Effect of Incorporation of Crop Residues on a Maize–Groundnut Sequence in the Humid Tropics. I. Yield and Nutrient Uptake

Abstract

Low soil organic matter (OM) characterizes most soils of the humid tropics because crop residues are not returned to the field. A two-year (1997)(1998)(1999) field experiment was carried out in an Ultisol to determine the contribution of crop residue application in sustaining yields of maize (Zea mays L.) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) in a crop rotation system. Three management practices were compared, inorganic fertilizer with crop residues (T1), inorganic fertilizer without crop residue (T2) and half dose of inorganic fertilizer with crop residues combined with chicken manure (CM) (T3), in a randomized block design. During five crops cycle 1841 of continuous application of crop residues with inorganic fertilizers or combined with CM, 43% of the observed maximum yield of the maize was sustained compared to 21% in plots where crop residues were removed. Nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) uptake by the subsequent crops were significantly higher in crop residue treatments whereas phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) were not significantly affected by application of crop residues. In the highly weathered soils of the tropics, incorporation of crop residues appeared to be a beneficial management practice for sustaining crop yields.

Impact of organic residues and mineral fertilizer application on soil–crop systems I: yield and nutrients content

“…Values of SYI reported here indicate that the minimum guaranteed SDM yields in SS and FCr þ plots were 35 and 38% of the maximum observed yield compared with other treatments. Similar observations were made during a 2-year study of incorporation of maize residues (Osiname and Meppe 1999;Mubarak et al 2003a). Some previous studies have indicated the accumulation of heavy metals in soils or harvested crops treated with sewage sludge, however, the content of heavy metals in SS used in this study (19.6 mg kg 71 Ni, 81.4 mg kg 71 Pb, 356 mg kg 71 Zn, 48 mg kg 71 Cu and 0.7 mg kg 71 Cd) are below the acceptable limit given by Chefetz et al (1996) and Moreno et al (1999).…”

“…After incorporation of the second legume crop (guar), grain yield of the third crop (wheat) was higher than the first crop due to the additional N added in the guar crop residue (Mubarak et al 2002). Glab and Kulig (2008) reported that wheat yields from a reduced tillage system without mulch residues were significantly lower than when fodder radish mulch residue was applied.…”

“…Integrated use of organic residues and mineral fertilizer is reported to reduce the cost of mineral fertilizer need by 25% (Bokhtiar and Sakurai 2005) or as high as 50% (Kiani et al 2005) and has also been reported to obtain 43% sustainable yield index compared with crop residue removal (Mubarak et al 2003a). Crop residues are an important source of organic nutrients, are available in large quantities and are not being fully utilized.…”

“…The economic value of crop residues mainly focuses on the equivalent fertilizer cost of the nutrients that they contain. Studies on recycling and use of nutrients from crop residues has received greater consideration for ensuring sustainable land use and agricultural production in the humid tropics (Mubarak et al 1999(Mubarak et al , 2001a(Mubarak et al , 2001b(Mubarak et al , 2002(Mubarak et al , 2003a(Mubarak et al , 2003b or dry tropics (Powel and Unger 1997;Mandal et al 2004;Mubarak and Rosenani 2004;Paul and Mannan 2006;Mubarak and Dawi 2009).…”

Effect of Combined Use of Organic and Inorganic Sources of Nutrients on Sunflower Yield, Soil Fertility, and Overall Soil Quality in Rainfed Alfisol

“…The findings of the present study are in conformity with the earlier observations. Mubarak et al (2003) reported that maximum yield of maize was sustained during five crop cycles of continuous application of crop residues with inorganic fertilizer and concluded that incorporation of crop residues appeared to be a beneficial management practice for sustaining the crop. Similarly, Anwar et al (2005) found that the combination of VC at 5 t ha 21 þ fertilizer NPK 50:25:25 kg ha 21 performed the best with respect to growth, herb, dry matter, oil content, and oil yield of French basil and concluded that combined application of manure and fertilizer helped to increase crop productivity, quality, and maintainence of the soil fertility.…”