In Africa, and especially in Kenya, sodium is one of the major causes of yield losses, quality reduction and crop failure in irrigated agriculture. Writes Ruth Vaughan.
Soils with a high percentage of sodium in the soil are called sodic soils. Sodic soils negatively impact plant growth for several reasons:
- Specific ion toxicity to sodium sensitive plants.
- Nutrient deficiencies or imbalances in the plants.
- High soil pH – resulting in lock up of phosphates, iron and other micronutrients.
- Dispersion of clay and silt particles in the soil – collapsing the soil structure and blocking soil pores.
Horticulture is a significant ‘manufacturing’ industry. But where would horticulture be without knowledge exchange? This rhetorical question is the starting point for the Naivasha Horticultural Fair, which was initiated fifteen years ago. The knowledge from these exchanges has been of help to many businesses.
A code of practice is a set of written rules which explains how people working in a particular profession/ sector should behave. Kenya has developed the KS1758 Code of Practice for Horticulture Industry: Part 1 deals with Floriculture, and Part 2 deals with Fruits and Vegetables, in line with international standards.
Osmosis is the passing of a liquid through a membrane from a lesser concentration to a greater concentration. Eventually, both liquids would be of equal concentrations. Figure 1, page 48, demonstrates how this reaction takes place. A good example of osmosis is how plants uptake water.