I decided to create this thread to share my farming experiences. I'm a final year student of Agriculture in one of the reputable universities in the south west. Although this is not my first encounter with farming but this is the first one I'm trying out on my own with the knowledge I've gained so far. At least trying to see if any appreciable difference(s) exist in my agro-economic versatility before entering the Agric school and just before leaving, considering all efforts that have gone in forms of investments. And please note, my branch of Agric specialization is in fact, has nothing to do so much agronomic and livestock production prowess, it's more or less communication.

I'll be attaching pictures and all but I've got a little problem with my phone. I'm out of phone memory but I still have some pictures which I will be updating occasionally as this goes. I may sound too academic because I'm a book and research wak. Please I'm open to mentoring from our bosses on this platform. This might just be a seed to help this guy out before going on to this country's unjoyful labour market

OK. Let's start.

Early June.

I got the land, close to an acre, agreement was made and we paid for it. Major land preparations began because it was nothing less than a thick bush worsened by the wet season.

It was cleared and turned to a field. I planned on using the double knock out system of minimum tillage of Australia but because of financial constraints, I only applied paraquat dichloride using all necessary calculations and calibration

This was during the land preparation. I suggested then that the plant remains be left to dry out on the farm and not packed or burnt.

Financial constraints also made me not apply pre emergence herbicide as school and personal up keep and expenses were and are still not smiling. We began the planting on the 11th June and finished on the 15th due to the size of the land. Few days later, it got transmitted to a maize field but weed started having their turns and as at last week, people started discouraging me but I was determined.

Things worsened up as examinations were drawing nearer, unending payments and expenses, in fact home self dey God's hands. Lol. I had made up my mind that whatever happened, I would come to meet whatever remains on the farm and try attend to them when school pressure reduced to the level I could combine it with the project. Luckily, exams got postponed by one week and zoom off to my farm.

Monday, 28th July, 2021.
I resumed my farm, the weed conditions were bad. I could hardly locate my dear maize plants. Like I spent lot of effort and money to acquire the seed. The variety was Delkarb DK 920. Not just to go there like that without achieving anything, I did the little manual weeding I could do.

Did as my strength could carry me. Lol

When I got home, one of the things my course of study specialization stresses is helping the farmers with materials locally available and readily found in their environment, I began to think, the money at hand could only purchase Paraquat dichloride and this is a non selective slasher. I took my pen and book to virtual libraries equipped with cognition. Lol. I made my research on how these herbicides were made, their physico-biochemistries, what was I searching? Loopholes. Then I saw one, the following day, I purchased the chemical, arranged conditions for the loopholes I've seen, calibrated my knapsack and began the weeding.

Before this, I had converted the use of Small Plot Adoption Technique we were taught in school for my personal use to verify my recipe . Lol.

Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th, June 2021.

I was done with the weeding. It worked! My crop suffered minimal herbicide injury. I couldn't take pictures because my phone was out of memory and wouldn't let new stuffs in.

Thursday, 1st July, 2021.

Some fund came in on Wednesday from one of my agribusinesses(diary from diaries for another time), and I quickly secured fertilizer. I wanted NPK 20:10:10 but my money no gree reach, with the little knowledge I have about fertilizers, calculations and those theories and book dem borrowed courses lecturers dey pack for person head, I opted for Urea, I had Dicalcium phosphate and some industrial salt at home, went into the market and still got kaun, yeah kaun, lol with Epsom salt. Ran my analysis with domestic materials, thank God I was a chemistry guru in my secondary school days, lol to the extent I make reagents for my school when we were low on or not having them. ( now some of my classmates and friends here can begin to guess, �), with that useless crop production course experience the lecturer gave me 5 or 6 points( can't remember), I formulated my own version of NPK 46:5:3 lol�. With lots of impurities, well I was not concerned as dem go still help my crop a little and even serve micronutrient role. For the Sodium level , I was afraid the soil don't turn to sodic soil. As for the Bicarbonate, dem dey useful to balance the large number of hydrogen ions that would be released when the Urea is being hydrolyzed so my soil won't have to deal with any residual acidity bearing in mind the required PH for maize crop. Lol

The way rain just dey fall anyhow now, I just dey pray with one mind, make all my nitrogen no leach finish. Lol. At first the thing sweet me as I did top dressing mode of fertilizer application. Rain just wash am down as I was still on the farm when it started. Now na almost one day in one day out the rain dey do. Only God dey help farmers. But I know it can't wash it deep like that due to soil air pores, it's going to be suspended, for the little that get washed there, it is either the root grows to reach them and lick them up or during hot or sunny day, they rise due to capillarity and come to daddy maize roots for lick up. I also want to take care of one spot on the farm that cassava tubers have destroyed the soil structure there, I will have to find a way of reducing water velocity on that spot soil profile. At least the rain is useful too, make hin wash those sodium ions down the soil well, thank God it's very mobile.

I have a short break from exams so I'll be going to my farm this morning, today making one week I applied the fertilizer to see how well they have responded to it. Since I took those pictures up there last week, they are going to be a good point of reference to how they have responded. I will try to create some space on my phone this morning so that I could take some pics and post.

Till then.

Dawson126:
Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th, July 2021.

I was done with the weeding. It worked! My crop suffered minimal herbicide injury. I couldn't take pictures because my phone was out of memory and wouldn't let new stuffs in.

This your date, are we going into the future?

just like you, I did ring weeding for my corn and traverses between the rows with glyphosphate!! if I had used any contact herbicides I'd be doomed!!

Krak:


This your date, are we going into the future?

Lol. E be things o. Lol. As if future dey hungry me

ekerensima:
just like you, I did ring weeding for my corn and traverses between the rows with glyphosphate!! if I had used any contact herbicides I'd be doomed!!

I had wanted to go for this but I think glyphosphate is systemic and I was afraid my maize crop were going to absorb them and could contribute to herbicide injury.

But did the glyphosphate work for you? Like any noticeable herbicide injury on your maize crop? And how is the weed condition on your field now?

Dawson126:


I had wanted to go for this but I think glyphosphate is systemic and I was afraid my maize crop were going to absorb them and could contribute to herbicide injury.

But did the glyphosphate work for you? Like any noticeable herbicide injury on your maize crop? And how is the weed condition on your field now?

incident occur let's say 1 in 2000, I used a non drift sprayer nozzle, so if your sprayer produces mist rather than a stream of drops, don't try it, it's gonna drift and do serious damage

I just came back from the farm now and I'd start posting the pictures I took today soon but before then I need to put something in my stomach.

It has been windy and rainy here since yesterday so I went to the farm to make small heaps around those maize stands that could be prone to breakage and also see if the maize were responding to the fertilizer I applied this time last week.

I'll start dropping the pics now

Exact place as picture above where I could week last week.

Same place one week after fertilizer application

Same as the place above. I had to put those plant remains to slow down water velocity during filtration among other purposes

General view

Single stand

The ones I supplied have begun to germinate. I planted them with some grains of fertilizer, the way it's done in some countries like the US

Something happened to those on these rows. I applied a different fertilizer. The one I fashioned out was not enough so I got a link up with someone who could sell a module of fertilizer, when I got there it happened to be NPK 20:10:10 and Urea, I bought 2 modules, 1 each, missed them together then applied. I'm not really impressed with their response to it but I'm considering edaphic factors as the soil of that part is somewhat heavy

More

I'm done with my first semester final year exams and they are one of the bests I've written despite my schedules and work life structure.

I made a visitation to my farm today, Saturday, to check how all has been going on. Thursday made it 2 weeks after I applied the fertilizer. I would have posted the update before now but I just got the time to do so.

I've been busy at shop since arriving from farm. I sell livestock compounded feed. Ruminants, poultry, Pseudoruminants. That's one of my side hustles after school.

So I'll keep the pictures coming.

I couldn't capture the field's size due to it shape. Seems the fertilizer did its job

More

We have these little friend opposite our maize field. This was well before the planting of the maize began

When I got there today, they were almost covering the bananas inside

We're thinking of top dressing the maize next week because the average growth stage we took today was V6 so we're expecting their nutrient requirements to go up next week so as to meet up with them.

Thank God we still don't have to deal with armyworm infestation. Nature has been responding well with all our plans and circumventing.

I'll keep updating............

I am very impressed. Keep up the good work.