People harvest cowpeas in Tahoua, Niger
Jake Lyell / Alamy
Human urine that has matured in the sun for at least a month seems to be both an effective fertilizer and pesticide. The results could be particularly useful for combating insect infestations in West Africa, where ground The quality is generally low and traditional pesticides are expensive.
Farmers participating in a previous trial in Niger to investigate the use of urine as fertilizers have discovered that he also had a pesticide effect, as plants Treaty with him had less pest damage than those who were not.
Laouali Amadou At the National Institute for Agricultural Research in Niger and its colleagues decided to test the results on Cowpeas (Ungiculata vines), a vital harvest in the country due to its tolerance to drought.
Experiences have been carried out in several villages in Niger to compare the effects of chemical pesticides and human urine on resistance to crop pests. Three applications were presented on each site, with a week between the treatments.
The team found that the plots treated with synthetic pesticides had damage to the lowest insects. But those dealt with with human urine had 20.5 times less infestation than the witness areas and their crop yields were 1.8 times higher.
Urine was housed in large containers and fermented in the sun for one or two months to kill pathogens. “The smell is very, very strong,” says Amadou. He says he is not yet clear exactly what causes the pesticide effect, but the smell is a competitor.
Researchers hope to carry out more tests, in particular by evaluating different periods of fermentation to see what are the best results to kill pathogens and induce the effects of pesticides and fertilizers. They also hope to shed light on the underlying mechanism behind the approach and duration of the effects.
Team member Ir Abraham Boukari Baoua At Dan Dick Dankoulodo University in Maradi in Niger, says that the spicy smell has no impact on the taste of cowpeas. He thinks that the approach could be a rescue buoy for farmers in this part of Africa. “The fertility of the soil is very low in West Africa,” he says. “We have sandy soil and chemical fertilizers are very, very expensive.”
