What to Know When Applying Fertilizers 

• Right source – get the right fertilizer for your crop and soil.
• Right fertilizer rate – use the right fertilizer amount depending on what the crop needs and size of land. 
• Right time for fertilizer application – apply fertilizer when the crop needs it; basal fertilizer – apply at planting or just after planting; top dressing; 
  • Don’t apply fertilizer, or manure on wet soils - to minimize compaction, runoff and loss of nutrients. 
• Right placement of fertilizer – apply the fertilizer where the crop can easily get the nutrients from the fertilizer. 

What you Need Before Applying ISFM

• Affordable and quality manure, fertilizers.
• Clean planting materials e.g., seeds.
• Know your farm size.
• Have production resources like labor and money.

Benefits of ISFM

• Increased crop production leading to food security and incomes. 
• Increased soil fertility. 
• Stabilizes production.
• Reduces cost of production.

Manure storage

Storage of manure is important because it: -

• Preserves crop nutrients until the time of application. 
• Prevents runoff of nutrients to the soil and water. 
• Prevents escape of nutrients into the soil and water. 
• Prevents nutrients from volatilization/escaping to the air. 

How to Store Manure

• Stackable manures: Heap the manure and compress the heap. Cover to protect the manure against the wind, water and sunlight. 
• Liquid manures and slurry: Liquid manure is often the result of flushing the livestock house with water. Slurry needs a large storage capacity e.g., lagoons, outdoor silo or pit. 
• Don’t keep mature compost for too long, it will lose some nutrients.
• You can produce a regular supply of compost by digging three pits (or piling three heaps) side by side. Every 2 to 3 weeks, turn the compost from one pit into the next one, and start a new compost pile with fresh vegetation in the empty pit.

How to Treat Manure

Composting 

• Turns on-farm organic waste materials into a valuable soil amendment and fertilizer resource. Composting is suitable on all farms. 
• Compost is a rich source of organic matter which sustains soil quality, is a source of crop nutrients, it improves the soils water holding capacity, and improves soils resistance to erosion.
• It is labor intensive and demands regular attention – collection of composting materials, setting up the heap, regular watering and repeated turning of the heap.

How to Tell a Mature Compost  

• Compost materials become finer over time until a fine, loamy material is produced; 
• The different materials are no longer recognizable; 
• The material has a slight ‘earthy’ and harmless smell; 
• Temperature drops and the compost is cool; 
• Compost is dry. 

How to Compost 

The two most common are: 

• Heap or pile method, suitable for large-scale processing and for small-scale operations in areas with higher rainfall. 
• Pit method, suitable for small-scale processing in areas with low rainfall and a long dry season and for composting of liquid manures. 

How to Apply Manure 

Always refill the amounts of nutrients that are harvested with crops. The farmer should: 

• Know the quality of manure through testing. 
• Not apply manures before carrying out a soils test, to know how much is needed.
• Only apply manures at the time the crops need the nutrients. 
• Apply the right amount that the crop requires. Avoid over fertilization. 
• Should not apply slurry/liquid manure to fruits and vegetables grown for fresh consumption. 

Basic Costs 

• Labor for collecting the manure, building a compost heap, storing, maintaining it, transporting and applying it in the field. 
• Flooring and or roofing of the livestock houses. 
• Storage facilities.

Benefits 

The benefits of using manure include:

• Reduces nutrient losses hence low environmental pollution;
• Produces biogas energy. 
• Applying manure to soil increases soil health.
• Increased organic matter content increases the soils water-holding capacity;
• Better water-holding capacity improves resilience to climate change;
• Applying manure to soil improves crop nutrient supply;
• Improved crop nutrient supply enhances crop growth and yield, which contributes to food security;
• Enhanced crop production, increases farm income;

3. Rapid Soil Testing Services

• Soils should be tested to be sure of the type of fertilizer to use. 
• This is a dry method for soil testing using the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter to characterize biochemical composition of a soil and/or plant tissue. 
• Soil testing services are offered at some KALRO Centres and other institutions

4.Low-Cost Composting technology

• Biological decomposition of organic waste such as food or plant material by bacteria, fungi, worms and other organisms.
• One of the most effective processes for recycling organic wastes intended for use in agriculture