scholarly journals Landscape positions dictating crop fertilizer responses in wheat-based farming systems of East African Highlands

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilahun Amede ◽  
Tadesse Gashaw ◽  
Gizachew Legesse ◽  
Lulseged Tamene ◽  
Kindu Mekonen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Productivity ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Crop Response ◽  
East African ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
African Highlands ◽  
East African Highlands

Abstract Improving fertilizer use efficiency has remained a challenge, particularly for small-scale farming in undulating ‘abnormal’ landscapes of East Africa. Milne's 1930s concept on ‘Catena’ was considered as a breakthrough in understanding soil variability and its implication on productivity in East African highlands. However, there is limited information on how the ‘Catena’ features could be used for fine tuning fertilizer recommendations. We initiated multiple on-farm replicated experiments in three wheat-growing districts (Endamohoni, Lemo and Worreilu) in the Ethiopian highlands in 2014, 2015 and 2016 to assess landscape positions affecting crop-nutrient responses, identify yield limiting nutrients across the ‘Catena’ (N, P, K, S and Zn) and quantify effects of landscape positions on resources use efficiency. We clustered farmlands across the ‘Catena’ (Hillslopes, Midslopes and Footslopes) based on land scape positions in the respective locations. Wheat yield was more strongly and significantly affected by landscape positions (P < 0.001) than by nutrient sources or rates. The crop response to fertilizers was 50 to 300% higher in foot slopes than in hillslopes, depending on locations and inputs levels. With increasing slope, there was a decrease in a crop fertilizer response due to a significant decrease in soil organic carbon, clay content and soil water content, with r2 of 0.95, 0.86 and 0.96, respectively. The difference in the crop response between landscape positions was significantly higher (P < 0.05) with higher rates of nutrient applications (>N92 P46) while differences between landscape positions diminish at lower rates. Yield benefits due to application of K was significant only in the dry years (P < 0.05), while there was hardly any yield benefit from the application of zinc and sulfur. The crop nitrogen recovery fraction and crop water productivity decreased with an increasing slope regardless of nutrient combinations. The results indicated that the landscape position could be considered as a proxy indicator for targeted fertilizer application, particularly in farms with undulating topographic features. Hillslopes are better served by the application of organic fertilizers along with conservation measures as applying higher rates of mineral fertilizer in hillslopes would rather increase the risk of downstream nutrient movement.

scholarly journals Short term fallow and partitioning effects of green manures on wheat systems in East African highlands

2021 ◽  
Vol 269 ◽  
pp. 108175
Author(s):  
Tilahun Amede ◽  
Gizachew Legesse ◽  
Getachew Agegnehu ◽  
Tadesse Gashaw ◽  
Tulu Degefu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Manures ◽  
East African ◽  
Short Term ◽  
African Highlands ◽  
East African Highlands

scholarly journals Effect of Seasonal Drought on the Agronomic Performance of Four Banana Genotypes (Musa spp.) in the East African Highlands

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Brigitte Uwimana ◽  
Yasmín Zorrilla-Fontanesi ◽  
Jelle van Wesemael ◽  
Hassan Mduma ◽  
Allan Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yield Traits ◽  
East African ◽  
Ploidy Levels ◽  
Early Effect ◽  
Seasonal Drought ◽  
Musa Spp ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
Genome Group ◽  
African Highlands ◽  
East African Highlands

Banana (Musa spp.), a perennial (sub-)tropical crop, suffers from seasonal droughts, which are typical of rain-fed agriculture. This study aimed at understanding the effect of seasonal drought on early growth, flowering and yield traits in bananas grown in the East African highlands. A field experiment was set up in North Tanzania using four genotypes from different geographical origins and two different ploidy levels. The treatments considered were exclusively rain-fed versus rain supplemented with irrigation. Growth in plant girth and leaf area were promising traits to detect the early effect of water deficit. Seasonal drought slowed down vegetative growth, thus significantly decreasing plant girth, plant height and the number of suckers produced when compared to irrigated plants. It also delayed flowering time and bunch maturity and had a negative effect on yield traits. However, the results depended on the genotype and crop cycle and their interaction with the treatments. “Nakitengwa”, an East African highland banana (EAHB; AAA genome group), which is adapted to the region, showed sensitivity to drought in terms of reduced bunch weight and expected yield, while “Cachaco” (ABB genome group) showed less sensitivity to drought but had a poorer yield than “Nakitengwa”. Our study confirms that seasonal drought has a negative impact on banana production in East Africa, where EAHBs are the most predominant type of bananas grown in the region. We also show that a drought-tolerant cultivar not adapted to the East African highlands had a low performance in terms of yield. We recommend a large-scale screening of diploid bananas to identify drought-tolerant genotypes to be used in the improvement of locally adapted and accepted varieties.

Fragile East African Highlands: a Development Vision for Smallholder Farmers in the Ethiopian Highlands

1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Mohamed Saleem
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
East African ◽  
Ethiopian Highlands ◽  
Ethiopian Highland ◽  
African Highlands ◽  
East African Highlands ◽  
Resource Environment

For societies that depend on agriculture, the process of meeting current or future welfare demands should not continue without regard to the potential long-term dangers of land resource over-use. With an increasing human and animal population in the Ethiopian highlands development efforts so far have been hasty and disjointed, and have sidetracked issues of production base security and conservation. As a result, large-scale degradation has ensued, and if the trend continues the agricultural future of the country is threatened. Cohesive land-use practices are needed in order to manage the fragile Ethiopian highland resource environment properly and to support growing human demands.

Banana leaf pruning to facilitate annual legume intercropping as an intensification strategy in the East African highlands

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 125923 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Ocimati ◽  
J. Ntamwira ◽  
J.C.J. Groot ◽  
G. Taulya ◽  
P. Tittonell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East African ◽  
African Highlands ◽  
East African Highlands ◽  
Banana Leaf

scholarly journals Climate change and the resurgence of malaria in the East African highlands

Nature ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 415 (6874) ◽  
pp. 905-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon I. Hay ◽  
Jonathan Cox ◽  
David J. Rogers ◽  
Sarah E. Randolph ◽  
David I. Stern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
East African ◽  
African Highlands ◽  
East African Highlands

scholarly journals What Farm Size Sustains a Living? Exploring Future Options to Attain a Living Income From Smallholder Farming in the East African Highlands

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wytze Marinus ◽  
Eva S. Thuijsman ◽  
Mark T. van Wijk ◽  
Katrien Descheemaeker ◽  
Gerrie W. J. van de Ven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Skewed Distribution ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
East African ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Cropping Patterns ◽  
African Highlands ◽  
East African Highlands

Smallholder farming in sub-Saharan Africa keeps many rural households trapped in a cycle of poor productivity and low incomes. Two options to reach a decent income include intensification of production and expansion of farm areas per household. In this study, we explore what is a “viable farm size,” i.e., the farm area that is required to attain a “living income,” which sustains a nutritious diet, housing, education and health care. We used survey data from three contrasting sites in the East African highlands—Nyando (Kenya), Rakai (Uganda), and Lushoto (Tanzania) to explore viable farm sizes in six scenarios. Starting from the baseline cropping system, we built scenarios by incrementally including intensified and re-configured cropping systems, income from livestock and off-farm sources. In the most conservative scenario (baseline cropping patterns and yields, minus basic input costs), viable farm areas were 3.6, 2.4, and 2.1 ha, for Nyando, Rakai, and Lushoto, respectively—whereas current median farm areas were just 0.8, 1.8, and 0.8 ha. Given the skewed distribution of current farm areas, only few of the households in the study sites (0, 27, and 4% for Nyando, Rakai, and Lushoto, respectively) were able to attain a living income. Raising baseline yields to 50% of the water-limited yields strongly reduced the land area needed to achieve a viable farm size, and thereby enabled 92% of the households in Rakai and 70% of the households in Lushoto to attain a living income on their existing farm areas. By contrast, intensification of crop production alone was insufficient in Nyando, although including income from livestock enabled the majority of households (73%) to attain a living income with current farm areas. These scenarios show that increasing farm area and/or intensifying production is required for smallholder farmers to attain a living income from farming. Obviously such changes would require considerable capital and labor investment, as well as land reform and alternative off-farm employment options for those who exit farming.

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