Corn Harvest

The corn from the biochar experimental plot established in November has been harvested! We  are incredibly excited to have our first data on the biochar experiments here in Villa Carmen.

Some data was easy to collect in the field, such as wet weights of the stalks, and the corn itself. In order to get data on percent of spoiled grain, and dry weights the corn had to be degrained. This was a labor intensive process (3 days) and everyone left with blistered thumbs but in high spirits.

A few of the corn degrainers at the end of 3 days of hard work!

The corn was then able to be weighed, good grain separated from bad. The cobs were also weighed apart from the grain.

photo credit: Jessica Suarez

The final step was to dry the biomass in a rustic biomass dryer we have here at Villa Carmen. Biomass is reported in oven-dried weight in the literature so the grain, cobs, and stalks were dried for 48 hours until constant weight.

Villa Carmen biomass dryer

The data has yet to be analyzed, but all in all the hard work of the corn harvest was a success!

Don Anacleto and Kiln Improvements

Don Anacleto will be taking charge of biochar and compost operations. Anacleto has been part of the agriculture team for the last year and we're very excited to have him working on production and maintenence of biochar!

In December, biochar production was briefly stopped for the holidays and to do maintenance on the machine. Most importantly, the floor, which previously was cracked and holding a lot of water was replaced. The biomass carts have also been redesigned and some insulation has been replaced. Around the time that all repairs were finished in January, the power in Kosnipata went out for about 25 days. Last week, the power came back on and we're back in the business of making biochar daily!

The corn that was planted in November has grown quite tall. We are about a month and a half away from harvest and we’re excited to have our first round of data on growth and yield related to the treatments we applied to the soil. 

The plátano has also grown quickly since it’s planting in October. We’ve begun taking measurements on the crops with the help of students from the Instituto in Pilcopata. Measurements for plátano include height, stem circumference, and number of leaves. 

Pineapple is the slowest grower of the 3 crops that were planted. Pineapple measurements include plant height, number of leaves, and the length of the longest leaf. These measurement data for the various crops will provide some preliminary data to start analysis on the effectiveness of the treatments