Soil Testing in Kenya
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Soil testing simply put, is measuring the soil’s health and fertility. How often you check the soil health is determined by factors such as crop to grow, previous crop, weather conditions e.g. after flooding.
As you do your research on Onion Farming in Kenya, remember to add a soil test as part of the process of land preparation. Sampling can be done any time, but you should test your soil as early as possible prior to transplanting to give yourself ample time to amend the soil for pH, Phosphorus and Potassium if needed.
Testing your soil is the best way to evaluate the fertility status of your field or high tunnel before planting. A soil test is useful in the diagnosis of plant culture problems, and it is also an important tool in improving the soil nutritional balance. Soil tests will also save you money and energy by applying only the amount of fertilizer needed by the plants. The most common soil test performed is soil pH, which is a measure of soil acidity.
Soil pH is an important factor in plant growth because it affects nutrient availability to the plants. When pH is maintained at the proper level for a given plant, nutrients are at maximum availability. Most plants prefer a soil pH between 6.0 – 7.0, except for some acid loving plants like blue berries and potatoes. In Kenya, soil testing can cost you between Ksh 1500 ($15) and Ksh 5000 ($50) per sample of your soil. You will need to carefully do the soil sampling procedure so as to ensure you get the correct samples for accurate report.
Onion Doctor provides comprehensive soil testing, analysis and recommendation to farmers’ country wide. We measure pH levels, Macro nutrients, micro nutrients and soil borne diseases. It takes about 14 working days to have the results ready. A balanced soil pH will allow your plants to take up the nutrients from the fertilizers you apply. Acidic soils make the nutrients un-available. If your soil is acidic, adding more fertilizer to your farm will not yield because plants will be starved of these nutrients as a result of the low pH. The remedy to this problem is to add agricultural lime to your soil before the planting.
Agricultural lime helps in raising the pH to levels that allow your crops to take up nutrients. This saves you on the cost of fertilizers since no wastage occurs and plants are able to efficiently take up the available nutrients in the soil. Nutrient recommendations are provided on soil test reports. Additional help is provided to refine nutrient recommendations for specific crop, landscape, and garden situations, and to aid in correcting other problems diagnosed with a soil test.
Proper recommendation will entail a soil correction plan with advice on the quantities and rations of NPK fertilizers, or a combination of manure and agricultural lime. Getting a good report is however the first step to a good harvest. Additional to the recommendations, we give advice on other aspects of crop production especially when it comes to crop management like pest and disease control.
For more specific information about soil testing contact us via any platform and we will be glad to serve you.
Onion Doctor supports small holder farmers across Africa with quality and affordable Onion and Garlic seedlings, Onion seedlings, Farm planning services, Soil testing, Drip irrigation installation and maintenance, Agronomic support, Onion and Garlic value pack, Farm management, E-extension and on-farm training for farmers to optimize on yields and get maximum profits.