A fertilizer expert has revealed that most of Uasin Gishu farmers have been using fertilizers without doing soil testing leading to low yields.
The expert, Dan Okumu who is also the Country Manager of OCP said most of the soils in the county, considered the country's food basket are acidic.
“We have been doing different tests in the 6 sub-counties in Uasin Gishu and what has come out is that the majority of the soils are very acidic, this means even if a farmer uses fertilizer and the best seeds, he/she will not get the right yields,” said Okumu on Wednesday during the marking World Food Day in Kapseret.
“According to sampled reports, the PH value of soils are as low as 3.6 while the required range is between 5 and 6. hence the soils are very acidic. Organic carbon values are between 17 and 19, while the required range is between 20 and 50,” he added.
The fertilizer expert recommended that farmers should add lime, organic matter, Sulphur, Calcium Oxide, and Nitrogen to their soil for them to get good yields.
He also advised farmers to always test their soils for them to know the right fertilizer, quantity to be used and the crop to be grown so as to increase their yields by over 50 per cent.
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