Apple farming in Kenya is slowly
gaining popularity. This may be due to the high and increasing in demand of the
fruit while there is limited local supply. Most of the fruits found in the
local market are imported from South Africa. South Africa is the main supplier
of apples to Kenya. At the moment the farming of the fruit is confined in the
highland regions of Kiambu, Kitale and Nandi.
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Apple farming in Kenya: Kirinyaga |
In apple farming, there are three
factors to consider in order to achieve a high yield with big juicy fruits.
These are:
Ecological requirements for growing apples in Kenya
The orchard should be selected on a
site having deep, fertile, well drained and well aerated loamy-sandy soil, with
a slightly acidic to alkaline P.H of 5.5-6.5.
The crop does well in the high-altitude regions of 1800m-2800m above sea level, with rainfall requirement of 1000mm-1800mm per annum. However, very high amount of rainfall is associated with incidences of fungal disease. Regions with low rainfall amounts, irrigation is recommended as the apple tree requires high water amounts for the high yields.
Establishment
Propagation
Apples can be produced sexually through
the seed or vegetatively through grafting and budding. For juicy and a high
yield, grafting is highly recommended as the fruit retains their parental
properties compared to seed production whose characteristics may vary from
those of the parent. Propagation by seed is only used in the preparation of a
rootstock. However, this is a stage you do not have to worry about because
Richfarm Kenya has already grafted apple seedlings for sale.
Land preparation
During land preparation, the land
should be cleared of all the trees, bushes or shrubs. Any obstruction including
stones that might prevent root penetration should also be removed. All the
annual and perennial weeds should be cleared from the site.
The spacing is selected depending on
the rootstock, variety and the altitude of the site. The holes are dug in a
square or rectangular layout at a spacing of 3m X 2m or 3m X 3m for smaller
varieties and 4m X 4m or 4m X 5m for the medium and large varieties. The
planting hole for apples should be 60cm deep and 60cm wide.
Planting
The top soil from the established hole
is separated from the subsoil and mixed with 250g of TSP and 20kg of manure. On
placing the tree inside the hole, the topsoil is first replaced and firmed
around the root region to avoid air pockets. The subsoil is used to cover the
hole and care should be taken as to level the planting hole with the
surrounding area.
The apple tree is a self-sterile crop
and thus needs a pollinator to be established in the orchard to encourage cross
pollination thus fertilization of the crop.
Cultural practices
Mulching
A thick organic mulch is recommended to
maintain moisture around the root zone during the early stages of crop
development and also suppresses the growth of weeds.
Irrigation
Apples require a lot of moisture during
the flowering and fruiting stage. Therefore, if you are growing apples in the
hotter regions of Kenya, you will need to irrigate your trees. However, keep in
mind that excess water around the root zone will encourage disease outbreak and
thus low crop yield.
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Apples growing under irrigation in Kajiado, Kenya |
Pruning
Pruning will provide a strong framework
for the apples and encourage high yields and the development of juicy and tasty
fruits. During the first year the central shoot is pruned back to 1m from the
ground to allow branching, and then 3-4 strong shoots are selected. During the
second year the scaffold branches are pruned to encourage lateral branching.
From the laterals 3-4 branches are selected and then pruned to encourage
development of the lateral branches. The development of many lateral branches
will increase the number of fruits each tree carries.
Nutritional needs for apple trees
Application of fertilizer is done according to the soil requirements and the leaf tissue analysis of the plant. So make sure you have done a soil test for your farm before planting the apple seedlings. But to generally guide you, a month after planting urea/CAN is added to provide Nitrogen to the plant and encourage growth. The subsequent years Farm yard manure, CAN at 125g per tree, DAP at 150g is applied in 2-3 splits per tree per year.
Also read: How To Grow Sweet Fruits And Keep Your Customers Coming Back For More
Pests and Disease control
Prevention measures are the best and
most economical way for controlling pest and diseases and ensuring a high
yielding crop. The measures include pruning, timely weed control, proper
fertilizer application and selection of the suitable variety. Organic products
such as neem extracts and synthetic pesticides and fungicides may be used to
control pests and diseases respectively. We shall cover the common pests and
diseases that affect apple farmers in Kenya in detail in another article.
If you need any help on apple farming in Kenya, high quality grafted apple seedlings and setting up your orchard, call Richfarm Kenya on 0724698357.
3 comments :
This is good. I'm based in Gilgil and wish to start an orchid.with 19 seedlings. Which type of apples would you recommend!
Hi am an eager farmer in Mandi south and would like to start apple farming. What price and variety crafted plantlets.
Hi I planted grafted apples and they are tasting very bitter, what's the problem?
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