PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH TO CLOSE THE SOYBEAN YIELD GAP ON SMALLHOLDER FARMS IN MALAWI

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. VAN VUGT ◽  
A. C. FRANKE ◽  
K. E. GILLER
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Plant Population ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Inorganic Fertiliser ◽  
Fertiliser Application ◽  
Compost Manure

SUMMARYSoybean yields on smallholder farmers’ fields in Malawi are constrained by poor soil fertility, limited application of external inputs and poor crop husbandry. We tested crop management practices through on-farm experimentation and participatory technology evaluation. Two agronomic soybean trials were established in 2009 and 2010 in three contrasting agro-ecologies resulting in 72 replications per trial. Treatments in the first trial included several combinations of inoculation withBradyrhizobium japonicum, inorganic fertiliser application and compost manure. In the second trial, farmers tested an improved variety, optimal weeding regime, increased plant population and chemical pest and disease control. A combination of inoculation, inorganic fertiliser (10 N, 8 P, 20 K in kg ha−1), and 6 t ha−1compost manure increased yields from 0.86 t ha−1under farmers’ practice to 1.56 t ha−1and resulted in average profits of US$222 ha−1. Increased plant populations and biocide spraying also resulted in substantial yield increases. Inoculation and increased plant population resulted in an average value to cost ratio (VCR) > 2. Low investment costs make inoculants, compost manure and increased plant populations interesting options, whereas adoption of inorganic fertiliser application in soybean may be limited due to high costs and low VCR. The farmers ranked eight technologies in descending order of preference as: (i) early planting, (ii) plant population, (iii) variety choice, (iv) compost manure, (v) weeding, (vi) inoculant, (vii) fertiliser and (viii) spraying. Our participatory research approach demonstrated that there is a wide range of technologies with different levels of human and financial investment costs that smallholder farmers can adopt to enhance their soybean yields and profits.

scholarly journals Maize Yield Components as Affected by Plant Population, Planting Date and Soil Coverings in Brazil

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 579
Author(s):  
Gustavo Castilho Beruski ◽  
Luis Miguel Schiebelbein ◽  
André Belmont Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Yield Components ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Plant Population ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Potential Yield ◽  
Final Yield

The potential yield of annual crops is affected by management practices and water and energy availabilities throughout the crop season. The current work aimed to assess the effects of plant population, planting dates and soil covering on yield components of maize. Field experiments were carried out during the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 growing seasons at areas grown with oat straw, voluntary plants and bare soil, considering five plant populations (40,000, 60,000, 80,000, 100,000 and 120,000 plants ha−1) and three sowing dates (15 September, 30 October and 15 December) for the hybrid P30F53YH in Ponta Grossa, State of Paraná, Brazil. Non-impacts of soil covering or plant population on plant height at the flowering phenological stage were observed. Significant effects of soil covering on yield components and final yield responses throughout the 2014–2015 season were detected. An influence of plant populations on yield components was evidenced, suggesting that, from 80,000 plants ha−1, the P30F53YH hybrid performs a compensatory effect among assessed yield components in such a way as to not compromise productivity insofar as the plant population increases up to 120,000 plants ha−1. It was noticed, a positive trend of yield components and crop final yield as a function of plant density increments.

scholarly journals Evaluating Interventions Uptake in Indigenous Chicken Production in a Participatory Research with Smallholder Farmers in Kenya

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Mutitu Ndegwa ◽  
Roger Mead ◽  
Patricia Norrish ◽  
Derek Shepherd ◽  
Catherine Kimani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Indigenous Chicken ◽  
Feed Supplementation ◽  
Farmer Participatory Research ◽  
Research Activities

Indigenous chicken production system has long been characterised by low productivity due to among other factors, poor management, inadequate and poor feeding regime, poor (or lack) of disease control measures, poor hygiene, inappropriate housing, negative attitudes, lack of technical knowledge and lack of institutional support in terms of policy and infrastructure. This research was carried out to evaluate effects of improved management practices on performance of indigenous chickens at farm level and consequences for farmer participation in the implementation of research activities. The research involved 200 farmers in five regions in three counties. Four villages were selected per region and10 farms in each village. Interventions housing, feed supplementation, vaccination and deworming were implemented by farmers and monitoring and evaluation carried out. Farmers used own local inputs in implementing the project interventions and recorded various project activities and outputs. The project was monitored over a span of five, 3-months long periods. 25% of farmers in the entire five regions did not have housing as a treatment in any of 5 periods. Feed supplementation had high level of use by all farmers in each period. More farmers applied deworming in later periods, 25% had vaccination in period 1, and 40% in period 5. Periods 3 – 5 generally seem to be the time most applications were done. Flock sizes rose from 10 – 20 birds per farm to 20 – 30. Farmer participatory research is a tool for technology testing and transfer and a quick and effective means of generating and disseminating information. 

scholarly journals Maize Yield Components as Affected by Plant Population, Planting Date, Crop Growing Season and Soil Coverings in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Castilho Beruski ◽  
Luis Miguel Schiebelbein ◽  
André Belmont Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Yield Components ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Maize Yield ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Plant Population ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Potential Yield

The potential yield of annual crops is affected by management practices and water and energy availabilities throughout the crop season. The current work aimed to assess the effects of plant population and soil covering on yield components of maize. Field experiments were carried out during 2014-15 and 2015-16 growing seasons at areas grown with oat straw, voluntary plants and bare soil, considering five different plant populations (40,000, 60,000, 80,000, 100,000 and 120,000 plants ha-1) and three sowing dates (15 Sep., 30 Oct., 15 Dec.) for the hybrid P30F53YH in Ponta Grossa, State of Parana, Brazil. Non-impacts of soil covering or plant population on plant height at the flowering phenological stage were observed. Significant effects of soil covering on crop physiological and yield components responses throughout the 2014-15 season were detected. Influence of plant populations on yield components was evidenced, suggesting that from 80,000 plants ha-1 the P30F53YH hybrid performs a compensatory effect among assessed yield components in such a way as to not compromise productivity insofar as plant population increases up to 120,000 plants ha-1. It was noticed a positive trend of yield components and crop final yield as a function of plant density increments.

scholarly journals Values, Knowledge, and Rights Shaping Land Use in the Peruvian Amazon

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariaelena Huambachano ◽  
Lauren Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Peruvian Amazon ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Holistic Understanding

In the midst of climate change, population growth, and global food crisis scenarios, efforts to succeed in Sustainable Land Management (SLM) implementation are under enormous pressure. To contextualize Indigenous experiences on nature valuation in light of sustainable development efforts, we explored how the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of two Indigenous communities interacted with major land policies with sustainability implications through an ethnographic and community-based participatory research approach. Data collection tools included talking circles, storytelling, unstructured interviews, and participant observation with Indigenous community members of Shimaa and Diamante to understand how two major land management policies intersect in SLM, Indigenous values, TEK, and rights in the Peruvian Amazon. In complementation with secondary literature assessing the focal policies, the empirical data analysis, through a lens of TEK, provides a deeper examination of Indigenous peoples’ ways of knowing. Research findings show that TEK of Indigenous peoples can support values of nature and shape the design and implementation of SLM policies by incorporating Indigenous peoples’ holistic values of nature (e.g., relational and intrinsic values) and methods for sustainable and equitable land management, with improved outcomes for communities. However, the TEK of Indigenous peoples, values of nature, and rights can be at odds with the Eurocentric-oriented SLM in terms of values placed on nature, and results in a disconnection between international and national policy goals with realities at the local levels. This study concludes that to fully realize the objectives of SLM, it is imperative for decision makers to recognize the TEK of Indigenous peoples rooted in a holistic understanding of the multiple values attributed to nature, which resonates with the notion of a plural approach to valuing nature. Further, methods should include land management practices that are beneficial for such communities and not strictly for the production of goods for societal consumption, however long it may be sustained into the future. Such a management scheme would value ecologic stability, community resilience, and a wide range of human-nature values while still recognizing development needs.

Studies on lucerne and lucerne-grass leys V. Plant population studies with lucerne

1962 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Jarvis
Keyword(s):  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Population Studies ◽  
Plant Population ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

1. An experiment designed to investigate the growth and yield of lucerne over a wide range of plant populations is described and the results discussed.2. The mean yields of lucerne per plant were fitted to three different equations relating yield per plant to plant population, and the ‘goodness-of-fit’ of these equations was compared.3. As plant population increased, the yield of lucerne per acre increased very rapidly up to a certain level, but further increases in plant population led to much smaller increments in yield. It is argued from theoretical considerations that the yield per acre would reach a maximum only when the plant population is infinite.

Use of a Systematic Spacing Design as an Aid to the Study of Inter-cropping: Some General Considerations

1978 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Huxley ◽  
Z. Maingu
Keyword(s):  
Plant Population ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sole Cropping

SUMMARYAssessment of the relative advantages or otherwise of inter-cropping compared with sole cropping needs to be done over a wide range of plant populations. Systematic spacing designs lend themselves to this, and the paper discusses the interpretation of the yield/plant population curves which can be so derived.

EFFECTS OF PLANT POPULATION AND ROW SPACING ON SUNFLOWER AGRONOMY

1975 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 491-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. VIJAYALAKSHMI ◽  
N. K. SANGHI ◽  
W. L. PELTON ◽  
C. H. ANDERSON
Keyword(s):  
Helianthus Annuus ◽  
Plant Height ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
Plant Population ◽  
Growth Characteristics ◽  
Stem Diameter ◽  
Row Spacing ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Helianthus Annuus L ◽  
Wide Range

Studies at Hyderabad, India, and Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada, have shown that sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) can be grown under dryland conditions over a wide range of plant populations and row spacings. At Hyderabad, yield plateaus of approximately 900 and 1,350 kg/ha existed over population ranges of 18,000 to 32,000 and 56,000 to 98,000 plants/ha, respectively. At Swift Current, yields from a 25,000 plants/ha population were 28% higher than those of a 125,000. plants/ha population, but were not significantly different from the mid-range 75,000 plants/ha. Population also influenced growth characteristics such as plant height and stem diameter and the rates of development. The crop showed a remarkable tolerance to drought and the ability to recover after periods of extreme moisture stress. Populations of 60,000 to 75,000 plants/ha at row spacings of 35 to 60 cm are recommended for dryland production.

scholarly journals Farmers’ perception of pigeon pea fertilization and soil health indicators in Ebelle, Edo State

2020 ◽  
pp. 10-16
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Organic Manure ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
Edo State ◽  
Harvest Residue

Farmers represent the largest group of natural resource managers and have a critical role to play in the agroecological transition towards sustainable land management. Such a participatory research approach involving farmers are important for the development of technologies and management innovations. The research reported aimed at eliciting farmer's knowledge on soil health within the context of fertilization and post-harvest residue management practices, as well as their awareness on the indigenous indicators of soil health in Ebelle, Edo state. Knowledge was elicited from sixty-five (65) smallholder farmers in the area through the use of questionnaires and data were analyzed using basic descriptive statistics. Results show that about 46% of the interviewed farmers used organic manure, 19.9% preferred to use chemical fertilizers while 20.2% did not adopt any method of fertilization. The use of organic manure by these farmers was attributed to its low cost (45.3%), high crop response (31.4%), availability (13.8%), and common practice (9.5%). Results also show that the majority of the farmers (72.2%) tend to burn post-harvest residue while only 6.7% incorporate these residues into the soil after harvest. Farmers in the area described eleven (11) indicators of soil health. Most frequently mentioned were; soil colour (37.3%), mesofauna (28.1%) , crop vigour (26.9%) and moisture content (7.7%). This implies that farmers have a clear notion of soil health indicators that agrees with the classical methodology of identification. However, their fertilization practices are not well established, as this can lead to degradation of soil in the area.

Impression management and legitimacy strategies: The BP case

2013 ◽  
pp. 35-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Michelon
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
British Petroleum ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Disclosure Tone ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
A Company ◽  
Texas City

The aim of this paper is to study if and how impression management varies during different phases of the legitimation process, in particular during the legitimacy building and legitimacy repairing phases (Suchman, 1995). We aim at understanding whether and how the disclosure tone adopted by a company in the two different moments is diverse and thus functional to the intrinsic objective of the each phase. The empirical analysis focuses on the case of British Petroleum Plc. We investigated the impression management practices undertaken by the company both during the preparation of the rebranding operation, i.e. a situation in which the company is trying to build legitimacy; and during the happenings of two legitimacy crises, like the explosion of the refinery in Texas City and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The evidence appears in line with the theoretical prediction of legitimacy theory. Results show that while the company tends to privilege image enhancement techniques during the legitimacy-building phase, it uses more obfuscation techniques when managing a legitimacy-repairing process. Moreover, the analysis suggests that the company makes more extensive use of impression management techniques in the disclosures addressed to shareholders, investors and other market operators than in the disclosures addressed to the wide range of other stakeholders.

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