Homemade Foliar Organic fertilizers based on local plant raw materials for strawberry farming in Rwanda James Okello1,2*, Ali Mugume2,3, Charles Muhwezi4, Peter Nabasa4, Zeddy Rusoke2, Frederick Ssentongo2
Keywords:
foliar fertilizer, indigenous knowledge, pesticidal activity, homemade and strawberry.Abstract
The present study was based on the findings from the baseline investigation carried out in four districts of
Rwanda, namely, Muhanga, Kamonyi, Rulindo, and Gakenke. The baseline study revealed that strawberry
farmers face the big challenge of lacking pesticides for pest control in their respective farms, among others. To
mitigate the impact of the absence of pesticides on strawberry farming in Rwanda, the present study targeted
the formulation of homemade organic foliar solutions, which in turn could be applied to strawberry crops for
pest control. The foliar solution was produced in two consecutive phases and coded as UTAB-FOF1. The first
phase consisted of conventional extraction using liquid leachate, which took around 15 days to complete,
followed by the second phase of bioleaching performed at 30 degrees Celsius in order to concentrate the
constituents of the mixture into a final product of the foliar fertilizer. The foliar solution was harvested through
mechanical filtration and treated at 80 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes in order to increase its shelf life.
Thereafter, the foliar solution was analyzed by a competent soil laboratory to assess its conformity. The values
for essential nutrients in the foliar solution and secondary plant nutrients were found to be in the tolerable
range, as they are all within the standard of thresholds. The on-farm trials performed in Gakenke district
revealed that the foliar solution exhibits both fertilizer and pesticidal properties, and the field trial results
showed that the strawberry treated with UTAB-FOF1 fertilizer showed a 1.6 fold relative growth rate of leaves
and a 1.9 fold relative growth rate against controls. While the spray of the UTAB-FOF1 solution revealed
repellent and insecticidal activities, the death rate of pests was not 100%. These findings provide validation
evidence for UTAB-FOF1 as both a fertilizer and a pesticide.
