Nitrous oxide emissions from cassava fields amended with organic and inorganic fertilizers

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is the world's second most important starch source, after maize, and a staple food for up to 800 million people in tropical countries (Howeler et al., 2013). The ability of cassava to be productive under poor soil conditions has resulted in the mistaken assumption that it does not require soil amendments, the avoidance of which has led to low cassava yields and constrained its profitability (Kintché et al., 2017). Nonetheless, several studies have reported a yield response with fertilization (Howeler, 1996;Pellet & El-Sharkawy, 1993). Fertilization of cassava is also necessary to maintain long-term soil productivity (Howeler, 2011). Cassava has been grown in soils that received complementary and sole fertilization of organic and inorganic soil amendments (Ayoola & Makinde, 2007;Susan John et al., 1998). In rural communities, the application of inorganic fertilizer is common among resource-rich

Planting position and application of different doses of nitrogen at different times on cassava

“…The management of N needs to be improved in cassava-growing regions, for example, in Cerrado, where extreme weather events occur, including changing rainfall patterns and long dry/wet cycles (Chirinda et al, 2021). Crop productivity is associated with fertilization management.…”

“…The improvement of nitrogen (N) management is particularly important in cassava growing regions, where N inputs are high and extreme weather events, like changing rainfall patterns and long dry/wet cycles, occur (Chirinda et al, 2021). Nitrogen is an essential nutrient and extremely important for plant growth (Taiz et al, 2017).…”

Sustainable soil management for food security

“…Depending on landscape position and soil texture, soil amendment such as biochar can be used to suppress GHG emission (Abagandura et al, 2022). The use of organic fertilizer can mitigate N 2 O emission in comparison with inorganic fertilizer (Chirinda et al, 2021; Lawrence et al, 2021). There are also trade‐offs that we must address.…”

Expediting climate‐smart soils management

“…While agricultural soil can serve as a carbon sink by storing biomass-based carbon in SOM with long stability, agricultural soil can also be a significant source of all three important greenhouse gases: CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O (Bahn et al, 2009;Oertel et al, 2016). Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural fields are exacerbated by the application of inorganic N fertilizers, which are transformed to N 2 O at much higher rates than organic N fertilizers (Chirinda et al, 2021). There are hotspots of soil greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in agricultural production systems.…”