Agroecological integration of shade- and drought-tolerant food/feed crops for year-round productivity in banana-based systems under rain-fed conditions in Central Africa

Blomme, Guy; Ocimati, W.; Groot, J.C.J.; Ntamwira, Jules; Bahati, Liliane; Kantungeko, Déo; Remans, Roseline; Tittonell, Pablo

doi:10.17660/actahortic.2018.1196.5

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Additionally, intercropping can improve soil fertility of the field specifically when using nitrogen fixing crops (e.g., legumes), as will decomposed residue and mulch from parts of the intercrop not harvested (Lithourgidis et al, 2011;Gebru, 2015). This is particularly important for small-holder farmers in Central and East Africa where the use of fertilizers is minimal (Blomme et al, 2018). A second cobenefit from intercropping is a reduced incidence of pests and diseases often attributed to the improved biodiversity allowing for an increase in populations of natural enemies of the pests (Lithourgidis et al, 2011;Mulumba et al, 2012;Gebru, 2015;Ocimati et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(taro) and Xanthosoma sp. (cocoyam), have been shown to perform well under mature banana plantations (Blomme et al, 2018). Nevertheless, limited information is available on the shade-tolerance or sensitivity of a wider variety of crops for use in higher shade levels of denser banana fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, intercropping in banana systems in Central Africa is mostly confined to the rainy seasons with only few plant species [e.g., multipurpose trees, banana and coffee (Coffea spp.) allowing for a year-round production (Blomme et al, 2018)]. Farmers also often leave root and tuber crops [mainly taro, sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) planted during the rainy season on the field during the dry season and harvest them based on household needs (Blomme et al, 2018)].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…allowing for a year-round production (Blomme et al, 2018)]. Farmers also often leave root and tuber crops [mainly taro, sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) planted during the rainy season on the field during the dry season and harvest them based on household needs (Blomme et al, 2018)]. Most short-stature banana intercrops however cannot thrive in drier conditions and small-holder farmers cannot irrigate to extend their production to the dry seasons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Integration of crop species that are less sensitive to long dry weather (i.e., less sensitive to heat stress) conditions and can thrive when soil moisture content is low would enable farmers to extend their production into drier months thus offering an opportunity for higher total biomass yields. Soil coverage during the dry season would also be specifically advantageous for reducing the pressures of heat stress and moisture loss on the field (Blomme et al, 2018). Integration of crop species that are less sensitive to long periods of dry weather would thus allow for a more optimal use of available land as additional yield could be obtained.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sensitivity and Tolerance of Different Annual Crops to Different Levels of Banana Shade and Dry Season Weather

Blomme¹,

Ntamwira

Bahati³

et al. 2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Intercropping in small-holder production systems in East and Central Africa is very common and offers potential for significant yield and environmental benefits. However, the reduced light availability under banana canopies constrains the success of the intercrop in banana systems. Determining a balance between the optimal spacing/densities of banana plants with optimized intercrop selection based on their sensitivity and tolerance to shade is imperative. This study, through extensive field experiments performed in South Kivu, DR Congo investigated the resilience of a wide range of food and forage crops to varying banana shade levels. The same crop species grown as monocrops served as controls. Quantitative yield assessments showed yam, sweet potato, ginger and forage grasses to have a good potential to grow under moderately dense to dense banana fields. Taro, soybean, mucuna, chili, eggplant, and Crotalaria sp. performed well in sparsely spaced banana fields with moderate shading. Cassava and soybean showed limited tolerance to shade. Intercropping in banana systems is also generally confined to the rainy seasons due to the high sensitivity of most annual intercrops to long dry weather in the dry season months. We also thus assessed the sensitivity of chickpea and mucuna to the long dry weather of the dry seasons and found them to have great potential for extending farming production into the dry season. Overall, we show that careful selection and allocation of crops with varying sensitivity to various banana shade levels and dry season weather can potentially increase whole field productivity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Sensitivity and Tolerance of Different Annual Crops to Different Levels of Banana Shade and Dry Season Weather

Blomme¹,

Ntamwira

Bahati³

et al. 2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana‐based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Blomme¹,

Ntamwira²,

Ocimati³

2022

Legume Science

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Intercropping banana and shorter annual crops in small holder systems is inevitable despite shade being a limitation. Current production is also limited to the wet seasons. Strategies to exploit the spaces under banana shade and drier seasons are crucial for optimal production of these systems. We determined the performance of two legume cover crops, Mucuna pruriens and Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum), a grain legume, under different banana shade levels and over the wet and dry seasons in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Banana and legume monocrops served as controls. Shade reduced weed biomass and legume root nodulation, biomass, and grain yields. Chickpea root nodulation had a lower sensitivity to shade (3-9% reduction) compared with mucuna (30-60%) and crotalaria (31-71%).Legume biomass yield declines varied from 37-83%, 56-93%, and 80-98% for mucuna, crotalaria, and chickpea, respectively. Higher nodulation occurred in the rainy compared with the dry season. Biomass yield declines, albeit low occurred in the dry season for mucuna (15%) and crotalaria (30%). In contrast, chickpea biomass and grain yields increased by 394% and 4487%, respectively, in the dry season. A higher banana vegetative growth occurred in the intercropped plots. Land equivalent ratios of 1.15-1.34 under dense shading for mucuna and crotalaria and 1.10-1.62 for chickpea occurred irrespective of the seasons. These findings suggest that these cover crops and chickpea could be exploited to enhance biomass (for fodder, mulch, or manure) and grain yields under banana shade and over the drier seasons.

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Breeding banana (Musa spp.) for drought tolerance: A review

et al. 2020

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Drought is a major abiotic stress affecting banana production worldwide, leading to yield losses of up to 65%. Consequently, numerous efforts to understand and mitigate drought effects that include developing tolerant crop varieties are ongoing in several banana breeding programmes. The breeding efforts, however, have been greatly slowed down by inherent banana problems (polyploidy and male or female sterility) and complexity of drought tolerance (reportedly controlled by several genes). This review summarizes the pertinent research findings on water requirements of banana for its proper growth and productivity, symptoms of drought‐sensitive varieties and field management strategies to cope with drought stress. The coping strategies deployed by resistant cultivars include high assimilation rates and water retention capacity as well as minor losses in leaf area and gaseous exchange. Reduced bunch weight, leaf chlorosis, wilting and strangled birth are underlined to be directly associated with drought susceptibility. Integration of conventional, molecular breeding and biotechnological tools as well as exploitation of the existing banana genetic diversity presents a huge opportunity for successful banana improvement.

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Agroecological integration of shade- and drought-tolerant food/feed crops for year-round productivity in banana-based systems under rain-fed conditions in Central Africa

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Sensitivity and Tolerance of Different Annual Crops to Different Levels of Banana Shade and Dry Season Weather

Sensitivity and Tolerance of Different Annual Crops to Different Levels of Banana Shade and Dry Season Weather

Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana‐based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Breeding banana (Musa spp.) for drought tolerance: A review

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