By Malachi Motano
Gideon Kio is an Information Technology (IT) graduate. Taking advantage of kills he acquired at the University, he researched on farming, an area of interest he developed earlier in high school and learnt that grafted pixie tangerine would provide him with a better option since the climate at his place is favourable. He shares about the fruit and the journey he has been walking both on the farm and preparing grafted seedlings in a nursery for nine years
Kio whose farm is situated at Kinyongo village, Kaumoni sub location which is 11Km from Wote town, along the Kilala – Ndumbi road in Makueni County believed that he had all it takes to be a successful farmer and to focus on grafted pixie tangerine, and not mangoes, water melons, avocado, pawpaw’s, and even passion fruits which also perform well in the region.
“’I studied Agriculture in High school. Even though I did not advance it, I have always loved farming,” he begins his story. He says grafted pixie tangerine is among the most profitable crops to grow since it has proven suitable for the climate in the area. The crop is a seedless yellow-orange citrus fruit. It is tasty, juicy, and easy to peel. The tree grows up to 4meters tall, and a 3 meters in radius. Pixie tangerines are propagated through grafting
Kio waters his grafted pixie tangerine s
To produce a good pixie tree he explains that grafting is done using lemon root stocks and pixie scions cut from a mature and vigorously growing pixie tree with bud grafting method being the most preferred. The rootstocks becomes ready for grafting once they attain a pencil thickness.
Grafting can be done either after transplanting rootstocks (lemon seedlings) on the field, or on lemon seedlings prepared in seedling bags. In most cases, a grafting success percentage of 90 is considered to be excellent.
“They normally take averagely three to mature however, grafting scions from a matured pixie tree, and irrigating after grafting can fasten the maturity period. Due to the hot climate, pixie trees perform well and produce sweet fruits. Growing pixie does not require much inputs in terms of pesticides and manure but the returns are high yielding to due to the high,” says Kio.
The crop thrives in a wide range of soils although they perform best in sandy loamy soils. For optimum performance, they should be grown in deep, fertile and well-drained soils with a pH range of 6.5 – 7.3. Like oranges, they also survive in in areas with low and moderate areas rainfall, implying that it can perform well in arid and semi-arid areas. Ideal temperatures for pixie farming range from 100C – 300C. The plants are sensitive to extremely low or high temperatures. For instance, high temperatures above 380C causes fruit drop and scarring of fruits. They grow well in altitudes of up to 2100m above sea level. And requires enough sunlight (at least 6-8 hours of sunlight) especially during flowering, fruit set, and fruit ripening.
Pixie orchards should be weed-free. Mulching and planting cover crops minimizes the growth of weeds. Some of the common that may affect the tangerine plants include mites, bark eating caterpillars, mealybugs, aphids, leaf miners and fruit fly while the diseases include Gummosis, Collar rot, Twig blight, Damping-off. However, Grafted varieties are resistant to certain pests and diseases. When it comes to extreme cases, chemical control should be employed.
According to Mr. Kio, growing and grafting pixie tangerines is a lucrative business. It’s among the most profitable crops to grow since it has a higher demand for both the seedlings and the fruits. For those who prepare seedlings, grafted pixie seedlings have a good demand in the market. The size of his farm under pixie trees is 2 acres, size of farm under seedlings 0.5 acres (35000 lemon seedlings, 2000 grafted pixie seedlings and other fruit seedlings).
Kio inspects his Grafted pixie tangerine in his farm
An acre can be occupied by 200 seedlings with a spacing of 4 by 5m. Profitability starts at around 5 years where each plant can produce more than 300 fruits. A whole size of 2ft by 2ft by 2ft is established and manure (20kg) per hole is mixed with the top soil and then put in the hole. The current price of each fruit at the farm gate is Ksh 5-20.
“This means you can get Ksh 1500-6000 per tree and with 200 trees per acre it can be a good source of income. The size of the farm under pixie trees is 2 acres but I also have 2000 grafted pixie seedlings which I sell at Ksh 150. I isn’t that a good business?
According Oxfam organic ltd a company that deals with selling of seedlings of all types of fruit trees, management of various farms, organic farming, buying of farm produce and advising farmers individually, groups, communities on what best they can grow in their farms that will lead to profitable agribusiness, the market for grafted pixie fruits is still very wide and Mr. Kio agrees that Kenya is yet to satisfy the local market as well as the export market as well.
Pixie farming is an agribusiness that has picked in arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya such as Makueni, Machakos, Kitui, and parts of coastal region such as Voi. The crop also performs well in areas such as Nyeri, Murang’a, and parts of western Kenya.
