Trojanpost

Termites are a common concern for cassava farmers in Nigeria. Many farmers associate termite activity with poor crop establishment, damaged stems, and reduced yields. As a result, destroying termite mounds is often seen as a necessary step before planting. But is this always the best approach? This article explains what research and field evidence say about termites in cassava farming, why they sometimes cause damage, and what farmers can do to reduce risk without harming soil health. Do Termites Really Destroy Cassava? Yes, termites can damage cassava, especially at the early stage of growth. They are known to: feed on young cassava stems attack cuttings before they establish roots reduce plant survival in dry or degraded soils However, termite damage does not occur in all conditions. In many cases, it is influenced by how the soil is managed. What Causes Termite Damage in Cassava Farms? Termite activity is strongly affected by the condition of the soil and the availability of food s...

Last year, I attended a wedding that revealed something most people experience, but rarely understand. The event was beautiful. Music filled the air. People laughed, danced, and celebrated. Then the food was served. Guests lined up at the buffet. Plates were filled with rice, chicken, and desserts. Everyone ate well. But then something unexpected happened. Many people went back for second and third servings—even when they already looked full. At first, it seemed normal. It was a celebration, after all. But then I noticed a pattern. A woman beside me had clearly eaten enough. She paused, hesitating. Then her friend urged her, “Take more. Don’t leave it.” She gave in and filled her plate again. That moment revealed something deeper. This wasn’t about greed or lack of discipline. People were eating, but they were not satisfied. Why Am I Still Hungry After Eating? If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, you’re not alone. Feeling hungry after eating is not always about how...

In 1897, something unsettling was happening inside a prison in the Dutch East Indies. Prisoners were eating full meals every day, yet some were gradually losing the ability to walk. There was no famine, no visible food shortage, just bodies shutting down in ways no one could immediately explain. At first glance, it didn’t make sense. How could people be eating enough and still deteriorating? A Full Plate, A Failing Body The prisoners were fed bowls of rice, enough to fill their stomachs and sustain them, at least by conventional thinking. Yet a pattern began to emerge. It often started with fatigue. Then came numbness in the legs. Over time, the weakness worsened until some could no longer stand. The condition was eventually identified as Beriberi . What made it particularly disturbing was not just the symptoms, but the contradiction behind it: these men were not starving in the usual sense. They were eating regularly. This raised a deeper question, one that would challenge how w...

We’ve been told a clean life makes us stronger. Cleaner food. Cleaner spaces. More control. It sounds logical. It feels safe. But something isn’t adding up. Look around. We’re seeing more reactions. More sensitivities. More people struggling with everyday foods. And this isn’t happening in extreme conditions, it’s happening in normal life. So what changed? It’s easy to blame the food. Or the environment. But that’s only the surface. The Hidden Shift in How We Eat The system that produces our food has transformed over the last few decades. Fewer varieties. More processing. Less connection to living soil. At the same time, our daily lives have changed. Less contact with nature. Less diversity in what we eat. Less exposure to the very things that once trained our bodies. What we call “clean” today is often just controlled. And control removes more than risk, it removes exposure. Exposure is how the body learns. It adjusts. It responds. It adapts. Over time, without...

In classic soil science experiments, scientists grew plants in sterile soil (soil completely without microbes). The results were surprising. The plants didn’t die. They grew. But they were weak. Their leaves were pale, their stems thin, and their growth was slow. All the nutrients were present. The pH was perfect. By every chemical measure, the soil was “ideal.” And yet, the plants couldn’t access the nutrients they needed. Here’s why this matters: plants rely on living microbes and fungi in the soil to unlock nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and trace minerals. Research on the rhizosphere (the soil surrounding plant roots), shows that microbial communities are essential for nutrient uptake. Plants send sugars down their roots, sometimes up to 30% of the energy they produce from sunlight to feed microbes. The microbes use these sugars to survive , and in return, they transform nutrients into forms plants can absorb, such as ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate ions. Think of i...