Go organic for that bumper harvest

A farmer’s income depends on the yield of his crop. To maximise yield, farmers have to use fertiliser. However, most small scale farmers cannot afford expensive fertiliser for their crop.

With the planting season now approaching, it is important farmers re-evaluate their sources of fertiliser.

Soil fertility on smallholder farms is almost entirely dependent on locally available resources. Cattle manure, cereal and legume stover, and woodland litter are the commonly used organic fertilisers, but these are rarely applied in sufficient quantities to boost crop yields.

The use of high quality organic fertiliser is rarely practised. With the skyrocketing fertiliser prices in the market, many farmers are resorting to improving their organic fertiliser. And you don’t need to look far.

Organic material such as weeds, house or hotel kitchen waste, agricultural waste — wheat and maize straw, sugarcane trash, fibre from coconut trees, pigeon pea stalks, dry leaves from crops and trees, among others are materials readily available to farmers.

Vermicompost is the compost produced by the consumption of these organic materials by the earthworms. The worms speed up decomposition and provide nutrient-rich end products.

Dr Mariam Mwangi , a senior lecturer at Egerton University’s Department of Crops, Horticulture and Soils, has been involved in research into vermicompost’s  effect on specific crop growth, yield and quality.

According to Dr Mwangi, vermicompost is a well balanced fertiliser that contains all the nutrients essential for plant growth such as nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and iron.

Biodegradable organic waste

The procution of vermicompost is easy and if you are still wondering why you should produce this vermicompost, here are more reasons:

Vermicompost is an eco-friendly natural fertiliser prepared from biodegradable organic waste and is free from chemical inputs.

It improves water retention capacity of soil because of its high organic matter content.

It improves soil aeration, texture and tilth, thereby reducing soil compaction.

It does not have any adverse effect on soil, plant and the environment.

It improves the nutrient status of soil through the addition of both macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients.

The on-going research on vermicomposting at Egerton University suggests the compost is especially suitable for horticultural crops and the vermi-tea by-product (the liquid collected from the compost during vermicomposting) is highly nutritious.

This by-product is used as a top dressing fertiliser. Several horticultural crops have shown a faster maturity rate and higher yields.

Continued use of organic fertiliser results in increased soil organic matter, reduced erosion, better water infiltration and aeration, higher soil biological activity as the materials decompose in soil, and increased yields after a year of application.

This makes the organic fertiliser more desirable than mineral or inorganic fertiliser. Besides applying the organic fertiliser on farms, the product can be packed and sold commercially, generating income for farmers.

With the current high cost of production on the side of the farmer, leading to squeezed profit margins, organic fertiliser is the way to go.