bean seeds and fertilizer with soil.

While eating lunch in the pastor’s house we noticed some Urafiki beans and asked some questions.
· They have had a positive experience with Urafiki beans.
· They have eaten the beans themselves and have sold some.
· They are a bush type bean, about 20 inches tall and about 10 inches wide.
· They yield more than Uyole beans.
· However, the Urafiki beans don’t taste as good as the Uyole beans.
· The Urafiki beans don’t have gas and they store better, especially in warm areas.
o If one makes Urafiki beans for lunch, you can have them again for dinner.
o If one makes Uyole beans for lunch, they will get soft and start to ferment before dinne.
· Urafiki beans are good for feeding large groups of people.

Photo link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21557421@N08/sets/72157604431106091/detail/