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Less water, more yield - One farmer's initiative in trellising, flood irrigation
published: Thursday | January 11, 2007
Leroy Delahaye inspecting his exotic vegetables grown on trellises. - Contributed Photos
Leroy Delahaye is a name almost synonymous with exotic vegetable production in Jamaica. This 50-year-old farmer is married with one child. He was born in St. Catherine, where his farm is located. He learnt the art of farming while working at Tethford, Spring Plain, with the Israelis and on his own farm. Involved in agriculture since 1973, he became a leading figure in vegetable production, especially in the Bushy Park area. This involvement has earned him many awards, including citations from the Food and Agriculture Organisation and other agricultural bodies. Starting out as an apprentice mechanic at the now-defunct Vineyard's of Jamaica, Delahaye admits he was never interested in actual production until the mid '80s when a friend encouraged him to lease a five-acre block. He immediately seized the opportunity and never looked back.
On the St. Catherine plains, Delahaye has acquired the skills and knowledge of growing vegetables on his current 10-acre holding. He believes that current vegetable production in Jamaica needs to employ more professionalism through improved pest management and irrigation techniques. The farmer's determination to maximise his production and productivity has led him to develop some innovative methods of production which are all a part of his routine farming activities and generally reduce his labour cost. These innovations are:
1. He trellises most crops instead of staking. This is equally effective and greatly reduces the number of stakes required.
2. He practises what is known as the 'stale bed' method, which is basically preparing the land and letting it sit for a month to allow for the growth of weeds. He then sprays with herbicide before planting the crop. This allows him to have better control of the weed when his crop is growing.
3. Application of insecticide is done at nights. He has proven over the years that most insects are nocturnal, hence treating at nights with the use of light is a more effective way of controlling insects and, therefore, saves time and money because the number of applications is significantly less when compared to application at daylight.
4. The method of irrigation that he uses is mainly flooding, and since this method is known to use significantly more water when compared to other methods of irrigation, as a means of conserving he plants the crop deeper in the beds, instead of on top. This allows him to use significantly-less water when irrigating.
Importance of the initiative
1. The trellises allow him to schedule his crop activities in a timelier manner, since trellising saves a lot of time when compared to using an individual stake for each plant. It has also been proven that staking plants results in abrasion on fruits which affects aesthetics.
2. This innovation facilitates a more effective means of weed control for land not being used immediately by the farmer. This would, therefore, reduce the need for weeding when the area is required.
3. With the heightened concern about use and abuse of agricultural chemicals, especially on non-traditional export crops, a more judicious approach to the use of agricultural chemicals would be most welcomed. This innovation of nightly application of insecticides is very important since it reduces the number of applications needed for effective control.
4. The importance of the flood irrigation lies solely on the basis of conservation, and since we can no longer depend on Mother Nature owing to the inconsistent weather pattern, water conservation has become very important.
Technical Description
Categorisation, purpose and impact
The initiatives could be categorised as agronomic and cultural farming practices which function to increase production and productivity, as well as the cost effectiveness of labour.
Technical details
Crops are planted allowing enough spacing to facilitate the execution of cultural and agronomic practices. The distance between farrows is approximately five feet. Crops are rotated regularly in order to reduce the incidence of pest.
Operation and maintenance
He has constructed a shade house ensuring a consistent supply of planting material. He has also constructed a pond for storing water in order to have the commodity in time of scarcity.
Assessment
Costs and benefits
It is difficult to quantify his cost and benefits in monetary terms, but there is no doubt that these initiatives are very cost effective and should bring him a lot of benefits in the short to medium term.
Adoption
Mr. Delahaye is very willing to show his initiatives and has no doubt done so with a number of farmers already. However, some adjustments may be needed before promoting a larger scale dissemination of this technology.
Possible improvements
There is need for a scientific study on the efficacy of using chemicals at night compared to using them during the day. There could also be a study on the percentage of crop loss using trellises versus stakes.
Mr. Delahaye is a very knowledgeable farmer and has a lot of experience with many crops, especially vegetables. He has participated in a number of training workshops and seminars which have widened his knowledge base. He has a very close link with the Ministry of Agriculture and other agricultural bodies. He has participated in a number of varietal trials with some of the main seed companies. Mr. Delahaye has a lot of ideas and is always experimenting on his farm. He is an innovator whom other farmers can always depend on for new ideas to improve their product quality and increase their production.
To comment on this article contact MIAS at 970-2021 or email: [email protected].
published: Thursday | January 11, 2007
Leroy Delahaye inspecting his exotic vegetables grown on trellises. - Contributed Photos
Leroy Delahaye is a name almost synonymous with exotic vegetable production in Jamaica. This 50-year-old farmer is married with one child. He was born in St. Catherine, where his farm is located. He learnt the art of farming while working at Tethford, Spring Plain, with the Israelis and on his own farm. Involved in agriculture since 1973, he became a leading figure in vegetable production, especially in the Bushy Park area. This involvement has earned him many awards, including citations from the Food and Agriculture Organisation and other agricultural bodies. Starting out as an apprentice mechanic at the now-defunct Vineyard's of Jamaica, Delahaye admits he was never interested in actual production until the mid '80s when a friend encouraged him to lease a five-acre block. He immediately seized the opportunity and never looked back.
On the St. Catherine plains, Delahaye has acquired the skills and knowledge of growing vegetables on his current 10-acre holding. He believes that current vegetable production in Jamaica needs to employ more professionalism through improved pest management and irrigation techniques. The farmer's determination to maximise his production and productivity has led him to develop some innovative methods of production which are all a part of his routine farming activities and generally reduce his labour cost. These innovations are:
1. He trellises most crops instead of staking. This is equally effective and greatly reduces the number of stakes required.
2. He practises what is known as the 'stale bed' method, which is basically preparing the land and letting it sit for a month to allow for the growth of weeds. He then sprays with herbicide before planting the crop. This allows him to have better control of the weed when his crop is growing.
3. Application of insecticide is done at nights. He has proven over the years that most insects are nocturnal, hence treating at nights with the use of light is a more effective way of controlling insects and, therefore, saves time and money because the number of applications is significantly less when compared to application at daylight.
4. The method of irrigation that he uses is mainly flooding, and since this method is known to use significantly more water when compared to other methods of irrigation, as a means of conserving he plants the crop deeper in the beds, instead of on top. This allows him to use significantly-less water when irrigating.
Importance of the initiative
1. The trellises allow him to schedule his crop activities in a timelier manner, since trellising saves a lot of time when compared to using an individual stake for each plant. It has also been proven that staking plants results in abrasion on fruits which affects aesthetics.
2. This innovation facilitates a more effective means of weed control for land not being used immediately by the farmer. This would, therefore, reduce the need for weeding when the area is required.
3. With the heightened concern about use and abuse of agricultural chemicals, especially on non-traditional export crops, a more judicious approach to the use of agricultural chemicals would be most welcomed. This innovation of nightly application of insecticides is very important since it reduces the number of applications needed for effective control.
4. The importance of the flood irrigation lies solely on the basis of conservation, and since we can no longer depend on Mother Nature owing to the inconsistent weather pattern, water conservation has become very important.
Technical Description
Categorisation, purpose and impact
The initiatives could be categorised as agronomic and cultural farming practices which function to increase production and productivity, as well as the cost effectiveness of labour.
Technical details
Crops are planted allowing enough spacing to facilitate the execution of cultural and agronomic practices. The distance between farrows is approximately five feet. Crops are rotated regularly in order to reduce the incidence of pest.
Operation and maintenance
He has constructed a shade house ensuring a consistent supply of planting material. He has also constructed a pond for storing water in order to have the commodity in time of scarcity.
Assessment
Costs and benefits
It is difficult to quantify his cost and benefits in monetary terms, but there is no doubt that these initiatives are very cost effective and should bring him a lot of benefits in the short to medium term.
Adoption
Mr. Delahaye is very willing to show his initiatives and has no doubt done so with a number of farmers already. However, some adjustments may be needed before promoting a larger scale dissemination of this technology.
Possible improvements
There is need for a scientific study on the efficacy of using chemicals at night compared to using them during the day. There could also be a study on the percentage of crop loss using trellises versus stakes.
Mr. Delahaye is a very knowledgeable farmer and has a lot of experience with many crops, especially vegetables. He has participated in a number of training workshops and seminars which have widened his knowledge base. He has a very close link with the Ministry of Agriculture and other agricultural bodies. He has participated in a number of varietal trials with some of the main seed companies. Mr. Delahaye has a lot of ideas and is always experimenting on his farm. He is an innovator whom other farmers can always depend on for new ideas to improve their product quality and increase their production.
To comment on this article contact MIAS at 970-2021 or email: [email protected].
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