Effective Nutrient Management

Effective nutrient management is crucial for optimizing crop growth and achieving high yields. It involves understanding the nutrient requirements of crops at different growth stages, maintaining a balance of essential elements in the soil, and employing sustainable practices to enhance nutrient availability. Here are some key insights into nutrient management Soil Testing Before embarking on […]

Fertilizer Application Techniques

Effective fertilizer application is a critical aspect of soil and crop management. Understanding different techniques for applying fertilizers can significantly impact nutrient distribution, crop growth, and environmental sustainability. Here are key points to consider when discussing fertilizer application techniques: Broadcasting: Broadcasting involves uniformly spreading dry or granular fertilizers across the entire field’s surface. This technique […]

Chemical Soil Health Indicators

Chemical soil health components influence plant nutrient uptake, soil fertility levels, and fertilizer use efficiency by crops. The soil’s chemical properties include 1️⃣ Soil pH Soil pH measures the level of acidity or alkalinity in the soil. It’s a crucial indicator as different crops have specific pH preferences for optimal growth. For instance, blueberries thrive […]

Physical Soil Health Indicators

Physical soil health components create a soil environment where plants roots flourish, water is conserved and erosion is curtailed. The soil’s physical properties include: Texture: Soil texture, determined by the proportions of sand, silt, and clay, significantly influences water-holding capacity, drainage, and nutrient availability. Assessing soil texture provides insights into a soil’s water retention capacity […]

Maize Crop Nutrition Guide

Maize is a resource-intensive crop. Fertilizers and other inputs are costly. A data-driven crop nutrition program, based on targeted soil and leaf sampling, prevents the over-application of nutrients when they aren’t needed, reducing costs and environmental impact. Understanding the maize growth stages allows for the efficient application of these inputs. Why Focus on Maize Crop […]

Soil pH and Nutrient Availability

Soil pH is a critical factor that influences the availability of nutrients to plants. Understanding the relationship between soil pH and nutrient availability is essential for effective fertilization. Here are the key points to consider when discussing soil pH and its impact on nutrient availability: Soil pH Defined: Soil pH is a measure of the […]

Wheat Crop Nutrition Guide

When creating a comprehensive soil testing, leaf testing, and fertilizer program for wheat, it’s essential to consider the following crucial growth stages of the crop: 1️⃣ Pre-Planting Stage: Begin with a thorough soil test before planting wheat to assess the soil’s nutrient levels, organic matter levels, and pH. This stage helps identify any nutrient deficiencies […]

Soybean Crop Nutrition Guide

When growing soybeans, it’s crucial to tailor your fertilizer program to meet the crop’s changing nutrient needs throughout its growth stages. Let’s dive into the six crucial growth stages and how to optimize your soybean fertilization strategy for each: 1️⃣ Pre-Planting Stage: Set the stage for success by starting with a soil test before planting […]

Phosphorus Management

Phosphorus (P) is a crucial nutrient for plant growth and is essential for many biological processes. Effective phosphorus management is critical for cultivating healthy, high-yield crops. Here’s an overview of key aspects related to phosphorus management: Phosphorus Sources: Phosphorus can be sourced from various fertilizers, such as single superphosphate (SSP), triple superphosphate (TSP), and diammonium […]

Nitrogen Management

Nitrogen (N) is a vital nutrient for plant growth, and effective nitrogen management is essential for achieving healthy, high-yield crops. Here’s an overview of key aspects related to nitrogen management: Sources of Nitrogen: Nitrogen can be sourced from various fertilizers, including ammonium nitrate, urea, ammonium sulfate, and organic materials like compost. Leguminous crops also fix […]

Plan Now For El Niño Planting

As speculation over an impending El Niño continues to build, growers are advised to plan ahead to ensure that they are not caught out at planting and are in a position to make the most of what could be a high-potential season. Several farmers familiar with the 1997/98 El Niño have told me “Be careful […]

Leaf Testing To Make an Impact

Every time I attend a talk, watch a video, or read an article on crop nutrition, the moment I hear the words “Nutrient X is important for [pollen formation / photosynthesis / insert any other process in the plant]”, I switch off. Whilst it is entirely true that different nutrients perform very different functions within […]

Maize Land Preparation

I. Introduction Maize is an important crop in many parts of the world, and its success largely depends on proper land preparation. To achieve optimal maize yields, farmers need to know the essential techniques for preparing their land before planting. This article will cover the various stages involved in maize land preparation, from soil analysis […]

Planning for Successful Potatoes

As we approach the potato planting season, good planning is essential to achieve the best from the crop and maximise your profits. We take a look at the steps to consider: Number 1 is certified seed; you do not need the crop to be held back by diseases such as Blackleg, Black Dot, and Rhizoctonia […]

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 […]

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 […]

How To Take A Soil Sample

This is a ‘How-to take a Soil Sample’ Doodly video.
Soil testing is essential for building sustainable soil fertility and fertilizer management programs for your farm, to increase your crop yields and reduce your input costs.

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 […]

How To Pick A Soil Sample

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 […]

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 […]

Floods, Droughts & The Soil

Turning soils into sponges: Opportunities to reduce flood and drought risks You may think that the common factor between drought and flood in many places in Kenya is water, especially lately.  Other than the lack or abundance of rain, the major reason for droughts and floods is the soil’s health status and its inability to […]

Solutions To Challenges Facing Agriculture In Kenya

In Kenya, the current population is estimated at 47 million and expected to nearly double to 95 million by 2050. Agriculture in Kenya is a fundamental instrument for sustainable development, poverty eradication, and food security.

Image c/o: pixabay

Plant Nutrition Basics In Floriculture

Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical elements and compounds necessary for plant growth, plant metabolism and their external supply. Without proper plant nutrition, plants tend to die off or produce little or no yield. In my line of work I visit hundreds of flower farms a year; the flourishing, the ticking over, and the ones in […]

Greenhouse Soil Tips For Beginners

Greenhouse soil crops need more specialized care. When you grow plants out in the open field, your soil has time to rest and regenerate. Not so in the greenhouse, where the climate is much hotter and the soil and plants are working hard all year round. Greenhouse soil temperatures are higher and you need to […]

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 […]

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 […]

Coffee Nutrient Requirements

Two big yield limitations in coffee are: low soil pH Micronutrient deficiencies Years of applying acidic fertilizers in conjunction with leaching have caused many soils in coffee growing areas in Kenya to become very acidic.  Low soil pH affects the crop in two ways:- Reduced Fertilizer Efficiency At low pH, fertilizers like Phosphorous (P) get bound […]

High Sodium Soil Effect On Plant Growth

In Africa, and especially in Kenya, high sodium soil is one of the major causes of yield losses, quality reduction and crop failure in irrigated agriculture.  So today, in our first newsletter, we are going to talk about sodium in the soil. The Effect Of Soil Sodium Soils with a high percentage of sodium in […]

How Organic Matter Creates Sustainable, Carbon-Friendly Agriculture

Soil organic matter (SOM) is the organic matter component of soil, consisting of plant and animal remains at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil microbes, and substances that soil microbes synthesize (Wikipedia). In order to save the world from self-destruction, we need to move towards sustainable carbon friendly farming. Many farms in Kenya have already embarked on this journey. […]

Calcium Nitrate Alternatives In Hydroponic & Fertigation Systems

Calcium Nitrate is an inorganic compound with the formula Ca(NO3)2 and is mainly used as a component in fertilizers. In soil and plant nutrition Calcium is King. Calcium Nitrate is the only cheapish non-reactive water soluble calcium fertilizer suitable for drip feeding fertigated crops, so it goes without saying that calcium nitrate is the sovereign of fertilizers.  There are […]

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 […]

Avocado Farming Guide

Your ultimate Avocado Farming Guide: Avocado farming in Kenya and around the globe is gaining prominence partly because of the nutritious benefits of the avocado fruit. But where does one start in farming this delicious fruit? Here, we discuss more on the best practices on how to grow Avocados in Kenya. Full of flavor, packing […]