Peas are a legume plant that can be either green or yellow, and they have emerged as a favorite meal in most Kenyan homes due to their broad recipe mixture with other foods. They are also very delicious and soft. In recent years, its demand has kept rising, and farmers are stretching to ensure their consumers’ demand is catered to and they get their product on time; however, this can be achieved using the best fertilizer.
Peas are among the plants that require little or no fertilizer to increase production, improve crop quality, and maintain the plant’s health and production pattern.
The following are some of the best fertilizers for your peas farming:
1. Double Super Phosphate (DSP) Fertilizer
Double superphosphate is a fertilizer with a moderate phosphorus content of about 36 percent that also contains double the nitrogen content of single superphosphate.
5 Reasons Why DSP Fertilizer is the Best for Peas in Kenya
Double super phosphate (DSP) is a balanced fertilizer compound with high calcium, sulphate, phosphorus, and Sulphur nutrients in each granule, which facilitates the efficient growth of the pea plant.
Below are some of the reasons why DSP is best for peas:
1. DSP application is essential for the pea’s crop growth since it is helpful for biological nitrogen fixation, considering that peas are a legume plant.
2. The DSP is a high-concentrated, water-soluble phosphate-based fertilizer that is ideal as a starter fertilizer for planting your peas.
3. DSP fertilizer helps stimulate the setting of pods, decreases the number of unfilled pods, and increases the maturity of the pea crop.
4. DSP is a quick-acting fertilizer that helps the pea plant deliver higher yields and improve the maturity of the peas.
5. DSP contains phosphorus, which is essential for root and shoot growth and lengthening in the pea plant, especially during their tender age.
2. Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP)Fertilizer
DAP contains nitrogen and phosphorus, which play significant roles in pea production. DAP is produced by reacting Ammonia with Phosphoric acid in fertilizer plants under controlled conditions.
4 Reasons Why DAP Fertilizer is the Best Fertilizer for Peas in Kenya
DAP is a good fertilizer for pea plants since it contains nitrogen and phosphorus, two primary macronutrients that are essential nutrients for the pea plant.
1. DAP ammonium is an excellent nitrogen source for the pea plant and can also be converted to nitrate by the soil to help regulate the soil pH.
2. DAP has Sulphur that contributes to the efficient use and intake of nitrogen and phosphorous in the pea plant.
3. DAP is the most concentrated phosphate-based fertilizer that helps in the establishment of the roots of the peas during the germination process.
4. DAP fertilizer is a starter dose of nitrogen with low Sulphur, recommended for pea plants, especially during the early stage since the peas’ roots are underdeveloped to sustain the nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
3.Triple Super Phosphate(TSP) Fertilizer
TSP fertilizer is among the water-soluble and universal phosphorus fertilizers; however, it contains many perfect physical and chemical properties that make it compatible with different soils in Kenya and pea production.
4 Reasons Why TSP is the Best Fertilizer for the Peas Crop
TSP can be directly applied to the soil as a single-nutrients thus being a good source of phosphorous to the peas
1. TSP provides the peas with additional plant nutrients since it contains phosphorus and calcium, which are essential for growth.
2. TSP has no nitrogen making it ideal for peas since they are leguminous plants that require very little nitrogen because they contain biological nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their roots
3. TSP has over 90% of total phosphorous and is highly soluble in water; this makes it rapidly available for uptake by the peas plant.
4. TSP provides the pea plant with enough phosphorus, which is fundamental to the development of the roots.
4. Manure Fertilizer
Manure is an organic fertilizer mainly produced from animal feces, plant materials, and compost. It is the best and most environmentally friendly fertilizer, which benefits soil fertility and the pea plant.
4 Reasons Why Manure is the Best Fertilizer for Peas
1. Manure contains a lot of organic matter that provides maintenance to the soil structure, thereby helping to hold the roots of the peas in place to avoid any mechanical damage.
2. Manure improves soil water retention capacity, thus helping to reduce water stress in peas, especially in dry seasons.
3. Manure provides mulch to the pea plant, thus protecting the soil from erosion by wind or surface run-off and evaporation, which may cause plant wilting.
4. Manure is a slow-releasing nutrient fertilizer that provides nutrients to the pea plant throughout the growth process due to its ability to stay in the soil for an extended period of time.
Fertilizer Ratio for the Peas
Peas require a sunny, nutrient-rich, moisture-retentive site with a soil pH between 6 and 7.5. Use DAP, DSP, or TSP fertilizer at a rate of 50 kg per acre during planting; it can be blended with 1.5 tons of well rotten manure.
During top dressing, use 50 kg/acre of CAN or 50 kg/acre of urea. Test your soil, if necessary. If phosphorous is high, use fertilizer with a low phosphorous ratio of 32:3:10 or 15:3:12; if there is no phosphorous, use the fertilizer ratio of 30:0:10 or 24:15.
5 Dos and Don’ts When Applying Fertilizer on Peas
Compared to vegetables and other grains, legumes and peas offer several advantages to the farmer, but you need to take action on what to do and what to avoid, as in the list below:
1. Use Fertilizer with Less Nitrogen
Excess use of nitrogen will encourage vegetative growth and reduce the number of pods and pea nails, which may affect the quality of yields and the rate of production of the pea plant.
2. Avoid Using Wet Manure When Planting Peas
Avoid using wet manure since it might contain harmful pests such as cutworms that tend to cut young peas’ roots; this might be disastrous to your pea farming.
3. Ensure you Take a Sample Test for the Soil Before Fertilizing Your Peas
Always test your soil to ensure you apply the correct quantity of fertilizer and nutrient ratio of the detected deficiency in the plant. It also helps to maintain the suitable soil pH because soil with a low pH will suppress the development of the Rhizobium bacteria responsible for fixing nitrogen in the peas plants
4. When Using Manure, Apply Early Before Planting
In hot seasons, use dry-well rotten manure to help the soil retain the moisture to sustain the peas, which also helps to incorporate the nutrients in the soil and act on the plant on time.
5. Ensure Soil is Well Drained
Peas grow well in a wide range of soils in Kenya, such as sandy and well-drained clay soil, and do somewhat well on lighter soils; however, they grow poorly in waterlogged soil.
