By Lynette Simango
Ever wondered how you make the right fertilizer applications and yet still get poor yields. You applied the recommended bags of Compound D and Ammonium nitrate yet when harvesting time arrived, you were far from reaching the target yield and you were very disappointed. What went wrong? We have the answers here at VaMudhumeni 😊. If last Season didn’t work out for you, this Season is your chance. Don’t let this information miss you.
One of the most important aspects when it comes to soil health is soil conditioning. Most of you miss this. When the growing season arrives, all you focus on is if you bought the required inputs and wait for the rains before you start planting. But you all forget about the house which will accommodate those crops, is it conducive enough for the crops you want to grow. This is where we talk about soil PH.
The recommended soil PH for crops is 5.5-6.5. Anything above or below that is a threat to crop production and needs correction, but you can’t know your soil PH Status unless you send it for ‘Testing’. There is a lot of ignorance and neglegence on that subject as most of you feel its just a waste of money and ‘time’, but is it🤔. What you don’t realize is that the benefit that comes from knowing your soil PH and correcting it far outweighs the cost of soil testing.
Here is why- The ability of your crops to utilize the fertilizer you applied depends on the soil Ph. If it is low that is below 5.5, it means your soils are acidic and this prevents the NPK uptake. Inorder for you to improve the NPK uptake efficiency, you need to lime the soil and again you won’t know how much lime to apply unless you send it for soil testing.
So the question, ‘What went wrong? ‘ has been answered. In simple terms you were wasting both your money and time by applying fertilizers on soils which were not in good state to avail those nutrients to your crops. The reason you always get poor yields each season despite having all the inputs and receiving good rains.
Make a difference this season. We advise you to send your soils for testing now because you are only allowed to grow your crops 3-6months after liming.