Project
A Christian radio station near Gracias, Honduras sits on the outskirts of some 32 acres of land. The great majority of the land is uncultivated and grown up in grass, weeds, pine trees, or a combination of all three. However, there are some areas planted in coffee, plantain, pineapple, corn, and beans.
Throughout my time here, I will be working directly with all those crops with emphasis on the corn and the beans. These two crops are planted in small sections on a hill covering a little less than two acres. This patch of land has not been cultivated for several years, and the lack of management has left the soil void of essential nutrients.
Once I receive the soil test report back from the lab, it will be my responsibility to present a plausible soil fertility recommendation to my supervisor. The lab provides a recommendation, and I will compare my suggestions to theirs once I come up with a plan.
Another part of my project is to conduct research on the corn and beans already planted as well as a second crop. The different trials will include fertilizing with water from an aquaponics system, amending soil with compost, and using synthetic fertilizer. More trials may be added as resources become available.
In the end, I will compare the results of the research trials to use in further studies. The overall goal of this project is to help integrate scientific and critical thinking skills into crop production in Honduras. Once that begins, finding actual solutions to agronomic problems can be found and used for long term management instead of fixing problems on a short term basis. Hopefully this will relieve some extra costs and time.
Progress
A soil sample has been collected and taken into the lab for analysis. It should be ready to pick up, but the lab is 3 ½ hours away. In order to save time, money, and overall safety I’ll not actually receive the results until we make a necessary trip to the airport (in the same town as the lab) at the end of July. This is Honduran life. I have started to research more about soil fertility and soil recommendations so I will be ready to go when I actually do get the results.
Problem
The beans started to set pods before I got them all weeded out. I helped make the decision to leave the rest be, harvest them, and start over with a second crop. There will be enough time after harvest to get another crop in. The upside is the second batch will be planted after I have results and recommendations for the soil. It will be nice to see the differences in the two crops. Another problem is the corn field has weeds in it. My resolution was to whack the weeds down with a machete. I don’t yet know what kind of herbicides they have here or how reasonable they are for the average farmer to purchase.
Experience
This Friday is a celebration called Lempira Day. Lempira was an Indian chief back when Spain invaded Central America. He is also the man the department/state is named after and the man the money is named after. The festivities have only started, but the central park was filled with booths and people last time I walked by. Apparently there will be a parade.
No comments:
Post a Comment