Making sandy soils fertile
Growing demand for land in dry tropical zones is increasing pressure to use sandy soils, despite their low fertility which is due to a lack of organic matter, minerals and moisture. Now scientists in Thailand have developed a new method to increase their fertility. The simple method involves digging grooves 10 cm wide in between a crop s planting rows, and digging deep enough to break through the compacted layer which is normally found at 25 cm depth in sandy soils. The grooves, 40 cm apart, are then filled with the decompacted soil. This allows the plant s root system to grow in the grooves and to draw sustenance from the minerals and moisture that often lie below the compacted layer. Trials have shown significant increases in yield of such crops as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), maize (Zea mays) and Brazilian lucerne grass (Styloxanthes guianensis). To know more: Christian Hartmann DLD Division of soil analysis, Phaholyothin Road, Chatuchak Bangkok 10900 Thailand Fax: + 66 2 579 55 23 Email: hartmann@ksc.th.com
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2000
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/46811 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99589 |
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| Summary: | Growing demand for land in dry tropical zones is increasing pressure to use sandy soils, despite their low fertility which is due to a lack of organic matter, minerals and moisture. Now scientists in Thailand have developed a new method to increase their fertility.
The simple method involves digging grooves 10 cm wide in between a crop s planting rows, and digging deep enough to break through the compacted layer which is normally found at 25 cm depth in sandy soils. The grooves, 40 cm apart, are then filled with the decompacted soil. This allows the plant s root system to grow in the grooves and to draw sustenance from the minerals and moisture that often lie below the compacted layer. Trials have shown significant increases in yield of such crops as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), maize (Zea mays) and Brazilian lucerne grass (Styloxanthes guianensis).
To know more:
Christian Hartmann
DLD Division of soil analysis, Phaholyothin Road, Chatuchak
Bangkok 10900
Thailand
Fax: + 66 2 579 55 23
Email: hartmann@ksc.th.com |
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