Loss assessment
There are no reliable methods for assessing post-harvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables. Any assessment can only refer to a particular value chain on a particular occasion, and even then it is difficult to account for quality loss or to distinguish between unavoidable moisture losses and losses due to poor post-harvest handling or other […]
Loss Prevention
Losses can be prevented by following good practices, as outlined above. There is also a wide range of post-harvest technologies that can be adopted to reduce losses throughout the production process: pre-harvest, harvesting, cooling, temporary storage, transportation, handling, and distribution to market. Recommended technologies vary depending on the type of loss experienced. However, all interventions […]
Causes of post-harvest loss
Fruits and vegetables are living parts of plants and contain 65 to 95 percent water. When water and nutrient reserves are depleted, rotting and death of these products occurs. Anything that increases the rate at which nutrients and water from a product’s reserves are used up increases the likelihood of losses. Acceleration of normal physiological […]
Storing Pesticides
Proper storage of pesticides reduces the risks they pose to health and the environment. You will avoid contaminating water, air and soil, reducing the negative impact on biodiversity, and you will protect children, who are more at risk because of their physiology and behaviour. It also ensures that pesticides are properly stored and that their […]
Why use a fertilizer and which one to choose?
What are the roles of fertilizers? Fertilizers stimulate plant growth by providing the necessary nutrients. Bottom dressing fertilizers are used to feed the soil in the fall or winter. Fertilizer to feed the plants will be applied at planting or during cultivation. There are 3 categories of fertilizers: organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers and organo-mineral fertilizers. […]
<strong>Agricultural fertilizers: definition and use</strong>
Contents What is a fertilizer? Types of fertilizers Environmental and health effects of fertilizers Today’s farmers, foresters and horticulturists inevitably use fertilizers in order to manage the quality and quantity of their yields. They can be of chemical or organic nature, with a considerable impact on the environment, if they are not used responsibly. What […]
Cropping systems
Cropping systems are the different types of spatial and temporal organisation that can be applied to the individual or collective exploitation of a land area. Agricultural historians distinguish between systems where cultivation is continuous (open land, with or without fallow) and those where it alternates with other modes of exploitation (meadows, pastures, forest) or with […]
PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATED SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT
OBJECTIVES OF THE GIFS STRATEGY IN AFRICABackground Integrated soil fertility management can be defined as: “the application of soil fertility management practices adapted to local conditions and knowledge that maximise the efficient use of fertilisers and organic resources to improve crop productivity”, which necessarily includes the management of fertilisers and organic resources in an appropriate […]
Definition of soil fertility: biological soil fertility
The ability of soils to provide essential elements (mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) for plant growth through the action of living organisms (animals, insects, fungi, parasites) with complex interrelationships that feed on plant or animal debris. All these organisms contribute to the degradation of organic matter, which leads to the release of nutrients necessary for […]
Soil and its functions
Soil is a finite, non-renewable resource of great ecological and economic value, like water and air. Soil is the surface layer of the earth’s crust resulting from weathering processes. It consists of minerals, humus, water, air and organisms. A healthy soil has a well-defined structure. Its particles are arranged in such a way as to […]