Fertility management for maize cultivation in some soils of Western Kenya

Ngome, Ajebesone Francis; Becker, M.; Mtei, Kelvin; Mussgnug, F.

doi:10.1016/j.still.2011.08.010

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Poor soil structural attributes (mainly aggregate stability) enhance erosion and surface crusting phenomena. The resulting soil fertility decline has led to a decrease in maize yields ( Ngome et al, 2011) and aggravated food insecurity, rural poverty and low livelihood levels ( Rietdorf , 2008; Rufino et al, 2009). This holds true for both the sub‐humid bimodal rainfall zone with sandy Acrisols in the North, and the humid monomodal rainfall zone with clay Ferralsols in the South of the district ( Diwani et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Live fences – a hidden resource of soil fertility in West Kenya

Theobald

Mussgnug

Becker

2014

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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In the highlands of Western Kenya, intensified land use combined with low use of mineral fertilizers at farm level is driving soil nutrient depletion and declining yield levels. All farms and individual field crop plots are surrounded by life fences and the area under such hedge structure is estimated to cover 3-5% of the total farmland area. The land below the hedges is not tilled and may receive nutrient and carbon inputs by the occasional addition of field crop residues and litter fall. We hypothesized that the areas covered by live fences represent not only an important land resource, but are also largely untapped sites characterized by high soil fertility in an otherwise largely degraded environment. We characterized physico-chemical attributes of top soils collected on farmland and from adjacent live fences composed of five different fencing species in representative environments of Kakamega district (sandy Acrisol and bimodal rainfall distribution vs. clay Ferralsol and monomodal rainfall distribution). In addition, the maize production potential of these soils was assessed in a supplementary pot experiment. Concentrations and total amounts of soil C, N, N supplying capacity, exchangeable K, as well as aggregate stability tended to be higher in hedge structures than in field crop soil. The amount of labile (permanganate-oxidizable) carbon and the carbon management index in fence lines on Acrisol were similar to those of the adjacent Kakamega rain forest reserve, while they were reduced by > 50% in crop fields. These trends were reflected in the biomass and N and K uptake by maize in potted soil. Effects were generally larger in Acrisol than in Ferralsol and were most pronounced with Tithonia diversifolia. We conclude that live fences are soil fertility hotspots that may be valorised in the future by replacing the generally unproductive fencing species with economical perennial crops.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Live fences – a hidden resource of soil fertility in West Kenya

Theobald

Mussgnug

Becker

2014

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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“…To meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, the increasingly restricted land area is intensively cultivated. Fallow periods between crop cycles have nearly disappeared, and most land is now cultivated with two crops (mainly maize or maize-bean intercropping) per year (Ngome et al, 2012). Permanent cultivation in a high-rainfall environment and the near-absence of external input or conservation practices has led to wide-spread soilnutrient depletion and declining crop yields (Shepherd and Walsh, 2003), and soil N, P (to a lesser extent K) deficiencies increasingly limit crop production (Lijzenga, 1998;Nziguheba et al, 1998, Tittionell et al, 2005a.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing farming systems around Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya, for targeting soil fertility–enhancing technologies

Diwani¹,

Asch

Becker

et al. 2013

Z. Pflanzenernähr. Bodenk.

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Kakamega district in Western Kenya represents the smallholder farming systems typical for much of the densely populated humid highlands in East Africa. A specific feature, however, is the presence of a protected forest reserve (Kakamega Forest National Park), covering some 20% of the district area. Year-round crop production with little use of external inputs is resulting in declining soil fertility and crop yields. Technologies to counteract fertility constraints are rarely implemented, as they do not consider system diversity or farm-specific characteristics. We surmised that farm type-specific targeting of technology options to address soil fertility-related production constraints would reduce the anthropogenic pressure on the resources of the adjacent Kakamega rainforest reserve. Based on Kenyan national census data, we selected 168 farms in physical proximity of the Kakamega forest and characterized them regarding production system and soil attributes. Cluster and principal component analyses identified five distinct farm categories. Three representative farms from each cluster group were subsequently selected to establish labor-use patterns, draw resource-flow maps, and determine NPK balances. Small subsistence-oriented farms were most common (> 50%), with maize yields of 0.9 t ha -1 (Cluster 1). Most farmers relied on the forest to provide fire wood, animal feed, and medicinal plants. Mixed farms, combining subsistence maize with industrial crops, were differentiated by soil type, with tea being grown on Ferralsol (Cluster 3), and sugar cane being grown on Acrisol (cluster 4). The dependence on forest resources was limited to animal grazing and the collection of feed stuff (Cluster 3), or the extraction of medicinal plants (Cluster 4). Only few farms showed a high degree of market orientation of the food-crop production. These comprised either small farms with high investments in fertilizer and maize yields close to 2 t ha -1 (Cluster 2), or larger farms (1.6-3.9 ha) with low fertilizer but high hired-labor use (Cluster 5). Their reliance on forest resources was generally low. Resource flows showed mainly patterns of nutrient export in subsistence farms, and more complex flow patterns, involving several farm compartments, in the diversified farms. Partial nutrient balances were strongly negative for N and K, irrespective of soil or farm type. Soil-fertility characteristics reflected the nutrient balances with generally low C and N in all farms on Acrisol, and low P in farms not applying mineral fertilizers or farmyard manure. The proposed typology is expected to improve the targeting of technologies addressing soil fertility-related production constraints, and to reduce the pressure on forest resources. This is of particular importance in the case of small-scale subsistence and mixed farms close to the forest margin.

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“…The use of mineral fertilizer is limited by cost and accessibility (Woomer et al, 2003) such that the few farmers using mineral fertilizers often do not apply the recommended rates, resulting to poor outputs . Organic-based technologies on the other hand, are either labour-(farm yard manure) or land-intensive (green manures) and the effectiveness often depends on season and soil attributes (Becker et al, 1994;Ngome et al, 2011). Thus, technological interventions designed to improve farm productivity need to target the socially diverse and ecologically heterogeneous farms and farming system situations (Ngome et al, 2011) to arrive at farm types-and farming systemsspecific recommendation domains or socio-ecological niches .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Organic-based technologies on the other hand, are either labour-(farm yard manure) or land-intensive (green manures) and the effectiveness often depends on season and soil attributes (Becker et al, 1994;Ngome et al, 2011). Thus, technological interventions designed to improve farm productivity need to target the socially diverse and ecologically heterogeneous farms and farming system situations (Ngome et al, 2011) to arrive at farm types-and farming systemsspecific recommendation domains or socio-ecological niches . This requires an initial characterization and grouping (typology) of the farming systems with similar biophysical and socio-economic properties (Tittonell et al, 2005b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Technology Options Addressing Agricultural Production Constraints in Western Kenya

Mtei¹,

Ngome²,

Becker³

et al. 2013

GJAS

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Poor soil fertility and weed infestation are among major constraints facing agricultural production in Western Kenya. Recommended technologies differ in resource requirement and their effectiveness are seasonal site-specific. On-farm experiments were conducted during 2008/09 cropping seasons on two soil types of western Kenya using maize as a test crop. Seven technology options were assessed on agronomic performance, resource requirement, and economic returns. Maize grain yield differed between cropping seasons with generally higher yields during long rainy season, and across soil types with organic manure-based options performing better on Ultisol than on Alfisol. Response of soil parameters reflected the amount of added nutrients and soil type with strongest effect of added N on Alfisol and of added P on Ultisol. All options significantly reduced weed biomass in the maize fields in the long (>90%) than in the short rainy seasons (>50%). Green manure-based option required more labour while mineral fertilizer-based options required largest capital. The economic netbenefit varied between -112 and +892 € ha -1 with highest values in organic manure-based options during short rainy season and in mineral fertilizer-based options during long rainy season. This example illustrates the need to define sitespecific technology evaluation for successful targeting of technology options.

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Fertility management for maize cultivation in some soils of Western Kenya

Cited by 30 publications

References 33 publications

Live fences – a hidden resource of soil fertility in West Kenya

Live fences – a hidden resource of soil fertility in West Kenya

Characterizing farming systems around Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya, for targeting soil fertility–enhancing technologies

Assessment of Technology Options Addressing Agricultural Production Constraints in Western Kenya

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