Experts, who facilitated a soil management session under the Dutch Village during this year’s Harvest Money Expo, called for the addition of fertilisers and proper management practices to keep soil fertile and useful.
Julius Twinamwijuka, from Ferti-plus, who exhibited in the Dutch village and trained farmers on soil management, says farmers can reboot soils by adding calcium and fertilisers.
Twinamwijuka adds that inadequate calcium in the soil can be identified when plants or flowers start withering.
“To preserve fertility, farmers must avoid practices that may reduce nutrients in the soil. If they notice any signs of deficiency in the crops, they must add fertilisers, especially after doing a soil test,” Twinamwijuka said.
A soil test sample costs between sh30,000 and sh50,000.
Training under the Dutch village, Michael de Voogdm from the Netherlands said without good soils, farmers are bound to register losses.
He defined soil health as its continued capacity to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans.
“It allows good root growth and plant productivity and improves drainage and soil aeration,” he explained.
Voogdm notes that when soils become too acidic, plants struggle to get nutrients. That is why in some places, plants wither even when there is rain.
He adds that even though Ugandan soils are healthy, they need to be boosted with updated nutrients to keep them productive.
Determining soil fertility
Soil has large and small spaces. The small spaces take in water while the large ones take in oxygen. For the plants to grow as expected, the soils must have all the nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK).
Other nutrients are magnesium, calcium and sulphur, which are required in small quantities. Iron, copper, manganese, zinc, chlorine and sodium are required in minute amounts.
All these contribute to the growth of crops.
- There is a misconception among farmers that NPK is a single fertiliser or nutrient for the soil, whereas not. Kitungulu says NPK is a combination of three nutrients needed by plants for the different stages of growth.
- When planting, the first interest is root formation, so farmers should apply phosphorus.
- When leaves start to show, nitrogen should be applied and when it comes to fruiting, potassium can be added to make a complete set of NPK.
