Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya
To evaluate the effects of long-term application of organic and mineral fertilizers on maize yield and soil properties and further to investigate differences in soil fertility gradients, the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF-CI...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Soil and Environment
2013
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855570820478271488 |
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| author | Cebula, Paulina |
| author_browse | Cebula, Paulina |
| author_facet | Cebula, Paulina |
| author_sort | Cebula, Paulina |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | To evaluate the effects of long-term application of organic and mineral fertilizers on maize yield and
soil properties and further to investigate differences in soil fertility gradients, the Tropical Soil Biology
and Fertility Institute of the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF-CIAT) conducted an 8-
year experiment on 12 farms in the districts Nyalgunga, Nyabeda and Vihiga in the Western Province
of Kenya. The study was designed as a split plot model where each farm was split into high and low
fertility plots on which the following treatments were applied: T2 – no fertilizer application (control),
T4 – application of farmyard manure (FYM) alone and T5 – combined application of FYM, Mavuno
fertilizer and top dressing. In scope of this thesis the physical soil properties such as bulk density
(BD), soil texture , infiltration rate (IF) and aggregate stability (AS) as well as the soil organic carbon
content in the soil (OC) were determined. Further Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) and Water use
efficiency were analyzed.
The ETc, varied between 2.34 and 4.84 mm/day and was highest during the development and late
stage of the growing season. The rainfall was able to cover the water crop requirements of maize in
all locations. Maize yield was highest at T5, followed by T4 and T2. Further, yield was strongly
affected by the clay content and soil type and resulted in significant differences between the
locations (Nyalgunga > Nyabeda > Vihiga). Other physical soil parameters (IF, BD, AS) did not
influenced the maize yield. IF varied between 1.3 and 9.1m/day. BD was generally low with an overall
mean of 1.16 g/cm³. The Aggregate stability was widely ranged and significantly higher in Nyabeda
and on T4. OC was significantly higher on T5. The results indicated that mineral fertilizers contribute
more to the increase of OC than organic fertilizers and that OC might not be the main driver of
aggregation in tropical soils. AS seemed to be positive affected by organic fertilizers but IF and BD
were not influenced by, nether organic or inorganic fertilizers. The results did not indicate any
differences between high and low fertility plots, nether in maize yield nor in any of the physical soil
properties.
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| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU5291 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Soil and Environment |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Soil and Environment |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU52912013-02-21T16:03:46Z Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya Cebula, Paulina farm fertility gradients aggregate stability infiltration rate bulk density organic carbon Kenya To evaluate the effects of long-term application of organic and mineral fertilizers on maize yield and soil properties and further to investigate differences in soil fertility gradients, the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF-CIAT) conducted an 8- year experiment on 12 farms in the districts Nyalgunga, Nyabeda and Vihiga in the Western Province of Kenya. The study was designed as a split plot model where each farm was split into high and low fertility plots on which the following treatments were applied: T2 – no fertilizer application (control), T4 – application of farmyard manure (FYM) alone and T5 – combined application of FYM, Mavuno fertilizer and top dressing. In scope of this thesis the physical soil properties such as bulk density (BD), soil texture , infiltration rate (IF) and aggregate stability (AS) as well as the soil organic carbon content in the soil (OC) were determined. Further Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) and Water use efficiency were analyzed. The ETc, varied between 2.34 and 4.84 mm/day and was highest during the development and late stage of the growing season. The rainfall was able to cover the water crop requirements of maize in all locations. Maize yield was highest at T5, followed by T4 and T2. Further, yield was strongly affected by the clay content and soil type and resulted in significant differences between the locations (Nyalgunga > Nyabeda > Vihiga). Other physical soil parameters (IF, BD, AS) did not influenced the maize yield. IF varied between 1.3 and 9.1m/day. BD was generally low with an overall mean of 1.16 g/cm³. The Aggregate stability was widely ranged and significantly higher in Nyabeda and on T4. OC was significantly higher on T5. The results indicated that mineral fertilizers contribute more to the increase of OC than organic fertilizers and that OC might not be the main driver of aggregation in tropical soils. AS seemed to be positive affected by organic fertilizers but IF and BD were not influenced by, nether organic or inorganic fertilizers. The results did not indicate any differences between high and low fertility plots, nether in maize yield nor in any of the physical soil properties. SLU/Dept. of Soil and Environment 2013 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5291/ |
| spellingShingle | farm fertility gradients aggregate stability infiltration rate bulk density organic carbon Kenya Cebula, Paulina Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya |
| title | Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya |
| title_full | Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya |
| title_fullStr | Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya |
| title_short | Long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western Kenya |
| title_sort | long-term effects of organic and mineral fertilizer application on physical soil properties and maize yield in western kenya |
| topic | farm fertility gradients aggregate stability infiltration rate bulk density organic carbon Kenya |