On-farm evaluation of the contribution of sole and mixed applications of organic matter and urea to maize grain production in the Savannah.

2009 ◽  
pp. 185-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. N. O. Iwuafor ◽  
K. Aihou ◽  
J. S. Jaryum ◽  
B. Vanlauwe ◽  
J. Diels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Grain Production ◽  
Maize Grain ◽  
On Farm

scholarly journals Inter‐community and on‐farm asymmetric organic matter allocation patterns drive soil fertility gradients in a rural Andean landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (18) ◽  
pp. 2973-2985
Author(s):  
Mark E. Caulfield ◽  
Steven J. Fonte ◽  
Pablo Tittonell ◽  
Steven J. Vanek ◽  
Stephen Sherwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradients ◽  
Allocation Patterns ◽  
On Farm

scholarly journals Comparative economics of maize grain and seed production in Okhaldhunga district, Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-147
Author(s):  
Puspa Raj Dulal ◽  
Santosh Marahatta ◽  
Rupak Karn
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Grain Production ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Comparative Economics ◽  
Maize Grain ◽  
The One ◽  
Benefit Cost

Maize cultivation is the one the major farm activities among Nepalese farmers. Basically, in the rural hills of Nepal like Okhaldhunga, it dominates any other crop production. The study was conducted for comparative assessment of economics, marketing and identification of major problems of maize seed and grain production in the hilly eastern district, Okhaldhunga during June of 2017. The data were obtained through the interview of 66 producers (33 each of maize grain and seed producers) with a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and parametric tests (-test, t-test) were applied. Both the grain and the seed producers were similar in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, marketing accessibilities but the seed producers were significantly benefited from the training, the extension services, credit facilities despite having 0.14 ha lesser landholding than grain producers. The inputs (manures, fertilizers and the seed) contributed 48% and 50% of the total cost incurred for grain and seed production respectively and the pre-sowing and sowing activities contributed more than 77% of cost in both cases. Despite higher cost for seed production (NRs. 24,969 more than grain production), the benefit-cost ratio of seed production was found higher (1.31) than grain production (1.05). Only 24% of the total harvest was processed and marketed as seed and using optimum quantity (66% middle portion of the cob) for seed production could further increase the income by 23.35%, the improved B:C ratio being 1.51 . The major production problems were scarce farm labor followed by lack of infrastructures while low seasonal price followed by low volume of production ranked the first and second most important marketing related problems.

scholarly journals Soil degradation: a problem threatening the sustainable development of agriculture in Northeast China

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 87-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.B. Liu ◽  
X.Y. Zhang ◽  
Y.X. Wang ◽  
Y.Y. Sui ◽  
S.L. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Grain Production

Soil degradation that results from erosion, losses of organic matter and nutrients, or soil compaction are of great concern in every agricultural region of the world. The control of soil erosion and loss of organic matter has been proposed as critical to agricultural and environmental sustainability of Northeast China. This region is bread basket of China where the fertile and productive soils, Mollisols (also called Black soils), are primarily distributed. In this paper, we introduce the importance of Northeast China’s grain production to China, and describe the changes of sown acreage and grain production in past decades. This paper also summarizes the distribution, area and intensity of water erosion, changes in the number of gullies and gully density, thickness of top soil layer, soil organic matter content, bulk density, field water holding capacity, and infiltration rates; the number of soil microorganism and main enzyme activities from soil erosion in the region are also summarized. The moderately and severely water-eroded area accounted for 31.4% and 7.9% of the total, and annual declining rate is 1.8%. Erosion rate is 1.24–2.41 mm/year, and soil loss in 1°, 5° and 15° sloping farmlands is 3 t/ha/year, 78 t/ha/year and 220.5 t/ha/year, respectively. SOC content of uncultivated soil was nearly twice that of soil with a 50-year cultivation history, and the average annual declining rate of soil organic matter was 0.5%. Proper adoption of crop rotation can increase or maintain the quantity and quality of soil organic matter, and improve soil chemical and physical properties. Proposed strategies for erosion control, in particular how tillage management, terraces and strip cultivation, or soil amendments contribute to maintain or restore the productivity of severely eroded farmland, are discussed in the context of agricultural sustainability with an emphasis on the Chinese Mollisols.

scholarly journals Farmers’ Attitudes toward On-Farm Adoption of Soil Organic Matter in Piedmont Region, Italy

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niccolò Pampuro ◽  
Federica Caffaro ◽  
Eugenio Cavallo
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Information Campaigns ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Perceived Benefit ◽  
On Farm

This study aimed at exploring the frequency of use and perceived benefits of application of organic matter to the soil in a group of Italian farmers, investigating also the preferred sources of information, to identify potential interventions to promote the improvement of the soil organic matter. The study has been carried out administering a 21-item paper-and-pencil questionnaire to 44 farmers. The results of the study highlighted that the main perceived benefit linked to soil organic matter application is related to its capacity of increasing productivity, while the aspects related to work pace, production costs, and implications with the climate change appeared to be less relevant. According to the results of the study, web targeted information campaigns for the smaller farms operators and training activities for the bigger farms operators are the most effective solutions to make farmers aware of the importance of increasing soil organic matter content.

scholarly journals Soil aggregation and organic carbon of Oxisols under coffee in agroforestry systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 278-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Pinto Guimarães ◽  
Eduardo de Sá Mendonça ◽  
Renato Ribeiro Passos ◽  
Felipe Vaz Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Aggregation ◽  
Root Penetration ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Organic Coffee ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Impact

Intensive land use can lead to a loss of soil physical quality with negative impacts on soil aggregates, resistance to root penetration, porosity, and bulk density. Organic and agroforestry management systems can represent sustainable, well-balanced alternatives in the agroecosystem for promoting a greater input of organic matter than the conventional system. Based on the hypothesis that an increased input of organic matter improves soil physical quality, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of coffee production systems on soil physical properties in two Red-Yellow Oxisols (Latossolos Vermelho-Amarelos) in the region of Caparaó, Espirito Santo, Brazil. On Farm 1, we evaluated the following systems: primary forest (Pf1), organic coffee (Org1) and conventional coffee (Con1). On Farm 2, we evaluated: secondary forest (Sf2), organic coffee intercropped with inga (Org/In2), organic coffee intercropped with leucaena and inga (Org/In/Le2), organic coffee intercropped with cedar (Org/Ced2) and unshaded conventional coffee (Con2). Soil samples were collected under the tree canopy from the 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm soil layers. Under organic and agroforestry coffee management, soil aggregation was higher than under conventional coffee. In the agroforestry system, the degree of soil flocculation was 24 % higher, soil moisture was 80 % higher, and soil resistance to penetration was lower than in soil under conventional coffee management. The macroaggregates in the organic systems, Org/In2, Org/In/Le2, and Org/Ced2 contained, on average, 29.1, 40.1 and 34.7 g kg-1 organic carbon, respectively. These levels are higher than those found in the unshaded conventional system (Con2), with 20.2 g kg-1.

Off-Farm Employment and Outsourcing Production Effects on the Technical Efficiency of Farm Households’ Grain Production - A Case with the Data from Liaoning Province, China

2014 ◽  
Vol 472 ◽  
pp. 1074-1078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Yan Han ◽  
Di Chen ◽  
Wen Shi ◽  
Jie Lv
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Liaoning Province ◽  
Scale Efficiency ◽  
Grain Production ◽  
Step Method ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
High Level ◽  
On Farm

This paper analyzed the effects of the off-farm employment and the outsourcing production pattern on the technical efficiency of grain production by the two-step method of DEA-Tobit, based on the data of grain production in the major areas of Liaoning province, in the year of 2011. It observed these findings that off-farm employment and income structure change did not have an effect on technical efficiency. Even then this is evidence that age makes a negative effect on farm technical efficiency but it is weakly. Farm scale and specialization have a positive effect on technical efficiency. And both large farm and small farms scale efficiency is on a high level. So a limited impact on farm technical efficiency comes from farm scale as well as a significant positive impact comes from farms production outsourcing.

scholarly journals MAIZE YIELDS RESPONSE TO APPLICATION OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC INPUT UNDER ON-STATION AND ON-FARM EXPERIMENTS IN CENTRAL KENYA

2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAYNE MUGWE ◽  
DANIEL MUGENDI ◽  
JAMES KUNGU ◽  
MONICAH-MUCHERU MUNA
Keyword(s):  
Inorganic Fertilizer ◽  
Calliandra Calothyrsus ◽  
Yield Gap ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Combined Application ◽  
Maize Yields ◽  
Maize Grain ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Organic Resources ◽  
Central Kenya

SUMMARYThis study investigated the feasibility of using sole organics or a combination of organics with inorganic fertilizer to improve maize production in on-station and on-farm experiments in central Kenya. In the on-station experiment, combined application of Calliandra calothyrsus, Leucaena trichandra and Tithonia diversifolia at 30 kg N ha−1 plus inorganic fertilizer (30 kg N ha−1) consistently gave significantly higher maize grain yields than the recommended rate of inorganic fertilizer (60 kg N ha−1). Sole application of calliandra, leucaena and tithonia also increased maize yields more than the recommended rate of inorganic fertilizer. In the on-farm experiment, calliandra, leucaena, tithonia and cattle manure either alone or combined with inorganic fertilizer increased maize yields with a similar magnitude to that of inorganic fertilizer. These organic resources could therefore be used to supplement inorganic fertilizer as a whole or in part. There was a yield gap between on-station and on-farm trials with on-station yields having, on average, 65% greater yields than the on-farm yields. There is therefore potential for increasing yields at the farm level by closing the yield gap.

Residual effect of leguminous crops and inorganic fertilizer on soil properties and maize grain yield

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-301
Author(s):  
J. Asibuo ◽  
E. Safo ◽  
B. Asafo-Adjei ◽  
P. Osei-Bonsu
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Inorganic Fertilizer ◽  
Mucuna Pruriens ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Maize Grain Yield ◽  
Leguminous Crop ◽  
Maize Grain

Soil management practices that utilize organic matter have great potential to increase productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Field studies were carried out between September 1995 and August 1998 to determine the effects of three leguminous crop species: velvet bean ( Mucuna pruriens var. utilis ), groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) and cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp), and inorganic fertilizer on the soil properties and succeeding maize grain yield when grown in rotation on a sandy soil classified as Haplic Lixisol in the forest-savannah transition zone of Ghana. The legumes were established in the minor seasons and maize in all the plots in the major cropping seasons. A 2 × 3 factorial design laid out in a randomized complete block was used. The main plots consisted of three leguminous crop residues and the sub-plots of two fertilizer levels (0 and 45 kg N ha −1 , 19 kg P ha −1 , 19 kg K ha −1 ). The control consisted of maize following maize with the recommended fertilizer rate (90 kg N ha −1 , 37 kg P ha −1 , 37 kg K ha −1 ). On average the Mucuna plots added 4.0 t ha −1 of crop residue to the soil in a season and cowpea 1.0 t ha −1 . The preceding crops had little effect on the soil properties. Leaf area index, total dry matter and maize grain yields were significantly affected by fertilizer. The best maize grain yield (6787 kg ha −1 ) was recorded in the first year on Mucuna plots with half the recommended rate of fertilizer. The cropping sequence with Mucuna residue was the most efficient. The gap in maize grain yield between the fertilized and unfertilized treatments widened each successive year. The interaction between organic matter and fertilizer may have been limited due to the surface application of the organic residue.

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