‘Don’t mix different chemicals when applying chemicals to crops’

Mr Richard Biney, Agricultural Sustainability Expert (L) engaging with a farmer.

THE Chief Farmer Trainer at Callighana Company Limited, an agrochemicals distribution company, Mr Richard Biney, has advised cocoa farmers to avoid mixing different chemicals when applying chemicals to their crops in their quest to boost yields.

He said his engagement with many farmers had revealed that some farmers “ignorantly” combined chemicals with different purposes, a situation, he said, nullified the potency or efficacy of the product applied.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Biney further advised farmers to read and understand the instructions attached to the product or seek guidance before applying a particular product to avoid danger.

“Fungicides, insecticides, and other chemicals must be applied separately. Farmers should also apply a specific chemical to specific part of the cocoa tree to ensure that the chemical works effectively.”

“For example, fungicides should be applied to the pods, while liquid fertilisers are applied to the leaves. Meanwhile, insecticide can be applied to every part of the tree,” Mr Biney, who is an expert in agricultural sustainability said.

Identifying the right chemical
Mr Biney said although chemical application to boost yields was not wrong, it could pose negative reactions to crop yields if the applied chemical lacked the right quality.

In identifying a ‘good chemical’ he urged farmers to check if the product had been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other relevant institutions with their registration numbers boldly embossed on them.

In addition, he said, the label of the product must have “clear pictures” and the language written in English, with its manufacturing and expiry dates clearly written on it.

“For cocoa products, it must be approved by the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana and farmers can check from the community extension agents if a product is good and approved or not. The extension agents are updated regularly on CRIG approved products.”

“Farmers who cannot read or identify the good chemicals can always contact the extension agents for recommendation,” he said.

Mr Biney mentioned a reduction in the productivity of the cocoa trees and yields, elimination of beneficial organisms in the ecosystem, and exposure of the farmer to health hazards as some of the negative reactions associated with the application of bad chemicals.

“For cocoa, it can negatively affect the premium quality of the beans when it is checked for maximum residual levels (MRL),” he added.

Hand pollination
Mr Biney also advised farmers not to solely rely on hand pollination techniques to enhance flowering of their cocoa plants as hand pollination alone could not lead to massive fertilisation and cherrelle development.

He underscored the need for farmers to also adopt flower enhancing and formation chemicals in addition to hand pollination to enhance productivity.

“On the average, one hectare of a cocoa farm produces 450 kilogramme of cocoa beans equivalent to three bags while Indonesia, which is the third largest producer of cocoa, is doing averagely 800kg per hectare.

“There is the need to enhance the productivity of our cocoa farms and the only way out is to apply flower enhancing and formation chemicals such as Banzai which has been tested and proven as having the capacity to encourage massive flower formation,” he said, and mentioned a Benzai, a flower enhancing bio stimulant distributed by CalliGhana..

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