Growing Sweet Orange in Kwale

Soil suitability analysis based on Kwale's nutrient profile

Kwale County is well suited to Sweet Orange, scoring 77/100 on ShambaIQ's soil-match model. Local soils average pH 6.76 — neutral and inside the 6–7.5 band Sweet Orange prefers, so no lime is usually required. The main gap is nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium — measured at N 0.93 g/kg, P 9.8 mg/kg, K 131 mg/kg against this crop's high/high/high demand — so the fertilizer plan below prioritises closing those deficits. The county's predominantly sandy loam soils suit Sweet Orange, which favours loam. At current prices (about KES 50/kg) and a typical 12,000 kg/acre yield, a well-managed Sweet Orange crop here can gross roughly KES 600,000 per acre.