What Man Can Do

This video about agriculture in Israel makes me want to visit.  Isn't it amazing what man can accomplish?

We have really been given a land of plenty here in the states.  Many think we don't take good care of it.  I beg to differ but I am only one person, doing what little I can.

I received an interesting email from a foreign land to me in South America thanks to Brad Law, and maybe myself a little because of our postings on Crop Talk.

"The watermelon get irrigated with a driptape so after the melon crop we seed two rows of corn ,so corn is seeded on 36 inch because the melons grow on 6 feet

The plant looks good when young but it premature dies off

We seeded about 10 acres every week and like to do this year round every week now is rainy season but also in the dry season because we water and fertilize thru the dripline  The plan is two corn crops and two watermelon crops in one year

We have a high clearings sprayer of 80 feet behind the tractor ,so were the tractor drives is no corn 

The corn right now prematurely dies off before the cob is done so you end up with small kernels.

In the top of the plant there are some purple showing  and now it is also showing short on N

The plant on all other lots look good , i have from 4 inch high to harvest and everything in between  but the problem shows after pollination.

What is the problem

This is a soil analisis   i am doing a plant analisis but take takes a long time here like everything els.

So that do me no good

Pioneer  P4082W  and  30F35

         PH   8

Org  Mat  %      2.1                    We applied   N    228  kg of product  46-0-0

N             %      0.11                                     P      62  kg     12-40-0-10s-1zk   

P           ppm     70.1                                     K      60  kg      0-0-60

K      meq/100g  1.8                           zinc  sulfate   12  kg

Calcio  meq/100g  18.6

Magnesio meg/100g  12.5

Iron          ppm     128.6

copper     ppm      17.2

zinc         ppm       2.4

Manganeso  ppm   1.5

Boron    ppm         1

Sulfer    ppm        15

bulk  density  g/ml   1.2

clay      %    6.8

silt       %     30

sand     %    63

Texture   sandy loam

Ca + Mg/k     23.5

Ca/Mg          1.83

Ca/K         15.19

Mg/K         8.31

Ed  I come just out of the blue to you but i hope you can give me some advise

Also if you need a holyday this winter ,it is alway 85 + here ,we are not too far south from you,

I can show you around."

I think I might take him up on his invite to me but here is the question.  What would you expect to see if you visited and what would you recommend to this young guy in a land you know little about?

He wants to grow corn and I think he can grow corn there but where do you start?

A big clue is the soil pH and the calcium and magnesium content.  Another clue is a lot of sand needs a lot of water but the people in Israel "fixed" this problem.

What do you think, good readers?  There are many of you out there smarter than I am.  I asked him a lot of questions so more will be forthcoming.

Just think, an email like this has taken me to New Zealand twice now!

Ed Winkle