1. It wouldn't surprise me if much of the virgin soil in Afghanistan is alkaline, soil in arid areas often is. Once soil is used in agriculture and is cultivate

1. It wouldn't surprise me if much of the virgin soil in Afghanistan is alkaline, soil in arid areas often is. Once soil is used in agriculture and is cultivated and/or irrigated, it tends to become more acidic due to the breakdown of organic matter. 2. Opium poppies may be better able to tolerate alkaline soil, but they do not require require it. You may be surprised by this, but Papaver somniferum is still widely grown in the US as a garden ornamental, and in all kinds of soil, alkaline, neutral and acidic. 3. For plants, iron is a micronutrient, nitrogen is a macronutrient. A typical fertilizer such as Miracle Grow is 0.15% iron for example. High iron concentrations, such as those that would be necessary to make ammonium nitrate non-explosive would be toxic to most crop plants.