Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is plagued by low productivity and little research is available on the attainable responses and profitability to applied nutrients under variable environments. The objective of this study was to determine the attainable maize grain response to and potential of profitability...

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Autores principales: Kihara, Job Maguta, Huising, Jeroen, Nziguheba, Generose, Waswa, Boaz Shaban, Njoroge, S, Kabambe, V., Iwuafor, E., Kibunja, C.N., Esilaba, Anthony O., Coulibaly, A
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2016
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Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68892
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author Kihara, Job Maguta
Huising, Jeroen
Nziguheba, Generose
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
Njoroge, S
Kabambe, V.
Iwuafor, E.
Kibunja, C.N.
Esilaba, Anthony O.
Coulibaly, A
author_browse Coulibaly, A
Esilaba, Anthony O.
Huising, Jeroen
Iwuafor, E.
Kabambe, V.
Kibunja, C.N.
Kihara, Job Maguta
Njoroge, S
Nziguheba, Generose
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
author_facet Kihara, Job Maguta
Huising, Jeroen
Nziguheba, Generose
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
Njoroge, S
Kabambe, V.
Iwuafor, E.
Kibunja, C.N.
Esilaba, Anthony O.
Coulibaly, A
author_sort Kihara, Job Maguta
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is plagued by low productivity and little research is available on the attainable responses and profitability to applied nutrients under variable environments. The objective of this study was to determine the attainable maize grain response to and potential of profitability of N, P and K application in SSA using boundary line approaches. Data from experiments conducted in SSA under AfSIS project (2009–2012) and from FAO trials database (1969–1996) in 15 countries and constituting over 375 different experimental locations and 6600 data points are used. Both response to fertilizer and value cost ratio (VCR) are highly variable and no more than 61 % cases for N, 43 % for P and 25 % for K attain VCR of 2 or more. Also, based on the recent AfSIS data, VCR exceeds 1 in just 67 % (N), 57 % (P) and 40 % (K) of the cases, even when best management practices are applied on a research farm, and interest rates are zero. Chances for profitability are highest when soil organic carbon is 1–2 % and control maize grain yield is 1–3 t ha−1 but also depends on relatively static soil properties (primarily texture and mineralogy) that are not under farmer control. We conclude that return on investment of macronutrient fertilizer is highly variable and can be substantially increased by helping farmers decide where to apply the fertilizers. Consequently, farmers need access to information on factors influencing economic returns of fertilizer use in order to make the right decisions.
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spelling CGSpace688922025-11-12T05:58:56Z Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa Kihara, Job Maguta Huising, Jeroen Nziguheba, Generose Waswa, Boaz Shaban Njoroge, S Kabambe, V. Iwuafor, E. Kibunja, C.N. Esilaba, Anthony O. Coulibaly, A fertilizers maize soil fertility fertilizante maíz fertilidad del suelo áfrica al sur del sahara Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is plagued by low productivity and little research is available on the attainable responses and profitability to applied nutrients under variable environments. The objective of this study was to determine the attainable maize grain response to and potential of profitability of N, P and K application in SSA using boundary line approaches. Data from experiments conducted in SSA under AfSIS project (2009–2012) and from FAO trials database (1969–1996) in 15 countries and constituting over 375 different experimental locations and 6600 data points are used. Both response to fertilizer and value cost ratio (VCR) are highly variable and no more than 61 % cases for N, 43 % for P and 25 % for K attain VCR of 2 or more. Also, based on the recent AfSIS data, VCR exceeds 1 in just 67 % (N), 57 % (P) and 40 % (K) of the cases, even when best management practices are applied on a research farm, and interest rates are zero. Chances for profitability are highest when soil organic carbon is 1–2 % and control maize grain yield is 1–3 t ha−1 but also depends on relatively static soil properties (primarily texture and mineralogy) that are not under farmer control. We conclude that return on investment of macronutrient fertilizer is highly variable and can be substantially increased by helping farmers decide where to apply the fertilizers. Consequently, farmers need access to information on factors influencing economic returns of fertilizer use in order to make the right decisions. 2016-07 2015-11-10T15:23:16Z 2015-11-10T15:23:16Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68892 en Open Access application/pdf Springer Kihara, Job; Huising, J.; Nziguheba, G.; Waswa, Boaz S.; Njoroge, S.; Kabambe, V.; Iwuafor, E.; Kibunja, C.; Esilaba, A.O.; Coulibaly, A.. 2015. Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 1-11 p.
spellingShingle fertilizers
maize
soil fertility
fertilizante
maíz
fertilidad del suelo
áfrica al sur del sahara
Kihara, Job Maguta
Huising, Jeroen
Nziguheba, Generose
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
Njoroge, S
Kabambe, V.
Iwuafor, E.
Kibunja, C.N.
Esilaba, Anthony O.
Coulibaly, A
Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa
title Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa
title_full Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa
title_short Maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort maize response to macronutrients and potential for profitability in sub saharan africa
topic fertilizers
maize
soil fertility
fertilizante
maíz
fertilidad del suelo
áfrica al sur del sahara
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68892
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