Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya
Organic farming has been proposed as a solution to foster agricultural sustainability and mitigate the negative environmental impacts of conventional farming. This study assessed N losses and soil surface N balances in conventional and organic farming systems in a sub-humid and semi-humid (Chuka and...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Springer
2019
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102129 |
| _version_ | 1855515626770006016 |
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| author | Musyoka, M.W. Adamtey, N. Muriuki, A.W. Bautze, D. Karanja, E.N. Mucheru-Muna, M. Fiaboe, K.K.M. Cadisch, Georg |
| author_browse | Adamtey, N. Bautze, D. Cadisch, Georg Fiaboe, K.K.M. Karanja, E.N. Mucheru-Muna, M. Muriuki, A.W. Musyoka, M.W. |
| author_facet | Musyoka, M.W. Adamtey, N. Muriuki, A.W. Bautze, D. Karanja, E.N. Mucheru-Muna, M. Fiaboe, K.K.M. Cadisch, Georg |
| author_sort | Musyoka, M.W. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Organic farming has been proposed as a solution to foster agricultural sustainability and mitigate the negative environmental impacts of conventional farming. This study assessed N losses and soil surface N balances in conventional and organic farming systems in a sub-humid and semi-humid (Chuka and Thika) sites in Kenya. Nitrate–N (NO3−–N) leached was trapped at 1 m depth using the Self Integrating Accumulator core method and the changes in mineral-N were assessed at different soil depths and different crop growth stages. Both conventional and organic farming systems lost substantial amounts of NO3−–N at the early growth stages of all the crops. Cumulative NO3−–N leached was similar in all the farming systems in each cropping season. More NO3−–N was leached during potato cropping (22–38 kg N ha−1) than during maize (0.9–5.7 kg N ha−1) and vegetable cropping (1.9–2.9 kg N ha−1). Under maize cultivation, three times more NO3−–N was leached at Chuka site than at Thika site. During the potato cropping, between 79 and 83% of the N applied in the low input systems was leached, compared to 10–20% in the high input systems. Only Org-High exhibited a positive soil surface N balance (797–1263 kg ha−1) over a whole rotation period at both sites. We recommend reducing N applications for potato in all farming systems and at the early growth stages for all the crops in order to reduce N loss to the environment. We also recommend increasing N application rates in the low input systems and to developing a model to guide application of organic inputs. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace102129 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publishDateRange | 2019 |
| publishDateSort | 2019 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1021292024-03-06T10:16:43Z Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya Musyoka, M.W. Adamtey, N. Muriuki, A.W. Bautze, D. Karanja, E.N. Mucheru-Muna, M. Fiaboe, K.K.M. Cadisch, Georg farming systems low input farming data collection rain organic farming Organic farming has been proposed as a solution to foster agricultural sustainability and mitigate the negative environmental impacts of conventional farming. This study assessed N losses and soil surface N balances in conventional and organic farming systems in a sub-humid and semi-humid (Chuka and Thika) sites in Kenya. Nitrate–N (NO3−–N) leached was trapped at 1 m depth using the Self Integrating Accumulator core method and the changes in mineral-N were assessed at different soil depths and different crop growth stages. Both conventional and organic farming systems lost substantial amounts of NO3−–N at the early growth stages of all the crops. Cumulative NO3−–N leached was similar in all the farming systems in each cropping season. More NO3−–N was leached during potato cropping (22–38 kg N ha−1) than during maize (0.9–5.7 kg N ha−1) and vegetable cropping (1.9–2.9 kg N ha−1). Under maize cultivation, three times more NO3−–N was leached at Chuka site than at Thika site. During the potato cropping, between 79 and 83% of the N applied in the low input systems was leached, compared to 10–20% in the high input systems. Only Org-High exhibited a positive soil surface N balance (797–1263 kg ha−1) over a whole rotation period at both sites. We recommend reducing N applications for potato in all farming systems and at the early growth stages for all the crops in order to reduce N loss to the environment. We also recommend increasing N application rates in the low input systems and to developing a model to guide application of organic inputs. 2019-07 2019-07-10T11:19:13Z 2019-07-10T11:19:13Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102129 en Limited Access Springer Musyoka, M.W., Adamtey, N., Muriuki, A.W., Bautze, D., Karanja, E.N., Mucheru-Muna, M., ... & Cadisch, G. (2019). Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 1-24. |
| spellingShingle | farming systems low input farming data collection rain organic farming Musyoka, M.W. Adamtey, N. Muriuki, A.W. Bautze, D. Karanja, E.N. Mucheru-Muna, M. Fiaboe, K.K.M. Cadisch, Georg Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya |
| title | Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya |
| title_full | Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya |
| title_fullStr | Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya |
| title_short | Nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in Kenya |
| title_sort | nitrogen leaching losses and balances in conventional and organic farming systems in kenya |
| topic | farming systems low input farming data collection rain organic farming |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102129 |
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