The devastating Condition of our Groundnut Farm Due to Lack of Rain
Hello Hive
Our crops are poorly affected by the lack of rain and I'm not so sure if these will recover. Every farming season comes with its challenges. Sometimes the farmer is unable to put in the hard labour and other times the forces of nature just chooses to work against us.
Take a look the devastating condition of our groundnut farm. By this time Majority of the crop is withering away. The leaves are fast drying up and this is a crop that is in its prime production phase. This is meant to be developing groundnut in their roots already but they are drying up instead.
The long period of dryness has affected the crops so badly that I'm not so sure of these will recover. While the rains started a bit earlier this year and was very much consistent we never expected an August break that will last this long.
Meanwhile the corn and groundnut most especially are in their peak of growth. Rather than flourishing and producing grains for us, they are drying up.
A major concern now is how much we have spend on this crop that everything is coming down to nothing. While purchasing these groundnut seeds for planting it was really expensive such that a 1.6kg measurements of the seeds cost about $2. Even though we have preserved some seed for planting from last year's harvest, they were not enough to cover up for the fairly large portion of groundnut seeds we have planted
All the labour on this farm will go to waste if this crop is unable to recover. We have succeeded in planting two categories of groundnuts. These ones were planted in the month of July thereabout and this is the reason that their seed production phase fell at this period of August rain break. The other ones we have planted in the first week of August are still in their tender ages and still have time to readjust when the rains returns.
My only concern is this very farm in which we have spent so much on this to now loss everything to lack of rain.
Nice
That July batch reaching pod fill during the dry spell is the worrying part, while the first week of August plants should bounce back when the rains return. If you can, lay some dry grass or leaves between the rows to hold moisture and stop soil crusting, and give a light evening watering around the base where water allows. It’s small, but it can buy the July plot a few extra days of life until the sky cooperates. Think you could try a bit of mulch there?
Thank you so much for reaching out and the suggestion. We will see what we can do about this. The farm is fairly large and having to give watering to all the plants will be stressful.
But we will see how much we can hold before the dry spell is over.
Totally get it, a big field changes the game. If you can, focus mulch and any evening water on the most advanced rows and the worst-wilted patches, and scrape small basins around plants so any sprinkle or dew stays put. A simple trick is a few perforated bottles or a jerrycan along a row to drip at the roots, which saves time and water, or rotate sections so each gets a little every few days. Hoping the clouds return soon, even one solid shower can reset the stress.
There is a movie entitled: "The Man Who Stopped The Desert". Its a documentary about a farmer in africa named Yacouba Sawadogo who pioneered growing crops in drought conditions by planting inside of shallow pits to preserve moisture. Depressions in the ground can also become condensation moisture traps at night to water crops planted in them.
Wow, this is good to know. I will check this out