Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity

Reduced tillage is said to be one of the potential ways to reverse land degradation and ultimately increase the productivity of degrading soils of Africa. We hypothesised that crop yield following a modest application of 2 t ha−1 of crop residue in a reduced tillage system is similar to the yield ob...

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Autores principales: Kihara, Job Maguta, Bationo, B. André, Waswa, Boaz Shaban, Kimetu, J.M., Vanlauwe, Bernard, Okeyo, Jeremiah M., Mukalama, John, Martius, Christopher
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Cambridge University Press 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/88269
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author Kihara, Job Maguta
Bationo, B. André
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
Kimetu, J.M.
Vanlauwe, Bernard
Okeyo, Jeremiah M.
Mukalama, John
Martius, Christopher
author_browse Bationo, B. André
Kihara, Job Maguta
Kimetu, J.M.
Martius, Christopher
Mukalama, John
Okeyo, Jeremiah M.
Vanlauwe, Bernard
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
author_facet Kihara, Job Maguta
Bationo, B. André
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
Kimetu, J.M.
Vanlauwe, Bernard
Okeyo, Jeremiah M.
Mukalama, John
Martius, Christopher
author_sort Kihara, Job Maguta
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Reduced tillage is said to be one of the potential ways to reverse land degradation and ultimately increase the productivity of degrading soils of Africa. We hypothesised that crop yield following a modest application of 2 t ha−1 of crop residue in a reduced tillage system is similar to the yield obtained from a conventional tillage system, and that incorporation of legumes in a cropping system leads to greater economic benefits as opposed to a cropping system involving continuous maize. Three cropping systems (continuous maize monocropping, legume/maize intercropping and rotation) under different tillage and residue management systems were tested in sub-humid western Kenya over 10 seasons. While soybean performed equally well in both tillage systems throughout, maize yield was lower in reduced than conventional tillage during the first five seasons but no significant differences were observed after season 6. Likewise, with crop residue application, yields in conventional and reduced tillage systems are comparable after season 6. Nitrogen and phosphorus increased yield by up to 100% compared with control. Gross margins were not significantly different among the cropping systems being only 6 to 39% more in the legume–cereal systems relative to similar treatments in continuous cereal monocropping system. After 10 seasons of reduced tillage production, the economic benefits for our cropping systems are still not attractive for a switch from the conventional to reduced tillage.
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spelling CGSpace882692024-11-15T08:53:12Z Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity Kihara, Job Maguta Bationo, B. André Waswa, Boaz Shaban Kimetu, J.M. Vanlauwe, Bernard Okeyo, Jeremiah M. Mukalama, John Martius, Christopher cropping systems tillage intercropping mineral nutrients yields sistemas de cultivo labranza cultivo intercalado nutrientes minerales rendimiento Reduced tillage is said to be one of the potential ways to reverse land degradation and ultimately increase the productivity of degrading soils of Africa. We hypothesised that crop yield following a modest application of 2 t ha−1 of crop residue in a reduced tillage system is similar to the yield obtained from a conventional tillage system, and that incorporation of legumes in a cropping system leads to greater economic benefits as opposed to a cropping system involving continuous maize. Three cropping systems (continuous maize monocropping, legume/maize intercropping and rotation) under different tillage and residue management systems were tested in sub-humid western Kenya over 10 seasons. While soybean performed equally well in both tillage systems throughout, maize yield was lower in reduced than conventional tillage during the first five seasons but no significant differences were observed after season 6. Likewise, with crop residue application, yields in conventional and reduced tillage systems are comparable after season 6. Nitrogen and phosphorus increased yield by up to 100% compared with control. Gross margins were not significantly different among the cropping systems being only 6 to 39% more in the legume–cereal systems relative to similar treatments in continuous cereal monocropping system. After 10 seasons of reduced tillage production, the economic benefits for our cropping systems are still not attractive for a switch from the conventional to reduced tillage. 2012-04 2017-10-12T08:02:05Z 2017-10-12T08:02:05Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/88269 en Limited Access Cambridge University Press Kihara, Job; Bationo, André; Waswa, Boaz S.; Kimetu, J.M.; Vanlauwe, Bernard; Okeyo, Jeremiah M.; Mukalama, John; Martius, Christopher. 2012. Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity. Experimental Agriculture. 48 (2): 159-175.
spellingShingle cropping systems
tillage
intercropping
mineral nutrients
yields
sistemas de cultivo
labranza
cultivo intercalado
nutrientes minerales
rendimiento
Kihara, Job Maguta
Bationo, B. André
Waswa, Boaz Shaban
Kimetu, J.M.
Vanlauwe, Bernard
Okeyo, Jeremiah M.
Mukalama, John
Martius, Christopher
Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity
title Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity
title_full Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity
title_fullStr Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity
title_full_unstemmed Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity
title_short Effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity
title_sort effect of reduced tillage and mineral fertilizer application on maize and soybean productivity
topic cropping systems
tillage
intercropping
mineral nutrients
yields
sistemas de cultivo
labranza
cultivo intercalado
nutrientes minerales
rendimiento
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/88269
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