Hi all I am new to farming and I have been reading and reading all posts on this forum .I have a question for Khonwan about fertilizer if I do a mung been crop do I still have to apply 2 lots of 15-5 35 ?

Khonwan had resign TV...

Khonwan had resign TV...

I believe the word is "retired member". But he is still around on the other side of the "Door". Emailed him today.

Now let me answer the question, my way. No, you do not fertiliser twice with the same stuff for any crop. There are three distinct stages for most plants. Vegetative growth, flowering and cropping (my words).At each stage the needs are different. If you use chemical fertilisers you have to balance the ratios to suit the nutrient uptake of the plant against the available resources. Over 80% of the chemical nitrogen in Urea is lost through off gassing and leeching. So you buy 46% nitrogen at close to 900 baht and get 9% that is actually absorbed. Still wrong! Applied as a foliar spray many plants will absorb 6 times as much as through the leaves as they will through the roots. Legumes fix their nitrogen from the air no need to apply more.

We use to grow Mung beans,following maize,we never used any feriliser as IA said mung beans are a legume.no N requied.

We used what Thais call a "hormone",a look on the bottle,(a whisky bottle) it is a mneral supplerment, more than a fertiliser,applied a a foliar spay with an insecterside,we applied this twice.

It seemed to work ,at 40 bart a bottle,4years ago the misses said we used 5 -6 bottles on about 12 rai, a lot cheaper than chemical fertiliser, we still got a fair yeild ,weather cost of useing chemical fertilier out weighed a slight reduced yield over the hormone, I do not know , the crop looked heathy the whole time no yellowing of leaves, and following maize, which would put very little back in the soil . but mung beans are a popular crop around here, every one use's a hormone.

Yours Regs.

KS

I don't intend to use any fertilizer for the mung bean crop the fertilizer is for the cassava crop

Are you asking if a cover crop of mung bean is enough fertilizer for the following cassava crop?

Regards.

I am asking if I put a crop of mung beans pick it plough it back in the ground then plant cassava do I apply 15-5 35 after one month after planting and then another lot of 15-5-35 three months after planting the cassava ...I intend to follow khonwan way of growing as close as I can already.. I have planted my first crop already in korat ..using khonwan method next season I intend to plant mung bean rotation....