Posted on November, 5, 2018 at 10:49 am
FARMERS whose fields are prone to rodent attacks can now smile following development of new technology that controls rodent.
The technology has been developed by Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro region.
A research fellow at the university Dr. Georgies Mgode, said the university developed technology using cat urine to prevent damage caused by rodents to crops while still in field and in storage facilities.
“We developed the technology based on the concept that rodents are always afraid of cat. We also know that some people may like the benefit of cat but not the cat itself.” he said.
He said after realizing that animals use urine to mark their territories, they thought of using cuts urine as a tool to control rodents on crops.
The researcher said they had already extracted a compound from the cat’s urine and realized that the urine had active ingredients for a rodent to feel the presence of a cat whenever the urine was placed.
“This makes rodents not to attack crops, be it in the field or in storage facilities,” he said.
He said the technology can also be applied in the houses as rats are also said to cause damage to electrical wires, besides causing various diseases.
According to Mgode, the approach of a trap barrier system is also used in controlling rodents in the field and residential houses.
“It is an approach where farmers plants in a ten square metre from around which a wall is constructed as a barrier to prevent rodents from getting onto the farm,” the researcher said.
He said a hole is also made leading to rodent trap where it is trapped.
“This makes farmers easily collect rodents and kill them, thereby decreasing their population in the area, allowing farmers to plant at the remaining field,” he said
The researcher commended the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) for supporting the technology initiative which will improve farmers’ harvests.
Source: IPP Media