Phosphorus seed coating increases phosphorus uptake, early growth and yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) grown on an acid sandy soil in Niger, West Africa

Rebafka, F. P.; Bationo, A.; Marschner, H.

doi:10.1007/bf00750633

Cited by 27 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It appears that the NPK fertilizer is available to the plants from the beginning and its concentration was such that no negative osmotic effects were observed. Similar growth‐stimulating effects were reported for pearl millet when seeds were coated with phosphorus alone ( Rebafka et al, ; Valluru et al, ). This appears reasonable since phosphorus is often seen as the major limiting nutrient in Sahelian sandy soils ( Rebafka , ; Bationo and Buerkert , ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…Seedballs did not hamper germination due to the fact that a large number of pre‐trials were conducted in order to find the right formula with respect to seedball size, constituents, and seed number (Nwankwo et al, unpublished). It is well described in the literature that coating pearl millet seeds with nutrients in high concentration, e.g ., phosphorus ( Rebafka et al., ), binders, or other coating products ( Peske and Novembre , ) can inhibit germination. In particular, Arabic gum showed a partly negative influence on germination when used as binding agent in seedballs ( Mühlena , ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poor seedling establishment arising from low nitrogen and phosphorus availability ( De Rouw , ) is still a challenging factor limiting the yield. The use of mineral fertilizers ( Bationo et al, ; Pandey et al, ), seed treatment ( Rebafka et al., ; Raj et al, ; Karanam and Vadez , ) or irrigation ( Fox and Rockström , ) have proven to potentially increase crop yield in semi‐arid areas such as the Sahel. However, lack of skills and financial resources disallow the Sahelian smallholder farmers to use these options ( Corbeels et al, ; Brick and Visser , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seedball‐induced changes of root growth and physico‐chemical properties—a case study with pearl millet

Nwankwo

Blaser

Vetterlein

et al. 2018

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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Seedball is a cheap “seed‐pelleting‐technique” that combines local materials, seeds and optionally additives such as mineral fertilizer to enhance pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Brown) early growth under poor soil conditions. The major objective here was to study the mechanisms behind positive seedball effects. Chemical effects in the rhizosphere and early root development of seedball‐derived pearl millet seedlings were monitored using micro‐suction‐cups to extract soil solutions and X‐ray tomography to visualize early root growth. Pearl millet (single seedling) was grown in soil columns in a sandy soil substrate. Root and shoot biomass were sampled. X‐ray tomography imaging revealed intense development of fine roots within the nutrient‐amended seedball. Seedball and seedball+NPK treatments, respectively, were 65% and 165% higher in shoot fresh weight, and 108% and 227% higher in shoot dry matter than the control treatment. Seedball+NPK seedlings showed promoted root growth in the upper compartment and 105% and 30% increments in root fresh and dry weights. Soil solution concentrations indicate that fine root growth ass stimulated by release of nutrients from the seedballs to their direct proximity. Under real field conditions, the higher root length density and finer roots could improve seedlings survival under early drought conditions due to better ability to extract water and nutrients from a greater soil volume.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seedball‐induced changes of root growth and physico‐chemical properties—a case study with pearl millet

Nwankwo

Blaser

Vetterlein

et al. 2018

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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“…There is a wealth of site-specific information about the short-term yield enhancing effects of P, N and molybdenum (Mo) fertilizers on cereals and legumes grown on severely nutrient deficient soils of SSWA (Pie´ri 1986;Bationo et al 1986Bationo et al , 1990Bationo et al , 1992Friesen 1991;Hafner et al 1992;Rebafka et al 1993aRebafka et al , 1994Buerkert and Hiernaux 1998;Buerkert et al 2000Buerkert et al , 2001Buerkert et al , 2002MuehligVersen et al 2003), some of which are summarized in Table 4. Single superphosphate (SSP) applied annually at 13 kg ha À1 effectively removed P deficiency on most soil types tested throughout SSWA.…”

Section: Mineral Fertilizersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical analysis of challenges and opportunities for soil fertility restoration in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa

Schlecht

Buerkert

Tielkes

et al. 2006

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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Since the 1970s, research throughout West Africa showed that low soil organic matter and limited availability of plant nutrients, in particular phosphorus and nitrogen, are major bottlenecks to agricultural productivity, which is further hampered by substantial topsoil losses through wind and water erosion. A few widely recognized publications pointing to massive nutrient mining of the existing crop-livestock production systems triggered numerous studies on a wide array of management strategies and policies suited to improve soil fertility. Throughout Sudano-Sahelian West Africa, the application of crop residue mulch, animal manure, rockphosphates and soluble mineral fertilizers have been shown to enhance crop yields, whereby yield increases varied with the agro-ecological setting and the rates of amendments applied. In more humid areas of Western Africa, the intercropping of cereals with herbaceous or ligneous leguminous species, the installation of fodder banks for increased livestock and manure production, and composting of organic material also proved beneficial to crop production. However, there is evidence that the low adoption of improved management strategies and the lack of long-term investments in soil fertility can be ascribed to low product prices for agricultural commodities, immediate cash needs, risk aversion and labour shortage of small-scale farmers across the region. The wealth of knowledge gathered during several decades of on-station and on-farm experimentation calls for an integration of these data into a database to serve as input variables for models geared towards ex-ante assessment of the suitability of technologies and policies at the scale of farms, communities and regions. Several modelling approaches exist that can be exploited in this sense. Yet, they have to be improved in their ability to account for agro-ecological and socio-economic differences at various geographical scales and for residual effects of management options, thereby allowing scenario analysis and guiding further fundamental and participatory research, extension and political counselling.

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“…Grain or seed P reserves support initial seedling growth until it is supplemented through P i uptake by the developing root system and correlated with the initial root biomass (Zhu et al 2005a, b). It is questionable if seed coating or P fertiliser placement could compensate low grain P (Rebafka et al 1993), even if lower root development due to lower seed P reserves can be overcome due to mycorrhizal infection (Zhu and Smith 2001). …”

Section: Screening Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient Mineral Nutrition: Genetic Improvement of Phosphate Uptake and Use Efficiency in Crops

Gruen

Broadley

Büchner

et al. 2014

Plant Ecophysiology

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Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient for plants, the lack of which can be a major constraint for agricultural productivity. Economic, political and environmental factors have prioritized the need for research on P acquisition efficiency (PAE), P utilization efficiency (PUE) and P fertiliser uptake efficiency in crops. P has critical functions in plants and complex interactions in soils. Appropriate screening approaches and implications of improvement in crop production are discussed. P acquisition is mediated by members of phosphate transporter families and the roles of these phosphate transporters as well as enzymes involved in P partitioning and re-translocation are complex. There is also a critical importance of regulatory genes including transcription factors, signalling pathways and apparently other P-responsive genes with unknown function. Furthermore, morphological and biochemical responses enhance P solubility in the soil and facilitate uptake and include root plasticity, secretion processes and symbioses. Exploitation of genetic variation, classical breeding and biotechnological gene modification of target genes are future routes for crop improvement. There is a need for selection not just for uptake but also focussing on P storage pools within cells and tissues, and additionally a consideration of crop P requirements during the different growth stages of crops. The review concludes with a summary giving an outlook to future questions related to crop PAE/PUE improvement.

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Phosphorus seed coating increases phosphorus uptake, early growth and yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) grown on an acid sandy soil in Niger, West Africa

Cited by 27 publications

References 26 publications

Seedball‐induced changes of root growth and physico‐chemical properties—a case study with pearl millet

Seedball‐induced changes of root growth and physico‐chemical properties—a case study with pearl millet

A critical analysis of challenges and opportunities for soil fertility restoration in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa

Efficient Mineral Nutrition: Genetic Improvement of Phosphate Uptake and Use Efficiency in Crops

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