TODAY SUBJECT: MECHANICAL FERTILIZER APPLICATION IN SUGAR CANE

Most of perennial agricultural crops (commercial) needs to be suplemented by plant nutrients (fertilizer) to compensate the nutrients that are being consumed by a plants.

Flashing back to my heading,am going to provide some starting points on mechanical fertilizer application in mentioned crop and allow members to go through thereafter we discuss/share experiences

Mechanical fertiliser application is the use of machine(s) to spread fertilizer in field.

■Mechanical Fertilizer application in sugarcane fields is vital since using machines can enable a farmer to cover big area within short period of time also machine ensures evenly fertilizer distribution than using manual spreading.

Important points to consider before starting mechanical fertilizer application

●cane rows spacing~ this will help you know exactly where to place fertilizer  spreading hopper on machine and calculate the actual coverage area to be fertilized in 1 hector of land (in field)since when using machine you only apply nutrients near cane stool/sett for ratoon/plant cane respectively.

●machine calibration~ this will help you know which sprockets you should use to manager shaft rotation speed for the proper dosage deliverance as per soil analysis made suggests (the higher shaft speed the higher the fertilizer deliverance)

NOTE,fertilizer deliverance in mechanical fertilizer applicator is being controlled by shaft which is rotated by sprockets harnessed to chain and wheel (depth wheel) which ensure only fertilizer delivered when the machine is in motion.

 

●tractor harnessed to machine~the lifting arms of the tractor must be adjusted to depth that will neither let machine leave fertilizer on soil surface nor deep beyond crop (sugar cane) root zone as its roots are shallow, also trenching too deep results into more energy needed hence more fuel consumption and only powerful machine will be needed for this work while by adjusting shank depth we can save energy and use even less powerful tractor to harness this machine.

¤Lastly this machine can apply up to 20 hectares within 11 working hrs,see some photos of  a machine at work