Most Soils In Uasin Gishu are Acidic-Soil Sampling Report by OCP Shows
A soil sampling conducted on Uasin Gishu soils has shown that most of the soils are acidic.
Derrick Chirchir lab technician at OCP Kenya said the sampling was conducted in all the 30 wards in the County.
“Soil samples were conducted in the six Sub-Counties Moiben, Soy, Kapseret, Ainabkoi, Turbo, and Kesses where it was found that their soils are acidic. The soils are predominantly clayey with high moisture retention capacity which makes them suitable for a wide range of crops,” said Chirchir while releasing soil sample results at Quinet Kapsuswa Ward, Soy Constituency.
They took over 3,000 samples.
He said they recommend manure and lime application to bring back the soil fertility thus increasing yields.
“PH of most soils is lower than the expected range, which makes it difficult for the roots of the crops to absorb the fertilizer and other nutrients in the soil and results in low yields,” he said to improve the yields farmers are encouraged to treat the soils with Agriculture lime to neutralize acidity.
He further said that organic carbon is also low in most soils in the County and farmers are encouraged to add organic matter or manure to the soils to improve the quality of yields.
“For better yields, farmers are encouraged to apply fertilizers with Nitrogen, phosphorous, and other micronutrients such as Sulphur and Boron,” he said.
Lagat Benjamin ward agriculture officer Quinet, Kapsuswa 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 20 percent.
“We are calling upon farmers to ensure that they test their soils before using any fertilizer this will help them the best type of fertilizer for a particular soil. We thank OCP Kenya for coming up with this exercise which is beneficial to farmers and now we will have more yields,” he said.
Moses Bakutwa farmer “ We have today received our soil results and we are happy because we now know that our soils are acidic and we have been advised what to do to increase nutrients in our soils,”
Esther Kemi “We now know why our farms were performing poorly with poor yields,” said.
Justin Wamugunda from OCP Africa says Soil sampling is important since it’s easier to know the type of plant and fertilizer to use in a particular soil.
“Today we have come here to give soil sampling results to farmers and we have taught them what to do on their acidic soils and they have promised to follow them and come next year we expect high yields,” said Justin Wamugunda.
“For now we did soil sampling in three counties and we expect next year we will go to mount Kenya, Eastern, and Meru, we want to know the deficiency in their soils and advise them on what to do,” he added.
OCP has over 100 years of experience in the manufacture of quality, affordable phosphate fertilizer products and is committed to contributing to sustainable Agriculture in Kenya.
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