Maize silage Easy to establish and reliable, maize produces a very palatable and high-energy silage provided that it is well chopped and ensiled properly. Typically over 11 Mj of metabolisable energy per kilo, it is a great way of storing crop to feed for livestock later. The main drawbacks are that it needs to be […]
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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 […]
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Legumes for a crucial part of the crop rotation on many levels, adding valuable soil nitrogen, reducing root diseases such as Take-all and Fusarium in cereals, improving soil structure and allowing control of grass weeds such as Brome and Ryegrass. Something that I have seen first-hand over the last few years in Kenya is the […]
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Choosing the right wheat variety is one of the most important steps to growing a profitable and reliable wheat crop. Disease resistance, yield, grain quality, sprouting risk, and many other factors should be taken into consideration so that the chances of achieving a high yield and Grade 1 quality with minimal risk and expenditure on […]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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