How plants living in harmony are improving maize plantations in Kenya: a short story of Push-Pull

Once, I traveled around the country to witness the application of a successful farming technique called push-pull. This technique, developed by Kenyan farmers, uses the natural characteristics of plants to create a harmonious and chemical-free production system. The main challenge faced by African farmers is low crop production due to pests, degraded soils, and harsh climate conditions. Push-pull was first described in 1987 and relies on semiochemicals, which are chemical compounds used by plants, animals, and microorganisms to communicate with each other.

In Kenyan corn plantations, stem borer pests, particularly a small fly, pose a significant threat. Pesticide use is limited due to high costs, so farmers needed an alternative solution. They discovered that napier grass attracts the flies, and by planting it around the corn, they create a trap. When the flies lay their eggs on the grass, the hatched caterpillars get stuck in the grass and eventually die. This method effectively controls the flies.

However, the corn is also attacked by a parasitic weed called striga, which causes up to 100% crop loss. Kenyan farmers observed that another plant, desmodium, can help eliminate striga. Desmodium releases a compound that stimulates the germination of striga seeds, but at the same time, it releases another compound that prevents the striga roots from developing. This clever trick leads to the death of the striga plant. Additionally, desmodium produces semiochemicals that repel the flies, while the napier grass attracts them, creating a push-pull effect.

The success of push-pull lies in combining the unique characteristics of different plants to create a harmonious system. This approach offers hope for producing quality food in Kenya at low costs. The push-pull technique can be adapted to other pest control challenges, and further research is needed to identify more plant species that can contribute to this system. It has been used to control pests in veterinary medicine as well, such as the tsetse fly in Congo and ticks on cattle in Brazil.

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