Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria

Organic mulch is beneficial to plantain because it maintains soil fertility, prevents erosion and suppresses weeds. Mulch availability is however a major constraint. Mulching in a cut-and-carry system withPennisetum purpureum Schum. (elephant grass) was compared with mulching with the prunings ofAlc...

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Autores principales: Ruhigwa, B., Gichuru, M., Spencer, D., Swennen, Rony L.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 1994
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/97378
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author Ruhigwa, B.
Gichuru, M.
Spencer, D.
Swennen, Rony L.
author_browse Gichuru, M.
Ruhigwa, B.
Spencer, D.
Swennen, Rony L.
author_facet Ruhigwa, B.
Gichuru, M.
Spencer, D.
Swennen, Rony L.
author_sort Ruhigwa, B.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Organic mulch is beneficial to plantain because it maintains soil fertility, prevents erosion and suppresses weeds. Mulch availability is however a major constraint. Mulching in a cut-and-carry system withPennisetum purpureum Schum. (elephant grass) was compared with mulching with the prunings ofAlchornea cordifolia (Schum. & Thonn.),Dactyladenia barteri (Hook. f. ex Oliv.)Engel. (Syn.Acioa barteri),Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) andSenna siamea (Lam.) Irwin & Barneby (Syn.Cassia siamea) in alley cropping systems. Plantain inPennisetum mulch treatment gave the highest bunch yield, but similar net revenues per hectare as theDactyladenia treatment, whileGmelina, Alchornea andSenna treatments produced the lowest incomes. But when the land required to producePennisetum mulch was included in the economic analysis, the net revenue per hectare was negative over three years of cropping. The returns to labour were also much lower for thePennisetum compared to the alley cropping systems. Among the in-situ mulch sources,Gmelina had the highest labour requirement because of the high pruning frequency. In addition, weeding inGmelina, Alchornea andSenna treatments resulted in high labour demand due to the rapid decomposition of the mulch materials leaving the soil bare for weeds to invade.Dactyladenia alley cropping was the most profitable of the five plantain production systems studied.
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spelling CGSpace973782025-11-11T10:44:09Z Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria Ruhigwa, B. Gichuru, M. Spencer, D. Swennen, Rony L. cropping systems plantains soil fertility weeds Organic mulch is beneficial to plantain because it maintains soil fertility, prevents erosion and suppresses weeds. Mulch availability is however a major constraint. Mulching in a cut-and-carry system withPennisetum purpureum Schum. (elephant grass) was compared with mulching with the prunings ofAlchornea cordifolia (Schum. & Thonn.),Dactyladenia barteri (Hook. f. ex Oliv.)Engel. (Syn.Acioa barteri),Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) andSenna siamea (Lam.) Irwin & Barneby (Syn.Cassia siamea) in alley cropping systems. Plantain inPennisetum mulch treatment gave the highest bunch yield, but similar net revenues per hectare as theDactyladenia treatment, whileGmelina, Alchornea andSenna treatments produced the lowest incomes. But when the land required to producePennisetum mulch was included in the economic analysis, the net revenue per hectare was negative over three years of cropping. The returns to labour were also much lower for thePennisetum compared to the alley cropping systems. Among the in-situ mulch sources,Gmelina had the highest labour requirement because of the high pruning frequency. In addition, weeding inGmelina, Alchornea andSenna treatments resulted in high labour demand due to the rapid decomposition of the mulch materials leaving the soil bare for weeds to invade.Dactyladenia alley cropping was the most profitable of the five plantain production systems studied. 1994 2018-09-14T07:37:44Z 2018-09-14T07:37:44Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/97378 en Limited Access application/pdf Ruhigwa, B., Gichuru, M., Spencer, D. & Swennen, R. (1994). Economic analysis of cut-and-carry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in south-eastern Nigeria. Agroforestry Systems, 26, 131-138.
spellingShingle cropping systems
plantains
soil fertility
weeds
Ruhigwa, B.
Gichuru, M.
Spencer, D.
Swennen, Rony L.
Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria
title Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria
title_full Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria
title_fullStr Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria
title_short Economic analysis of cutandcarry, and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern Nigeria
title_sort economic analysis of cutandcarry and alley cropping systems of mulch production for plantains in southeastern nigeria
topic cropping systems
plantains
soil fertility
weeds
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/97378
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