Land clearance
Clearing your land will help you get rid of the weeds. The nature and size of vegetation in the farm will also affect the choice of land clearance method to consider.
Methods
Mechanical clearance; Slashing. The need for slashing or not will depend on the subsequent tillage method to be considered.
As a thumb rule, always slash weeds exceeding 50 cm in height. Also, if the weeds are mainly woody in nature and shrubs, then slashing offers the better clearance method.
Use herbicides: To control shorter weeds such as grasses. Slashing grasses may also be ineffective given the fast rate at which they grow. Henceforth, applying a herbicide containing glyphosate as the primary active ingredient will sufficiently suppress the grasses. Some of the locally available herbicides that are commercially registered in Kenya for weed control include; AUXO EC, CLEAR UP 480 SL, DUAL GOLD 960 EC, etc.
Herbicides application tips
Ensure that the grasses have actively green growing leaves for optimal results.
Let the grasses stand for at least two weeks after applying the systemic herbicides to enable complete eradication of the grass and the attached underground storage organs before tillage.
Follow all the instructions on the specific herbicide package when applying the herbicide.
Addition of appropriate adjuvants should help increase the efficiency of the herbicide.
You should avoid clearing land if the weed population is below the economic threshold level.
Land preparation
Land preparation is a vital practice in maize production. Land preparation helps create a conducive environment for the seeds to germinate and thrive. Land preparation includes clearing and tillage.
However, for farmers practicing zero tillage, reduced tillage or conservation farming, alternative land preparation methods that do not involve tillage and land disturbance should be considered. Zero tillage practices will be discussed in detail in module 8.
Tillage
Conventional tillage: Utilizes diverse equipment and machinery to loosen the soil and create a conducive environment for seedling establishment.
Manual tillage: Manual tillage can be done by animal oxen, use of spade, use of mattocks, jembe, walk in tractors or motorized tractor to prepare your land before planting.
Loosening soil through tillage helps create a well aerated and fine soil that will provide a conducive environment that best supports crop germination.
Even though using oxen to plough the land is cheaper and most widely used by small scale farmers, its efficiency is limited in heavy soils and steep terrain. For excellent results, conduct the initial ploughing then follow up with harrowing before planting. Where subsoiling hardpans exist, conduct subsoiling by ripping to reduce impediment to development of maize roots and enhance better water retention.
Note Better:
Avoid burning the stalks from the previous cropping season.
You should prepare planting ridges when your farm is slopping or if the soil has poor water retention properties.
You should prepare your land early before the onset of rains to facilitate faster drying and death of weeds in cases where no herbicides have been used.
Preparing your land during the dry period just before the onset of rains also helps reduce the population of soil-resident insect pests and disease or their resting life-cycle stages.
