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  • January 16th, 2023

    Soil Preparation For 2023

    A good crop begins with putting the seed in the ground well, into a good growing environment. This means a well-structured soil with plenty of oxygen so that the roots can explore and grow rapidly in length and access as much soil volume as possible. In turn, this allows the growing crop to access more […]

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  • December 5th, 2022

    Are Fertilizer Use Returns Optimal In Kenyan Farms?

    Background information While many approaches, such as nutrient omission trials, have been shown to be beneficial in adjusting fertilizer recommendations such as nitrogen (N) fertilizer-based rates, severe nitrogen deficiencies persist across Kenyan farms. These can be attributed under application of N, or N loss. A large amount of the applied N is lost due to […]

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  • October 21st, 2022

    Integrated Soil Acid Management (ISAM) Approaches For Increased Soil Nitrogen Availability and Productivity

    In many places of the world, soil acidity is a substantial constraint to soil productivity. Sodium, aluminum, manganese, and hydrogen ion toxicity, as well as deficits in critical elements such as nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and molybdenum, all contribute to plant growth suppression. Agricultural management practices have increased shifts in soil pH, raising concerns about […]

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  • October 20th, 2022

    The ABC of Cover Crops – Part 2

    In my last article, we dealt with the many benefits of cover crops and how they can really help improve soil health, soil structure, nutrient availability (especially phosphorous), and water infiltration and moisture holding capacity. These are some of the most important yield destroyers in African soils. Cover cropping, if done properly can really make […]

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  • September 23rd, 2022

    International Day of Awareness of Food Loss & Waste, Sep 29th

    Today, September 29, is the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. On this day, we take the opportunity to raise awareness of practices and innovations that help reduce food loss and waste and build more resilient food systems. Food loss and waste undermine the sustainability of our food systems. When food is lost […]

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  • June 24th, 2022

    The ABC of Cover Crops – Part 1

    Cover crops are planted to cover the soil rather than for the sole purpose of being harvested. Commercial cropping and removal of crop residue leaves the soil surface bare until the next crop is planted. Bare soils are very fragile and prone to erosion, capping, heating, and degeneration. Bare soils cause floods and dust storms. […]

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  • January 13th, 2021

    Faba beans and other new crops on the Horizon

    Faba Beans look very exciting on the right soil types. Thinking back to the UK, I was always struck at how Peas and Fabas thrived on alternate soil types, and that may be the case here in Kenya too; where peas are inconsistent, we perhaps need to give fabas a serious go.  Peas Faba Beans […]

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  • November 4th, 2020

    Gypsum vs Lime? Thoughts On Agricultural Gypsum

    I recently purchased a bag of what I thought was lime recently to use on trials, only to discover that it was actually gypsum. I included it in the trial anyway out of curiosity, and it got me thinking, why don’t we think about gypsum more often? Essentially calcium sulphate, gypsum contains two very important […]

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  • November 4th, 2020

    Clean Potato Seed Varieties

    Anyone considering growing potatoes over the coming months should know the benefits and importance of buying clean, certified potato seed variety. This is the best way to ensure the seed is free from Cyst Nematode, Blackleg, and Viruses such as Leaf Roll, all of which can all lead to significant yield or even crop loss. […]

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  • November 4th, 2020

    Beans – Can You Mechanize Them For Large Scale?

    Edible beans such as Rosecoco, Kidney and Yellow Beans can be highly lucrative, but can farmers successfully scale this up to more than just a few acres?

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  • October 27th, 2020

    22.5 Bags Of Maize From 0.42 Acres – Hope For Farmers Across The Country

    The trials team certainly had high expectations for their Nakuru Maize Variety Trial, but this extraordinary average yield certainly opened their eyes. The Nakuru site is just one of the 8 sites across the country that we’ve test varieties in different climates over the past 12 months. Had we grown the top-yielding variety in this […]

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  • August 5th, 2020

    Get The Best From Sunflowers & Herbicides

    Sunflowers are a fantastic crop for Kenya and can provide extra income for farmers in the off-season as well as many rotational benefits to the soil. But to get top yields it is crucial to check on your herbicides and keep the crop free from weed competition for the first 6-7 weeks. Good planting ensures […]

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  • July 22nd, 2020

    Fall Armyworm Update – 22nd July 2020

    For the past three seasons growers have been reporting Fall Armyworm in the tips of cobs from silking right through to maturity, with damage at harvest similar to the photo below. Fall Armyworm numbers have clearly been on the decline since they first arrived in 2017, with some exceptions, and this year they appear to […]

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  • July 9th, 2020

    Boost Your Bushels To Win With Wheat

    Bushel weight can make the difference between a profitable crop and one that you can’t even sell. Carrying on from our previous newsletter on how to improve your bushel weight, we take a look at how to get the fungicide program right to maximise your chances of getting a top price for your wheat. Fungicide […]

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  • June 16th, 2020

    Best Ways to Control Weeds In Potato Farming

    When it comes to Potato Farming, Getting weed control right in potatoes is crucial. Furthermore, weeds generally make mechanical harvesting difficult and compete with the crop for nutrients just as the tubers really start bulking. Here, we take a look at some of the weed control herbicides options to receive great yields from Potato Farming: […]

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  • June 3rd, 2020

    Choosing Wheat Varieties For That Big Crop

    With malting barley plantings down considerably this year, many farmers will be growing extra acres of wheat to make up for the area lost. But what varieties should you grow to manage the risks of a big wheat area? Robin Still yields very well in our trials, and most importantly of all is consistent across […]

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  • May 22nd, 2020

    Protecting Bees From Pesticides

    Yields in high value cash & export crops such as coffee, potatoes, avocados, pawpaws, watermelons, oranges, cucumber, passion fruit, etc, hugely depend on the pollination activities carried out by bees, butterflies, birds & other pollinators. Pollinators are essential to the production of many of the micronutrient rich fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and oils we eat. […]

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  • May 14th, 2020

    Is Fall Armyworm Falling Away?

    Think Agronomy 15th May 2020 If you set out to collect several hundred Fall Armyworm larvae for an experiment, I can tell you that it is a long task, which seems to take longer each year. Sure, if you look for them they are easy enough to find in fields that have perhaps not received […]

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  • June 3rd, 2020

    Soil Preparation For Maize, Wheat & Barley Production

    Soil or land preparation for farming is foundational when growing cereals like maize wheat and barley. In this article we’ll explore the key critical soil requirements for cereal production namely: soil sampling, soil preparation and planting & Deep Nitrogen Testing Soil Sampling Why soil sampling improves profitability How to sample properly Grid vs zone sampling […]

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  • May 4th, 2020

    Weed Control in Maize Farming

    As crops progress through the growth stages, weed control in maize up to 7-8 leaf stage is crucial to avoid yield loss. There are a number of maize herbicide options on the market, so we explore their strengths and their weak points… Stellar Star Stellar Star is very strong on Gallant Soldier, Datura and Mexican […]

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  • April 8th, 2020

    Determining The Cost Of Production Of Cereals (Maize, Wheat & Barley)

    Knowing your farm cost of production is absolutely crucial for any farming business, and it is an integral part of the advice we give the farmers that we work with at Cropnuts. So every year we take a look through the actual farm input costs of growing different cereal crops (maize wheat & barley) and […]

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  • March 4th, 2020

    Maize Plant Populations

    Maize plant population and seed rate comparison data from our maize variety trial sites has been very enlightening. Last week we looked at the results of our Cropnuts Maize Variety Trials in 2019 and highlighted how some maize varieties perform very differently at higher plant populations. Within the Variety Trials last year at every site, […]

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  • February 14th, 2020

    Highland Maize Variety Choices For 2020

    Choosing the right variety is important for any crop, but with a crop like maize where there is just so much choice, where do you start? Last season we carried out four fully replicated maize variety trials in the highland areas; in Timau, Rumuruti, Nakuru and Eldoret to independently compare a range of maize varieties […]

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  • February 4th, 2020

    Avoiding Lodging In Cereals

    Lodging in cereals is the bending over of the stems near ground level of grain crops. Lodging makes cereal crops very difficult to harvest and can dramatically reduce yield. Causes Of Lodging In Cereals Lodging in cereals is often caused by inadequate standing power of the crop and other external conditions such a storm damage, soil density, disease, sowing […]

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  • February 4th, 2020

    Latest Insights From Our Crop Field Trials

    Importance of Molybdenum & Cobalt On Legumes Looking back through some of our legume crop field trials which have focused mainly on peas, the use of molybdenum and cobalt on the seed has consistently shown improvements in nodulation and yield. We know how important molybdenum is on legumes and brassicas in most Kenyan soils so […]

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  • January 14th, 2020

    Crop Fungicide Guide

    Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, and profit. Fungicide Classification Fungicides are mostly known by their brand names. But when you want to get scientific about farming, it’s important to understand a bit more about which ones to use in different crops, and […]

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  • January 13th, 2020

    Fall Armyworm (FAW) Control

    Fall Armyworm control methods discussed in this article are tested by Cropnuts independent Agronomy team. The recommendations given in this article are independent and are not biased to any fall armyworm insecticide company in any way. Fall Armyworm  (FAW) or Spodoptera frugiperda , is a new emerging invasive pest that is wreaking havoc in Kenya and many […]

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  • December 10th, 2019

    Think Agronomy: Prepare For Locust Plague

    Think Agronomy is our new, regular broadcast keeping arable farmers updated with tips, tricks and knowledge from our experienced team of independent agronomists. To subscribe to receive our Agronomy newsletters straight to your email inbox, please click here Farmers of every crop type including livestock are being urgent to make plans to deal with the potential locust plague […]

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  • November 13th, 2019

    Claydon Seeder Machine

    Continuing our series looking at planters, this interesting offering from Claydon is particularly relevant to many farming situations in Kenya… Claydon uses a leading tine to open the soil ahead of a separate seeding tine, meaning that light surface compaction – from livestock grazing in the off-season for example – can be removed at seeding […]

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  • March 6th, 2019

    Highland Maize Varieties List

    Maize varieties grown in Kenya, their strong attributes and their vulnerabilities, especially to certain pests & diseases as tested in our maize crop trials. Maize Variety List Pannar 691 Maize Variety Still arguably the standard for yield despite being released in 2001. In most highland areas it requires 160 days to maturity. Good disease resistance […]

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  • November 1st, 2019

    What Makes A Great Seeder?

    In this issue of #ThinkAgronomy we make comments on 3 crucial topics trending among broad acre farmers right now There seems to be a lot of conversation recently about seeders, so over the next few weeks we will be looking at a different manufacturer each week. First up is an interesting tine seeder from the […]

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  • February 28th, 2018

    Wheat Varieties List

    This week I take a look at wheat varieties in Kenya in anticipation of planting. Also we got latest trials results highlighting importance of Nitrogen and Sulphur in Canola Wheat Varieties List: Robin Njoro 2 Kwale Hawk Korongo Egale 10 Wren Tai Eldo baraka Mavuno Robin Still a solid wheat variety. First registered in 2009, […]

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  • May 30th, 2018

    Top Dressing Fertilizer For Maize: Why Timing Is Key

    Top dressing fertilizer for maize works best when the timing is key; ie. when it is applied at the correct crop growth stage and at the recommended rate. This is why: For maize, Urea application timing depends on an understanding of the key growth stages. As many crops reach top dressing timing, we look at […]

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About Cropnuts

Cropnuts (or Crop Nutrition Laboratory Services Ltd) is a private company that offers laboratory analytics and expert agricultural advice in Africa. We started out as a small analytical laboratory, offering services for agriculture and food safety...

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