Are you looking to increase your crop harvests? Soil testing and use of agricultural lime to reduce soil acidity might be your answer. According to recent studies, 13% of soils in Kenya’s and 29% in the sub-Saharan Africa[i] are acidic. In this post, you will learn about soil acidity in Kenya, soil testing benefits and use of agriculture lime to increase your harvests
Causes of soil acidity in Kenya of acidic fertilizers like the Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP), heavy rainfall leading to leaching and erosion and finally organic matter decay.
Before you can make these decisions, you need to understand more about following parts covered in this article.
Soil acidity in Kenya
The Optimum soil pH for most foods crops is a range of pH 6.0- 7.0. Though a few crops can tolerate slightly acidic soils, further decrease will lower your yields and profits. At low pH levels, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and molybdenum nutrients will become deficient. Alkaline with a PH value of above 7.0, iron, manganese, zinc and phosphorus are deficient hence the need for correction.
| Soil Acidity | pH value |
|---|---|
| Basic/Alkaline | Above 7.0 |
| Alkaline Near Neutral | 6.5-7.0 |
| Slightly acidic | 6.0-6.5 |
| Moderately acidic | 5.0-6.0 |
| Strongly acidic | 4.5-5.0 |
| Overly acidic | Below 4.5 |
According to a 2018 study[ii], the western, lake and central regions are the worst affected by acidity. These include Kisii, Migori, HomaBay, Siaya, Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega, Kericho, Narok, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Murang’a, Nyeri, Embu and Meru Counties as shown in the figure below. This affects more than 50% of smallholder farms in Western Kenya region alone.
Soil testing services in Kenya
How can you know if your farm or lawn soil has the correct pH? By soil testing. Soil testing is a quick and accurate method that measures soil pH or acidity. (pH), availability of plant nutrients like phosphorus, potassium and calcium etc. You can use the soil test results in plant selection, soil preparation, and fertilization.
You can do soil analysis yourself at home, use a lawn analysis service provider in your region for a simple dry test or contact an agriculture lab such as KARI for detailed wet analysis. These will give you results and advice on chemical constituents of soil, plant, water and wastewater, and feed. In Kenya, soil testing can cost you between Ksh 1500 ($15) and Ksh 5000 ($50) per sample of your soil.
Related: How to Test your Soil PH at home-DIY
To test your soil at home, order a soil testing kit, collect soil samples using a small trowel to make thin slices of soil from random areas of your garden. Each sample should be about a cup. Leave it to dry at room temperature and then place it in a clean plastic container or a Ziploc bag. You should label the sample and give it a date. Use your re-usable soil testers you can buy online for quick results. You can mail this for further analysis.
How to correct soil acidity in your garden
Applying agricultural lime, alkaline- based fertilizers like ammonium sulfate or use of organic materials like ash corrects acidity. Besides, you can choose to grow crop varieties that are thrive best in acidic soils. Of all those soil acidity correction, ag lime is the cheapest and most efficient.
Use of lime in agriculture.
Can dolomite use in agriculture give you more crop yields? The simple answer is yes. The agricultural lime is a soil additive or a corrective input to raise soil PH[iii]. It made from pulverized limestone or chalk, the same raw material used in making building cement.
As a farmer you can use the Agricultural lime in form of magnesium or calcium forms and several states: oxides, hydroxide, silicate or carbonate. The most popular ones in Kenya are main types of agricultural limes in the Kenyan market are the calcitic lime – calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and dolomitic lime (CaCO3.MgCO3 or CaMg (CO3)2.
Benefits of agriculture lime
The importance of agriculture lime is to raise your soil pH. It will improve your crop yields by assisting plants to uptake more nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium in acidic soils. “I applied lime in my farm where I grow Rhodes Grass; I was able to realize increased yields from 90 bales to 170 bales and I realized increased tomato yields from 70 to 90 crates” –Farmer from North Rift
Other benefits according to a 2021 KMT study are:-
- Promote better nitrogen fixation by legumes.
- Reduce toxicities in the soil (Reduces Aluminium (Al) and Manganese (Mn) toxicities).
- Enhance the effectiveness of some herbicides and fertilizers.
- Improve the soil ability to store water.
- Permits improved water penetration for acidic soils.
- Promotes crops root development.
The net effect is that you will improve farm yields and profits. Besides as a farmer, you will reduce cost of production which will translate to affordable food for consumers. To note, though investing in agriculture lime for your farm looks like an additional cost, the additional yields will offset this cost for you. Some limes are low release and may enjoy benefits for 2 to 3 years after application.
Types of agricultural lime
The agricultural lime in bulk is expensive. To make it available for small scale farmers in the region, it is processed and marketed in portable form. There are four types of agriculture lime; granulated, powder, pelletized or liquid.
- Lime Powder – crushed limestone into powder/chalk form and packed in 50kg bags.
- Granulated form – crushed/powder lime is processed into granular form for easier field application.
- Pelletized agricultural lime-Limestone is finely ground pulverized limestone for sale with an organic binder to form a pellet. It the easiest to handle and use, odor free and has long storage.
- Liquid agLime – The lime is suspended in liquid form for instant activity in the soil and can be applied on already growing fields.
You can apply ag lime by broadcasting or micro-dosing. You can combine it with fertilizers and seeds or do it separately. The suggested farm lime application rate is four tons/ha or 1.6 tons/acre. For microdosing, its more efficient and can be as low as 0.5 tons/acre.
Where to buy Agricultural Lime in Kenya
Are you looking for cheap agricultural lime in Kenya, Tanzania or Uganda? There are More than 20 different agricultural lime products in the market. They are available from at least eight lime suppliers operating in Kenya’s major towns. The biggest ones are;
- Homa Lime Company
- Athi River Mining (ARM)-Mavuno Fertilizers Company.
Cost of agriculture lime in Kenya
Wondering how much is a bag of lime in Kenya? According to latest study, the national demand for ag lime is approximately 187,000 MT annually. On average, powder lime costs KES 6,000 per MT at ex-factory prices and KES 8,000 for the retail prices.
Read Next: Where to buy fertilizers in Kenya
In your nearest agrovet shop, The price of a 50kgs bag of agriculture lime is Ksh. 1500 per (or Ksh. 30 per kg). The demand is high among the coffee, maize, and sugarcane farmers in Western, Rift Valley, Lake region and and Central Kenya regions of Mt Kenya and Aberdares.
Buy agricultural lime online in Kenya
You can buy pelletized, liquid, granulated and powder lime from leading online farm stores like the Home depot, Tractor Supply, Jumia and Amazon. Order ag-lime powder in Kenya from Jumia on the link below
- Buy 50KG Agriculture Lime Powder for SOIL ACIDITY and animal FEEDS
How much do a soil test kit cost