Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali
Given the scarcity of manure and the limited land available for fallowing, cotton cultivation with its input credit schemes is often the main entry point for nutrients in cropping systems of West Africa. In an experiment carried out during 25 years in southern Mali, the crop and soil responses to or...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2017
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| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/1304 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429015000556?np=y https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2015.02.013 |
| _version_ | 1855034782181752832 |
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| author | Ripoche, Aude Crétenet, M. Corbeels, Marc Affholder, François Naudin, Krishna Sissoho, F. Douzet, Jean-Marie Tittonell, Pablo Adrian |
| author_browse | Affholder, François Corbeels, Marc Crétenet, M. Douzet, Jean-Marie Naudin, Krishna Ripoche, Aude Sissoho, F. Tittonell, Pablo Adrian |
| author_facet | Ripoche, Aude Crétenet, M. Corbeels, Marc Affholder, François Naudin, Krishna Sissoho, F. Douzet, Jean-Marie Tittonell, Pablo Adrian |
| author_sort | Ripoche, Aude |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Given the scarcity of manure and the limited land available for fallowing, cotton cultivation with its input credit schemes is often the main entry point for nutrients in cropping systems of West Africa. In an experiment carried out during 25 years in southern Mali, the crop and soil responses to organic fertilizer (=OF), inorganic fertilizer (=IF), and a combination of both (=OIF) were quantified and compared to a control treatment for a typical cotton-sorghum-groundnut rotation. From 1965 to 1979 (15 years, period 1), fertilizers were only applied on cotton and the control treatment was not fertilized. From 1980 to 1989 (10 years, period 2), the amount of manure applied was split between cotton and sorghum, and inorganic fertilizers were applied to the three crops. Inorganic fertilizers were also applied to plots with cotton and sorghum that were previously unfertilized control treatments.
In favorable rainfall seasons maximum yields of fertilized treatments reached ca. 3.5 t ha−1 in the case of cotton and groundnuts, and ca. 2 t ha−1 in the case of sorghum. During period 1, cotton yields were steady (ca. 1 t ha−1) when no fertilizers were added. Cotton yields were 20% higher in the OF and OIF treatments than in the IF treatment. Sorghum and groundnut benefited from residual effects of fertilizer application on cotton leading to a 200% and 50% yield increase respectively compared to the control treatment. During period 2, yields of the three crops were similar across fertilized treatments. Groundnut yields in the OF treatment, and cotton yields in the OF and IF treatments were respectively 45%, 30% and 20% significantly higher than those in the respective control treatments. No added benefit on crop yields was observed from the combined use of inorganic and organic fertilizer. Soil nutrient contents (SOC, N, P, K) did not significantly change in any of the treatments after 25 years. Soil pH decreased in treatments receiving inorganic fertilizer.
Despite low level of soil organic matter, crops responded to organic or inorganic fertilization and crop productivity over time was mostly influenced by the interaction between fertilization and rainfall variability. Our results highlight the role of cotton in West African landscapes as an entry point of nutrients via fertilization, which impacts positively on the productivity of the other crops in the rotation. Credit schemes by the cotton company for farmers to purchase fertilizer to which they would otherwise not have access are thus crucial for sustained crop productivity. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA1304 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA13042018-01-12T18:27:09Z Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali Ripoche, Aude Crétenet, M. Corbeels, Marc Affholder, François Naudin, Krishna Sissoho, F. Douzet, Jean-Marie Tittonell, Pablo Adrian Gossypium Rendimiento de Cultivos Fertilidad del Suelo Alimentos Abonos Organominerales Organomineral Fertilizers Rotación de Cultivos Crop Yield Soil Fertility Foods Crop Rotation Malí West Africa Given the scarcity of manure and the limited land available for fallowing, cotton cultivation with its input credit schemes is often the main entry point for nutrients in cropping systems of West Africa. In an experiment carried out during 25 years in southern Mali, the crop and soil responses to organic fertilizer (=OF), inorganic fertilizer (=IF), and a combination of both (=OIF) were quantified and compared to a control treatment for a typical cotton-sorghum-groundnut rotation. From 1965 to 1979 (15 years, period 1), fertilizers were only applied on cotton and the control treatment was not fertilized. From 1980 to 1989 (10 years, period 2), the amount of manure applied was split between cotton and sorghum, and inorganic fertilizers were applied to the three crops. Inorganic fertilizers were also applied to plots with cotton and sorghum that were previously unfertilized control treatments. In favorable rainfall seasons maximum yields of fertilized treatments reached ca. 3.5 t ha−1 in the case of cotton and groundnuts, and ca. 2 t ha−1 in the case of sorghum. During period 1, cotton yields were steady (ca. 1 t ha−1) when no fertilizers were added. Cotton yields were 20% higher in the OF and OIF treatments than in the IF treatment. Sorghum and groundnut benefited from residual effects of fertilizer application on cotton leading to a 200% and 50% yield increase respectively compared to the control treatment. During period 2, yields of the three crops were similar across fertilized treatments. Groundnut yields in the OF treatment, and cotton yields in the OF and IF treatments were respectively 45%, 30% and 20% significantly higher than those in the respective control treatments. No added benefit on crop yields was observed from the combined use of inorganic and organic fertilizer. Soil nutrient contents (SOC, N, P, K) did not significantly change in any of the treatments after 25 years. Soil pH decreased in treatments receiving inorganic fertilizer. Despite low level of soil organic matter, crops responded to organic or inorganic fertilization and crop productivity over time was mostly influenced by the interaction between fertilization and rainfall variability. Our results highlight the role of cotton in West African landscapes as an entry point of nutrients via fertilization, which impacts positively on the productivity of the other crops in the rotation. Credit schemes by the cotton company for farmers to purchase fertilizer to which they would otherwise not have access are thus crucial for sustained crop productivity. Fil: Ripoche, Aude. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement. Agroécologie et Intensification Durable des cultures Annuelles; Francia Fil: Crétenet, M. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement. Agroécologie et Intensification Durable des cultures Annuelles; Francia Fil: Corbeels, Marc. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement. Agroécologie et Intensification Durable des cultures Annuelles; Francia. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária. Cerrados; Brasil Fil: Affholder, François. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement. Agroécologie et Intensification Durable des cultures Annuelles; Francia Fil: Naudin, Krishna. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement. Agroécologie et Intensification Durable des cultures Annuelles; Francia Fil: Sissoho, F. Institut d’Economie Rurale. Programme Coton; Mali Fil: Douzet, Jean-Marie. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement. Agroécologie et Intensification Durable des cultures Annuelles; Francia. African Conservation Tillage Network; Burkina Faso Fil: Tittonell, Pablo Adrian. Wageningen University and Research Centre; Holanda. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina 2017-09-22T18:25:55Z 2017-09-22T18:25:55Z 2015-06 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/1304 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429015000556?np=y 0378-4290 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2015.02.013 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess application/pdf Mali (nation) Field crops research 177 : 37 -48. (June 2015) |
| spellingShingle | Gossypium Rendimiento de Cultivos Fertilidad del Suelo Alimentos Abonos Organominerales Organomineral Fertilizers Rotación de Cultivos Crop Yield Soil Fertility Foods Crop Rotation Malí West Africa Ripoche, Aude Crétenet, M. Corbeels, Marc Affholder, François Naudin, Krishna Sissoho, F. Douzet, Jean-Marie Tittonell, Pablo Adrian Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali |
| title | Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali |
| title_full | Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali |
| title_fullStr | Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali |
| title_short | Cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems-Evidence from a long-term experiment in southern Mali |
| title_sort | cotton as an entry point for soil fertility maintenance and food crop productivity in savannah agroecosystems evidence from a long term experiment in southern mali |
| topic | Gossypium Rendimiento de Cultivos Fertilidad del Suelo Alimentos Abonos Organominerales Organomineral Fertilizers Rotación de Cultivos Crop Yield Soil Fertility Foods Crop Rotation Malí West Africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/1304 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429015000556?np=y https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2015.02.013 |
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