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What are the main soil characteristics and fertilization agronomic requirements in cultivation of soybean and sunflower under the tropical African conditions?

      

What are the main soil characteristics and fertilization agronomic requirements in cultivation of soybean and sunflower under the tropical African conditions?

  

Answers

abigealmuinde
Sunflowers do best in soil with lots of water holding capacity, drainage and fertilizer. Sunflower roots grow deep and spread a lot, so they can stand a dry spell every now and then. Too high nitrogen is not good, and make sure you have potassium and phosphorus in the soil.
• Start by planting seeds in damp soil 1-2" deep.
• Seeds should be space 12 inches apart in rows that are 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart.
• If you want your sunflower to have a large head, space further apart and scatter them around the garden.
• They usually start to appear within a two week time frame.
• They should be completely grown in 80-90 days.
• Weed control should usually be done by hand-weeding or with the use of herbicides to avoid damaging shallow roots.
• Fertilization should be based on the results of a soil test. In the absence of a soil test, apply a complete fertilizer such as 17-17-17 or 23-23-10 at the rate of 2 to 5 kg per 100 square meters of bed area just before new shoots emerge’
• Avoid touching any emerging leaves with fertilizer to avoid leaf damage.
Soybean Soybean can be planted in any soil that is suitable for growing maize but performs badly
in a poor sandy soils with low content of organic matter. Generally soybean is better suited to heavier soils than most other crops. Soils that easily compact and form a crust must be avoided for growing soybean because the protruding soybean seedling (hypocotyl) breaks easily under pressure. A fertile soil ensures that nutrients are available for the soybean crop and therefore minimizes the need for inorganic fertilizer inputs.
Therefore avoid:
• Land laying on a steep slope
• Land which is near a swamp or likely to have water logging conditions
• Very sandy soil and areas with shallow surface soil to avoid drought stress
• Areas with a lot of shade to the soybean crop like under the trees
A good contact between the seed and soil enhances rapid germination therefore proper land preparation is vital to ensure good germination and reduces weed infestation. A well prepared land should ensure that weeds, shrubs and bushes are cleared. Ridge or flat spacing: Farmers can plant soybean either on ridges or flat seedbed. If the farmer decides to make ridges, the ridges should be spaced at 75cm apart and make two grooves (20-30 cm apart) on a single ridge where the seed will be placed. If planting is on the flat, the recommended row spacing is 45 cm between rows.
Time of planting: In Soybean production, early planting does not have the same positive effect on yield as is the case with crops such as maize. However, soybean requires enough soil moisture at planting. This is because soybean needs to absorb a minimum of 50% of their own mass in moisture (compared to 30% in the case of maize) before they begin to germinate. Soybean should not be dry planted and should not be planted until it is clear that the rains have properly started. Timely planting helps in:
• Greater number of main stem nodes and increased biomass
• More rapid growth rate during pod setting
• Potential for earlier flowering and therefore, a longer reproductive period
• Greater grain filling rate, hence high yield inoculation in order to avoid killing the rhizobia.
jahby answered the question on November 19, 2018 at 06:12

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