Farm Location - Kingston, Jamaica: St Anne’s Eco-Village

AESA Assessment
Urban “Organic” Crop Production – Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
Crop Transplanted on October 30, 2022
Student ID - 815007266
AESA REPORT: Student ID – 815007266
METHODOLOGY
An urban vegetable garden located in Denham Town, Kingston Jamaica (17o 58’ 40.86” N, -76o 47’ 49.15”
W) was used. The crops cultivated by in the garden includes cabbage, pak choi and callaloo. The cabbage
(Brassica oleracea) grow beds were selected for the AESA Report. The cabbage beds were transplanted and
established on October 30, 2022. Monitoring for the AESA report began November 7, 2022 and was done
once a week over a three weeks period. Five cabbage heads were randomly selected at the start of the
assessment for monitoring and data collection. Data was collected select growth and pest and disease
parameters namely: avg # leaves per plant, avg # leaves damaged per plant, types of insects observed,
incidence of insects on the plants, incidence of diseases. The average number of leaves per plant was
determined by counting the number of leaves on each cabbage plant, similarly the number of damaged
leaves per plant was determined by counting the number of leaves with chewing, biting damage on each
cabbage. Data was also collected on the condition of the plot taking into consideration soil moisture and
presence of weeds. A clump of soil was removed from the grow beds and a squeeze test done to determine
the relative moisture content of the soil. The data was tabulated and recommendations given based on the
information garnered from the data. A sketch was also done to represent the crop and data observed in the
field.
 Results Crop Sketch
Dates Monitored November 7 November 14 November 21
DAT 14 21 28
Stink bug
Soil Condition Dry Moist Moist Caterpillars
Avg # Leaves/ plant 10.8 17 23 Leaf miner
damage
Avg # Leaves Damaged 7.1 5.4 3.8
(Holes)/ plant Weeds Aphids
whiteflies Dry soil
Types of Insects Aphids, whiteflies, Aphids, whiteflies, Aphids, whiteflies
observed or insect caterpillars, leaf miner, caterpillars, spiders
Spider
damage observed Stink bug Aphids
Avg Incidence of Insect in grow beds:
Caterpillars
Whiteflies
Whiteflies 40% 20% 20%
Aphids 60% 40% 20%
Leaf miner 20% Nil Nil
Caterpillar 60% 20% Nil Moist
soil
Weeds present Pussely, nut grass, Nil Nil Wood chips
Milkweed mulch

Disease Nil Nil Nil

Wood chips
Actions recommended Apply 10% Neem and 10% Apply 10% Neem and Apply 10% Neem and mulch
soursop leaf extract. Hand 10% soursop leaf 10% soursop leaf
weed beds and apply extract. extract.
wood chip mulch.
OBSERVATIONS
Whiteflies
The weekly collection of data revealed a general decrease in insect pest. The farmer applied Aphids
on a weekly basis leaf extracts of neem and soursop leaves which appeared to be effective in
keeping the pest population low. The greatest damage observed was on the first week of data
collection before the botanicals were prepared. Additionally, compost tea was added twice
each week and chicken manure was incorporated in the beds 4 weeks before planting. Moist
soil
 Farm Location - Kingston, Jamaica: St Anne’s Eco-Village
Urban “Organic” Crop Production – Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
Crop Transplanted on October 30, 2022
AESA REPORT: Student ID – 815007266
REFLECTION
The AESA was an interesting activity because it allowed me to interact on a weekly basis with the
farmer to get a better appreciation of his motives and drives. The farmer was interested in “organic”
production and was very versed in botanicals as an option for small scale farming operations. He
was engaged in preparation of extracts of lemon grass and teas from composts. He was very
interactive and engaged in the farming process. Conducting the AESA with him each week was
very interactive as he would share the observations he made throughout the week. Additionally, he
was very amenable to recommendations which was evident in weeks two and three in which the
incidence of pest had decreased significantly. AESA is an impressive tool for small farm holdings as
it allows the farmer to get very intimate with his craft. It essentially allows for the ease in
identifying the various types of damage that a particular crop will experience it also increases your
perceptiveness of the different types of insects in you crop.