Economic Importance, Ecological Requirements and Production Constraints of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Kenya

Mwakidoshi, Emmanuel R.

doi:10.30954/2347-9655.02.2021.1

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The conventional tillage system is unable to deliver cost-effective environmental services due to high externalities like climate change and the inability to serve the needs of resource-poor farmers [14]. Further, many organizations are promoting conservation agriculture since it has a set of principles and practices that can contribute to sustainable agricultural production [15]. It addresses missing components in the intensive tillage-based, standardized seed-fertilizer-pesticide approach to agriculture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tillage Methods and Inorganic Nutrients Source’s Interactive Effects in Maize and Beans Performance

Ogega

2022

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Maize and bean production have been on a declining trend in the majority of households in sub-Saharan African nations, Kenya inclusive. To improve the production of these crops, the current study aimed at assessing the interactive effects of minimum tillage and conventional tillage coupled with inorganic nutrient sources. The experiment was laid under a split-plot arrangement in a randomized complete block design where the tillage methods comprised the main plots whereas the sub plots were occupied by five inorganic fertilizers: NK, NP, KP, NPK, and NPK+Zn+B+Mg+Ca+S. The results indicated maize growth, yields, and chlorophyll concentration were significantly higher under minimum tillage and the combination of NPK+Zn+B+Mg+Ca+S nutrients. In addition, there was a significant effect on the interaction of tillage and inorganic nutrients on maize growth, yields, and chlorophyll concentration. The study, therefore, recommends the use of a combination of NPK+Zn+B+Mg+Ca+S in minimum tillage as viable options for optimal growth and production of maize and beans.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tillage Methods and Inorganic Nutrients Source’s Interactive Effects in Maize and Beans Performance

Ogega

2022

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“…However, it was noted from the same treatments that continuous sole application of inorganic fertilizers also resulted in low crop yields, which was largely attributed to soil acidification by fertilizers, nutrient mining, leaching, and reduced soil organic matter (SOM) (Cheptoek et al, 2022; Nyawade, Gachene et al, 2019). Introduced application of organic fertilizers such as manure was also noted to increase crop yields, however, which declined with the only application of organic compounds (Mugo et al, 2021; Mwadalu et al, 2022; Mwakidoshi et al, 2021; Nyawade et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Introduced application of organic fertilizers such as manure was also noted to increase crop yields, however, which declined with the only application of organic compounds (Mugo et al, 2021;Mwadalu et al, 2022;Mwakidoshi et al, 2021;Nyawade et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Land degradation has been a challenge in potato production in Kenya and largely Africa due to soil fertility loss through soil nutrient mining, deforestation, desertification, drought, and water erosion (Kisaka et al, 2023;Mugo et al, 2021;Mwakidoshi et al, 2021;Nyawade et al, 2019Nyawade et al, , 2020. This has resulted in consecutive reductions in crop yield productivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Smallholder farmers' knowledge on the use of bioslurry as a soil fertility amendment input for potato production in Kenya

et al. 2023

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A survey was conducted on farmers' fields at Werugha and Wusi-Kishamba wards in Taita Taveta County, Kenya, to assess the factors influencing farmers' decisions on the use of bioslurry in the management of soil fertility. Knowledge gaps on bioslurry use provide contrasting claims about the value of bioslurry from source, storage and handling, crop types, soil, and climate conditions, and as a fertilizer. The majority of the farmers in the study sites double up as dairy farmers which has resulted in enormous production of under-utilized cow dung. Over-dependence on the use of inorganic fertilizers leads to the destruction of soil physical and biological properties; hence, the provision of essential nutrients required by plants for growth and development is not achieved at the maximum recommended rates. This results in a yield decrease with potato yield ranging from 8 to 15 t ha À1 , which is 2-to 3-times below the achievable yield of 40 t ha À1 . A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to 120 small-scale farmers within the two wards. Results showed that the use of bioslurry has not been well adopted by farmers from the two wards as only 18% responded to using bioslurry on their farms whereas 78% relied on chemical fertilizers and other forms of manures such as farmyard manure. However, even those using slurry had since been reported to have challenges with its use and application.The 36% of farmers who applied bioslurry alone did so due to its availability considering the high cost of inorganic fertilizers while those who combined it with inorganic fertilizers had faith in chemical fertilizers and that they aimed at achieving high crop yields. The major challenges farmers faced while using slurry on their farms were reported to be on lack of knowledge on the exact quantity to be applied per unit area and on the storage of excess slurry from biodigesters. This implied that even though slurry was available, it was still not useful to the farmers due to under/over application and poor storage. The study, therefore, recommends capacity-building programs and agricultural extension services to be developed, to ensure adequate knowledge on bioslurry use and adoption by smallholder farmers in the management of soil fertility in enhancing crop productivity.

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“…Crop water requirement and supply ought to be balanced against water scarcity and efficiency of nutrient use to establish an equilibrium on the right time and amount of water supplied to the crop for the realization of optimum water productivity also known as "Crop per drop" (Rockström, 2003;Chai et al, 2016;Nasar et al, 2021Nasar et al, , 2022bNyawade et al, 2020;Alhammad et al, 2023a). On the other hand, nutrient uptake efficiency is viewed as the proportion of nutrients used in producing the economic yields (White et al, 2018;Mugo et al, 2021;Mwakidoshi et al, 2021;Mirriam et al, 2022;Muindi et al, 2023). Therefore, RUE is often considered as the ratio of primary net productivity of the aboveground yield to the annual rainfall is equally so informative to water use efficiency (WUE) (Gitari et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introduction Introduction Introduction Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing rainwater use efficiency, gross return, and grain protein of rain-fed maize under nitrate and urea nitrogen forms

OCHIENG’,

RANJAN,

SELEIMAN

et al. 2023

Not Bot Horti Agrobo

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The soil's capability to adjust and mitigate the effects of water shortage due to climate change is limited in some regions such those that suffer from the low rainfall rates. This experimental field study aimed to assess the effects of two inorganic nitrogen forms on maize performance (i.e., growth, yield, grain protein content, and gross returns) and rainwater use efficiency (RUE). Treatments comprised three replicates of synthetic nitrogen forms (i.e., urea and nitrate) that were located in the main plots with four levels that were assigned to the subplots (i.e., 0, 25, 50, and 100 kg N ha-1). Nitrate application resulted in a higher plant height (62 cm) at the vegetative phase with superior values (11.6%) recorded in grain protein than those obtained from other treatments. In addition, the highest grain yield was obtained in nitrate-treated plots in comparison to other N application forms. The leaf area index registered optimal values when 50 kg N ha-1 was applied. On the application of two nitrogen forms, nitrate resulted in a higher RUE (2.1-3.4 kg ha-1 mm-1) than that obtained from maize treated with urea (1.3-1.9 kg ha-1 mm-1). This translated to a 123-234% increase in RUE over the control (N0), which is the key smallholder farmers’ practice. It is recommended that producing maize using nitrate nitrogen at 50 kg N ha-1 as opposed to urea can increase yield stability, and rain use efficiency with higher gross returns in water-scarce agro-ecologies in SSA.

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Economic Importance, Ecological Requirements and Production Constraints of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Kenya

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Tillage Methods and Inorganic Nutrients Source’s Interactive Effects in Maize and Beans Performance

Tillage Methods and Inorganic Nutrients Source’s Interactive Effects in Maize and Beans Performance

Smallholder farmers' knowledge on the use of bioslurry as a soil fertility amendment input for potato production in Kenya

Increasing rainwater use efficiency, gross return, and grain protein of rain-fed maize under nitrate and urea nitrogen forms

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