SUMMARYField studies were conducted during the 2014 and 2015 wet seasons at Zaria in the northern Guinea savanna and at Iburu in the southern Guinea savanna of Nigeria to determine the productivity of maizesoybean intercropping system. There were four treatment combinations in the experiment: sole maize; sole soybean; maize spaced at 50 cm and intercropped with soybean; and maize spaced at 65 cm and intercropped with soybean. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that sole cropped maize and soybean generally outperformed the intercropped component crops. Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was greater than 1 for all the intercrop treatments, indicating that it is advantageous to grow maize and soybean in association than in pure stands. Except for 2014 in Zaria, LER for intercropped maize spaced at 50 cm was higher than that for maize spaced at 65 cm. Gross Monetary Value (GMV) was generally higher for intercrops than sole crops except in Iburu in 2015 where GMV for intercropped maize spaced at 65 cm was similar to those of sole maize and soybean. Monetary Advantage Index (MAI) was positive for all intercrop treatments in both locations and years, which shows definite yield and economic advantages compared to the sole cropping systems. This suggests that farmers can intercrop soybean and maize with maize spaced at 50 cm and 65 cm.
The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model was calibrated and validated and used to identify the optimum planting windows for two contrasting maize varieties for three agro-ecologies in the Nigeria savannas. The model was run for 11 planting windows starting from June 1 and repeated every 7 days until 16 August using long-term historical weather data from the 7 selected sites representing three agro-ecological zones (AEZs). The evaluation with the experimental data showed that the model performance was reasonable and accurately predict crop phenology, total dry matter (TDM) and grain yield for both maize varieties. The seasonal planting date analysis showed that optimum planting windows for 2009EVDT and IWDC2SynF2 depend on the variety, agro-ecozones and sites. Planting from June 15 to 28 simulated the highest mean grain yield for both varieties in all the agro-ecologies. In the Southern Guinea savanna (SGS) where the length of growing season is 180–210 days, the best planting window was June 8–July 19 for 2009EVDT and June 8–July 26 for IWDC2SynF2 in Abuja. The planting window that gives attainable yield at Yelwa, is June 15–July 5 for 2009EVDT and June 8–28 for IWDC2SynF2. In the Northern Guinea savannah (NGS) where the length of growing season is 150–180 days, the optimum planting window is June 15–July 19 for both varieties at Zaria and June 8–July 19 for 2009EVDT and June 8–August 2 for IWDC2SynF2 at Sabon Gari. In the Sudan savannah (SS) where the growing season is 90–120 days, planting of 2009EVDT can be delayed up to the third week of July. For the medium-maturing variety, IWDC2SynF2, planting should be done by the first week of July. Though Yelwa is in the SGS, lower yields and narrower sowing windows were simulated for both varieties than for those of the other locations. This is probably due to the poor soil fertility in this location.
Striga hermonthica infestation causes significant losses of maize yield in the Nigerian savannas and several technologies have been developed and promoted to control Striga in maize. However, since no single technology has been found to be effective against Striga, integrated management is needed to achieve satisfactory and sustainable Striga control. Both on-station and on-farm trials were undertaken from 2013 to 2015 in Bauchi and Kano States of Nigeria to evaluate the performance of integrated Striga control technologies. In the on-station trials, a soybean–maize rotation did not suppress Striga in maize in either location. However, nitrogen application suppressed and reduced Striga infection, except in Bauchi in 2014. The soybean–maize rotation accompanied by N application reduced Striga damage in both locations. On farmers’ fields, rotating soybean with maize significantly reduced Striga infection. At the same time, the use of maize varieties with a combined tolerance to drought and resistance to Striga parasitism also increased maize grain yield on farmers’ fields, probably due to three factors: a reduction in Striga infection, reduced effects of a mid-season moisture deficit, and increased uptake of nutrients from the soil. We concluded that the use of Striga-resistant maize varieties in combination with the application of N fertilizer and rotation with soybean could increase the productivity of maize in Striga-infested fields in the Nigerian savannas.
Limited access to and low use of quality seed of improved varieties rank among the topmost causes of persistently low cowpea yields in Nigeria. This paper presents experiences under the Tropical Legume III (TL III) project in facilitating the access of smallholder farmers to seeds of improved cowpea varieties through the establishment of innovation platforms (IPs) that were introduced in 2015 as part of the activities of the TL III project. There was rapid adoption and use of newly released varieties by farmers as a result of increased awareness of improved varieties through multi-media and user-friendly communication strategies and tools. During the four years of the project (2015–2018), a total of seven multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs), which comprised six seed companies, 46 farmer groups, five public seed enterprises, two NGOs, and 718 individual seed entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, were established/strengthened to link actors in the cowpea value chain. Community-based seed producers were linked to seed companies while seed companies were linked to research institutions to access early generation seed (EGS). These activities led to the production of over 532 tons of basic seed and 8366 tons of certified/QDS seed of improved cowpea varieties that were entrenched in the seed system. Yield also increased almost twofold from 500 to 900 kg/ha on farmers’ field. Women and youth incomes increased as a result of seed entrepreneurship activities. The small packs approach was an efficient and cost-effective means of reaching more farmers with affordable quantities of seed and a wide range of preferred varieties.
Drought, infestation of cereal crops by the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica, and poor soil fertility are the major constraints to maize production by smallholder farmers in the Sudan savannas of northern Nigeria. Four innovation platforms (IPs) were therefore established in 2008 in the Sudan savanna (SS) agroecological zone of northern Nigeria to create a stakeholder forum to address these identified food production challenges in the target areas. The IPs comprised researchers from Bayero University, Kano; Institute for Agricultural Research, Zaria; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture; state and local government extension programs in Kano and Katsina states; input and output dealers; community-based organisations; and media organisations in the two states. The current study reports on the effects of legume integration on maize performance in farmer fields and the adoption of Striga management technologies introduced in the IPs over a four-year period. The deployment of drought- Striga-tolerant and early-maturing maize varieties along with legume rotation reduced Striga infestation by 46–100% when cowpea was rotated with maize, 80–97% when groundnut was rotated with maize, and 59–94% when soybean was rotated with maize. Grain yield of maize increased by 63–88% when cowpea was rotated with maize, 69–128% when groundnut was rotated with maize, and 9–133% when soybean was rotated with maize. Participatory and detailed questionnaire-based adoption surveys showed high adoption of improved maize varieties, five years after program interventions. The maize variety 99EVDT-W-STR C0 was the most popular among all the IPs because it is early maturing, Striga-resistant, and drought-tolerant. The high maize yields and high adoption rates suggest that the IP approach was effective in disseminating maize technologies.
Poor soil fertility and climate variability are major constraints to maize production in the Nigeria savannas. The application of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) as adaptation strategy may enhance maize yield under climate change. In this study, the already calibrated and validated CERES-maize model in DSSAT was used to simulate the response of maize varieties to N and P in three agroecological zones. Similarly, the model, coupled with data for representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios, was applied to simulate maize yields for mid-century and end-of-century periods and to estimate the effect of use of N and P as a strategy for maize adaptation to climate change. Results of a 30-year sensitivity analysis showed that the optimum grain yields were obtained with application of 150 kg N + 30 kg P ha–1 to the two varieties in Kano and Zaria. In Abuja, the optimum grain yields were obtained with the application of 150 kg N ha–1 + 30 kg P ha–1 to SAMMAZ–15 and 120 kg N ha–1 + 30 kg P ha–1 to SAMMAZ–16. When P is not applied, the simulation results show that across all N rates, maize yield would decrease by 25–52% and 32–52% for the mid- and end-of-century, respectively, under RCP4.5 for both varieties. There would be a greater reduction under RCP8.5, with a decrease of 32–59% and 52–69% under mid- and end-of-century scenarios, respectively. When P is applied at 30 kg ha-1, the reduction in yield due to climate change is lower. Under RCP4.5, the yield would decrease by 9–15% and 11–21% for the mid- and end-of-century, respectively. There would be a reduction of 12–21% and 32–41% for mid-century and end-of-century, respectively, under RCP8.5 scenario. This suggests that the application of optimum P could reduce the impact of yield loss due to climate-change.
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