His Innovation To Graft A Poisonous Weed With An Edible Fruit Won Him An International Science Award.
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| Stephen Ng'ang'a Wainaina showing the length taproot of a young bug weed . The weed was propagated with tree tomato to develop a resistant species of the fruit. |
His name is Stephen
Ng’ang’a Wainaina, the 2014 Winner of the Organic Farming Innovation Award
(OFIA) at an awards ceremony held in Istanbul, Turkey on the 14th of
October.
Wainaina, who is the
Executive Director of Organic Agriculture Centre of Kenya (OACK), was crowned
the Science Prize Winner for his Tamarillo or Solanum betaceum (popularly known as the tree tomato) grafting technology,
an innovation that enhances resistance to fruit diseases, pests and drought.
IFOAM - Organics
International is an international umbrella organisation of the organic world
with 800 affiliates in more than 100 countries that unites an enormous
diversity of stakeholders contributing to the organic vision. Every three
years, at the Organic World Congress (OWC), IFOAM-Organics International,
the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of Republic of Korea and
the IFOAM Technology Innovation Platform (TIPI) award great organic
innovators with the Organic Farming Innovation Award (OFIA).
OFIA is an
initiative of the government of the Republic of Korea in remembrance of the
17th Organic World Congress (OWC) 2011 held in its Gyeonggi Province. OFIA is
awarded in two categories: the Grand Prize and the Science Prize.
In the year 1982,
when Wainaina was studying an advanced Agriculture course at the Murrumbidgee
College of Agriculture, New South Wales Australia, he came across the Bug weed variously known as wild tobacco or Solanum
mauritianum (indigenous Muthakwa plant) growing among other weeds.
A year later, he
found the same weed growing in his rural home in Murang’a County. At the time,
he was growing ungrafted tree tomatoes on his farm, which were by then
withering and drying up due to the dry weather conditions. He realised that the
bug weed was still green and showed no effects of the dry weather. It is from
this observation that Wainaina got interested in understanding the reason why
the two plants behaved differently.
After doing his
analysis, he discovered that the bug weed survived the drought due to its deep
rooting.
“I realised that my tree
tomato plants had shallow root system, thus the reason they were unable to
withstand the dry weather for a long period. I took a sample of the bug weed to
Kabete University for some genetic and taxonomic analysis where I discovered
that it belonged to the same family with the tree tomato,” explained Wainaina.
When he came back to
his farm, Wainaina experimented by propagating the bug weed with his tree
tomatoes just in case it developed a better species that would withstand the
drought. The two became compatible and grew well without any problem. They both
belong to Solanaceae family, hence compatibility.
“The grafted tree
tomato never withered or showed signs of being overcome by the dry weather.
They developed some vigour, were able to grow faster before the pests and
diseases accumulated and even before the water became scarce. This way they were
able to evade pest and disease destruction and water shortage hence ended up
giving me a higher yield. Additionally, the mixture of genes enabled functions such
as photosynthesis to work better. When this happened, my hybrid plants produced
bigger fruits compared to the ungrafted ones,” he said.
The ordinary tree
tomato plants which usually have shallow root system, were bettered through
grafting. The bug weed-grafted variety did not require a lot of water because
its deep rooted taproot allowed them to get nutrients and water underground.
Poisonous Plant.
The bug weed is an
invasive weed and some people have declared it poisonous to both human beings
and animals. It has been for a long time regarded as uneconomic weed to be
eliminated, even included in the Global Invasive Database (GIS D. 2006) because
it serves no economic purpose and is regarded to pose characteristics harmful
to humans and environment.
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| Wainaina showing a mature bug weed that has grown wildly in a tree tomato farm. |
The bug weed is
resistant to diseases and drought. It shows a healthy growth in the wild, where
it is found.
All these statistics
did not put off Wainaina and he went ahead to propagate it with his tree
tomatoes.
“Before my
retirement from the University of Nairobi as a plant propagator, I had gained a
great wealth of experience in that field. Over 32 years’ experience to be
precise. I knew that the fruits would not sap any poison from the weed as they
originate from the scion and the poisonous part of the plant originate from the
bug weed. Therefore, the poison cannot be transferred to the scion which is now
the tree tomato,” he explained.
In this way, the bug
weed was robbed of all its powers to harm the tree tomato. Once grafted with the
tree-tomato, the result was a crop with a promise as the grafted tree tomato seedling
improved its capability to resist disease and drought.
The tree tomato,
being shallow rooted, profited from the deep tap root and the many strong
auxiliary roots of the bug weed. Grafting these two plants improved the stem
and root system, as the grafted fruit plant has a stronger anchoring. Long term
resistance to fruit diseases, pests and drought are the other gains that were
developed from this innovation.
The grafted plants
bear improved fruits, can be used for own consumption or sold for fruit
consumption and for making fresh juices to earn extra money. Improved tree
tomato has further potentials to ensure food security and generate income.
Tree tomato is an
important source of vitamins A and C that are lacking in many African diets. Low
intake of vitamins by around 50 million African children is considered to be
the third biggest public health problem in Africa after HIV/AIDS and Malaria.
It also provides
fodder for livestock.
Nowadays, there has
emerged a high demand among farmers for the grafted tree tomato seedlings as
the quality fruits are attracting higher prices. There is also the need to sensitise
consumers about benefits of eating the fruits.
Wainaina holds a
Post Graduate Diploma in Horticulture from University of Greenwich England, and
has attended an Advanced Agriculture Course at Murrumbidgee College of
Agriculture, New South Wales, Australia.
You can reach Wainaina through contact:
Stephen Ng’ang’a
Wainaina, OACK, P.O BOX 69-10218, Kangari, Kenya
E-mail: stephenoack@gmail.com
Web: www.oack.or.ke
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