Ask your Agronomist: To curb acidity, lime your soils or use nitrate fertilisers

What you need to know:

  • In general, maize as a crop does not tolerate pH conditions of less than 5.5, preferring an optimal range of 6-7.2.
  • Liming the soils is the only effective correction practice, and this can be done progressively over a period of time to ease the financial burden on the farmer.
  • For specific product recommendations, please consult your Yara Agronomist near you or stockists and distributors in your area.

Q: I am a farmer in the Rift Valley, and I am told my soil is acidic. How best can I grow maize now that the planting season is about to begin?
John

Growing maize in an acidic soil environment will limit productivity and consequently the profit a farmer will get from his agribusiness.

In general, maize as a crop does not tolerate pH conditions of less than 5.5, preferring an optimal range of 6-7.2.

In acidic soils, the roots of a maize crop suffer impairment from aluminium toxicity, limiting nutrient uptake. Besides, damaging roots, acidic soils also negatively affect availability of nutrients.

Phosphorous for example, a critical element in enhancing development of a good root structure is fixed by other minerals in an acid soil, making it unavailable, even as farmers apply fertiliser, leading to reduced crop production.

All is not lost though even in such acidic soil environments. Farmers are advised to adopt practises that will either amend the soils, or at least not make the acidic situation worse.

Liming the soils is the only effective correction practice, and this can be done progressively over a period of time to ease the financial burden on the farmer.

Secondly, farmers should use more of nitrate-based fertilisers as opposed to the ammonium-based fertilisers, which contribute a lot to the acidification problem.

Balanced nitrate-based NPKs containing secondary and micro-nutients would, therefore, be a better alternative for planting as opposed to ammonium-based products.

This would provide the maize crop with a balanced nutrient supply that is critical in ensuring high quality yields.

Yara East Africa is Africa’s leading crop nutrition company, that focuses on growing the yield and profitability of the farmer, by selling crop specific fertilisers and providing correct knowledge and how best to use them.

For specific product recommendations, please consult your Yara Agronomist near you or stockists and distributors in your area.

Vitalis Wafula
East Africa Regional Agronomist