Mismatch between soil nutrient deficiencies and fertilizer applications: Implications for yield responses in Ethiopia

Peat soils cover approximately 94 000 ha of productive land in the Waikato and are an important soil resource for the region. Much of the research on peats in the 1950s-60s concentrated on the development of raw peats and later in the 1970s on nutrient deficiencies such as copper and selenium. Little to no work was undertaken on soil fertility/soil nutrient relationships of developed peat soils. In 1996, a series of eight field trials was established across a range of developed peat soils in the Waikato to investigate such relationships. The trials continued for 3 years. Results showed that the optimum Olsen P soil test for sustaining near maximum pasture production was 35-45, that K soil tests were of limited use on well developed peats and that winter leaching of S was likely to be important. The Anion Storage Capacity (ASC) test was found to be a valuable tool in indicating the degree of development of peat and in turn allowing interpretation of fertiliser responses. From these introductory investigations of nutrient requirements on peat soils some guidelines and recommendations are presented. Keywords: anion storage capacity (ASC), Olsen P, pasture production, peat, soil test

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Agroforestry and Biodiversity

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11102879 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 2879 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ranjith P. Udawatta ◽

Lalith Rankoth ◽

Shibu Jose

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Partial Solution ◽

State Agency ◽

Agricultural Sustainability ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies ◽

Microclimate Conditions ◽

Selection Of ◽

Heterogeneous Vegetation

Declining biodiversity (BD) is aecting food security, agricultural sustainability,and environmental quality. Agroforestry (AF) is recognized as a possible partial solution forBD conservation and improvement. This manuscript uses published peer-reviewed manuscripts,reviews, meta-analysis, and federal and state agency documents to evaluate relationships betweenAF and BD and how AF can be used to conserve BD. The review revealed that floral, faunal, and soilmicrobial diversity were significantly greater in AF as compared to monocropping, adjacent croplands, and within crop alleys and some forests. Among the soil organisms, arbuscular mycorrhizaefungi (AMF), bacteria, and enzyme activities were significantly greater in AF than crop and livestockpractices. Agroforestry also creates spatially concentrated high-density BD near trees due to favorablesoil-plant-water-microclimate conditions. The greater BD was attributed to heterogeneous vegetation,organic carbon, microclimate, soil conditions, and spatial distribution of trees. Dierences in BDbetween AF and other management types diminished with time. Evenly distributed leaves, litter,roots, dead/live biological material, and microclimate improve soil and microclimate in adjacentcrop and pasture areas as the system matures. Results of the study prove that integration of AFcan improve BD in agricultural lands. Selection of site suitable tree/shrub/grass-crop combinationscan be used to help address soil nutrient deficiencies or environmental conditions. Future studieswith standardized management protocols may be needed for all regions to further strengthen thesefindings and to develop AF establishment criteria for BD conservation and agricultural sustainability.

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Crop-sequence effects on productivity in a wheat-based cropping system at Wongan Hills, Western Australia

Crop and Pasture Science ◽

10.1071/cp14262 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 66 (6) ◽

pp. 580 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. J. French ◽

R. S. Malik ◽

M. Seymour

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

Wheat Yield ◽

Cropping System ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Wheat Crop ◽

Weed Competition ◽

Sequence Effects ◽

Yield Responses ◽

Chemical Fallow ◽

Crop Sequence

Western Australian grain production is dominated by wheat, but growing wheat continually in unbroken sequences leads to increasing problems with soil nutrient depletion, root and leaf disease build-up, high weed burdens, and possibly other less well-defined production constraints. These can adversely affect both production and grain quality. Including breaks in the crop sequence in the form of break crops, pasture, or fallow can reduce these problems, but these breaks can be expensive to implement, in terms of both direct cost and forgone revenue. It is therefore critical to predict the response of subsequent wheat crops to a break in order to choose crop sequences rationally. We conducted a 4-year experiment at Wongan Hills, Western Australia, evaluating how wheat productivity in a wheat-based cropping sequence is affected by including wheat, barley, lupins, triazine-tolerant and Roundup Ready® canola, oaten hay, volunteer pasture, serradella pasture, and chemical fallow. Wheat yield responded positively to fallow, lupins, oaten hay, volunteer pastures and serradella but not to barley or canola when compared with continuous wheat. Responses depended on seasonal conditions; in a dry year, a very large response occurred after fallow but not after lupin or serradella, whereas in a wetter year, there were large responses after these crops. Fallowing, cutting hay, crop-topping lupins, and spray-topping volunteer and serradella pasture all reduced seedset of annual ryegrass dramatically, and reduced weed competition was a major contributor to the observed break crop responses. Nitrogen fixation by lupins and serradella and water storage by fallow in a dry year were also important, but soilborne diseases did not contribute to wheat yield responses. Some yield responses persisted for at least 3 years, and the contribution of effects of weed competition to yield responses increased over this time. These results emphasise the importance of understanding which productivity constraints are present in a cropping system at a given time when deciding whether a break is necessary and which is the most appropriate break. The results also emphasise the importance of managing the wheat crop after a break to maximise the response and its longevity.

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Influence of Poultry Manure Rates on the Growth and Yield of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) in Rivers State

Journal of Experimental Agriculture International ◽

10.9734/jeai/2020/v42i130457 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 116-120

Author(s):

O. L. Adesina ◽

K. O. Wiro

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Block Design ◽

Poultry Manure ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Abelmoschus Esculentus ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies ◽

Manure Application ◽

Randomized Block Design ◽

Rivers State

Knowledge of optimum rates of poultry manure application is of immense significance in the correction of the soil nutrient deficiencies for crop production. Manure application is of importance to both the soil amendment and in the growth and yield of crops. Leaching, pattern of cropping, use of non-certified seeds and non-improved varieties have hampered the efficient growth and yield of okra. The study was conducted to examine the growth and yield responses of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) to poultry manure rates in Rivers State. The research study became imperative to examine how rate of poultry manure could affect the production of okra. The experiment utilized three rates of poultry manure, 0-tons (control), 5-tonsha-1 and 10-tonha-1and the treatment combination arranged in a Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) replicated three times. Growth characteristics measured were, plant height, stem thickness, leaf area and number of leaves per plant while yield parameters measured were pod length, seeds per pod, total number of pods, pod yield per hectare. The results revealed that appropriate rate of poultry manure application in the production of okra has the capacity to increase okra growth and yield in Rivers State. The use of 10-tonha-1 of poultry manure performed better than other poultry manure rates and so it’s recommended that okra farmers in the study area should apply 10-tonha-1 for high quality and quantity production of okra in Rivers State.

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Pearl Millet and Sorghum Yield Response to Fertilizer in the Sahel of Burkina Faso

Journal of Agricultural Studies ◽

10.5296/jas.v6i1.12384 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 176 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Idriss Serme ◽

Korodjouma Ouattara ◽

Alimata Arzouma Bandaogo ◽

Charles Wortmann

Keyword(s):

Burkina Faso ◽

Pearl Millet ◽

Pennisetum Glaucum ◽

Yield Response ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies ◽

P Application ◽

Yield Responses ◽

The Cost ◽

Profit Potential

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) were domesticated in Africa for human consumption and are often the dominant cereals in semi-arid areas where yield is constrained by soil water deficits, nutrient deficiencies, and other constraints. Research was conducted to quantify yield responses and profitability of sorghum and pearl millet produced in the Sahel of Burkina Faso to fertilizer N, P, K, and a Mg-S-Zn-B diagnostic treatment. Mean yields across trials were 1.2 and 0.9 Mg ha-1 for pearl millet and sorghum, respectively. The effects of N, K, the diagnostic treatment, and interactions were not significant for both pearl millet and sorghum. There was a mean curvilinear to plateau response to P for pearl millet and a linear response to P for sorghum. The economical optimal P rates for pearl millet were modest, ranging from 6 to 33 kg ha–1 at 100% of the rate to maximize net returns per ha to P application when the cost of using fertilizer P was high and low, respectively, relative to the grain price (Table 4). The application of P for pearl millet had high profit potential even with a high cost P use scenario. For sorghum production, P application was not profitable if the cost per kg of fertilizer P use exceeded the value of 9 kg of sorghum grain. The results, therefore, indicate a high and low profit potential for P applied for pearl millet and sorghum, respectively, in the Sahel of Burkina Faso.

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Glyphosate residues in a sandy soil affect tomato transplants

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea9920395 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 395 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

PS Cornish

Keyword(s):

Sandy Soil ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Loamy Sand ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies ◽

Sand Soil ◽

Present Evidence ◽

Tomato Seedlings ◽

Loamy Sand Soil ◽

Dry Conditions

Glyphosate residues in a loamy sand soil were suspected of damaging transplanted tomatoes at Gosford in 1990. Field and glasshouse experiments were conducted to determine whether phytotoxic residues of glyphosate persist in this soil type and, if so, under what conditions. In the glasshouse experiment, visible symptoms of glyphosate toxicity occurred in tomato seedlings transplanted into soil that was sprayed 1, 5 or 15 days earlier with glyphosate (360 g a.i.L) at 4 L productha. Glyphosate also reduced plant dry weight (16 days after transplanting), but only where soil nutrient deficiencies were corrected after transplanting. In this case, seedlings transplanted 15 days after spraying suffered an average reduction in dry weight of 57%. Greater reductions in dry weight occurred where superphosphate (43 kg Pha) was mixed through soil before spraying (75 v, 35% reduction). In the field, glyphosate residues reduced plant dry weight 16 days after transplanting, even when transplanting followed spraying by up to 9 days, and possibly as many as 30. At 9 days, reductions of 50, 74 and 78% were recorded with glyphosate (360 g a.i./L) applied at 2, 4 and 8 L/ha, respectively. Effects of glyphosate on fruit yield were significant (P<0.05), but much smaller than effects on earlier plant dry weights. The phytotoxicity of glyphosate residues in this loamy sand appears to result from a combination of inherently low P sorption capacity and application of superphosphate, leading to low adsorption of glyphosate by soil. This may be exacerbated when dry conditions occur between application and planting. On the present evidence, a plant-back period of 3 weeks could be considered safe when transplanting tomatoes into this sandy soil, provided some mixing of soil occurs at transplanting. It is recommended that farmers perform a simple bioassay to confirm safety.

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Diagnosis and correction of soil nutrient problems of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859600074281 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 120 (2) ◽

pp. 233-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

J. B. Smithson ◽

O. T. Edje ◽

K. E. Giller

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Soil Analysis ◽

Leaf Tissue ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Northern Tanzania ◽

Leaf Chlorosis ◽

Large Growth ◽

Factorial Trial ◽

Yield Responses

SUMMARYStages in the diagnosis of an interveinal leaf chlorosis in bean in the Usambara Mountains of northern Tanzania are described. Leaf tissue analysis, soil analysis, a 25 factorial trial with treatments of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, the trace elements copper and zinc and lime at one location and data from a series of 43 factorial trials of N, P and K demonstrated the leaf condition to be due to potassium deficiency. Large growth and yield responses to N, P and K were recorded. The responses were accompanied by greater numbers of pods and seeds/pod. The application of N and K increased leaf concentrations of the respective elements but depressed the concentrations of other major and minor elements in leaves. There were no effects of trace elements or lime.

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Preliminary Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium DRIS Norms for Pineapple

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.25.6.652 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 652-655 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

D.E. Angeles ◽

M.E. Sumner ◽

N.W. Barbour

Keyword(s):

Nutrient Balance ◽

Integrated System ◽

Critical Values ◽

Ananas Comosus ◽

Data Sets ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies ◽

Factorial Experiments ◽

Phosphorus And Potassium ◽

Yield Responses ◽

Nitrogen Phosphorus

Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) norms for pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.] were developed from 1185 observations of previously published leaf nutrient composition and yield. The data were divided into high-yielding (> 60 t·ha-1, 650 observations) and low-yielding (< 60 t·ha-1, 535 observations) sub-populations and the norms derived by standard DRIS techniques. The validity of the norms was tested using independently published sets of data from factorial experiments in which yield responses to N, P, and K had been obtained. In the case of most data sets, the new DRIS norms were able to make correct diagnoses where critical values failed to make any diagnoses for N, P, and K. Thus, the DRIS approach revealed nutrient deficiencies in the range normally considered to be sufficient. Increased precision is found in the evaluation of nutrient balance in the DRIS approach, which is ignored in the case of critical values.

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Soil Nutrient Deficiencies in an Area of Endemic Osteoarthritis (Mseleni Joint Disease) and Dwarfism in Maputoland, South Africa

Geology and Health ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195162042.003.0032 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

Justin Pooley ◽

Martin Fey

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Clay Fraction ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Summer Rainfall ◽

Coastal Dunes ◽

Exchange Capacity ◽

Matter Content ◽

Joint Disease ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies

Unusually high incidences of dwarfism and an endemic osteoarthritis, called Mseleni Joint Disease (MJD), occur on the flat, sandy coastal plain of Maputaland. This rare disease begins with stiffness and pain in the joints and progresses to varying degrees of disability, with some of the afflicted requiring aid in walking and others completely immobile. Almost 3% of local adults are dwarfs, while 38% of women and 11% of men have MJD (Fellingham 1973, Lockitch 1974). Medical studies since the 1970s have examined hematological, radiological, mycotoxicological, and genetic factors, and made comparisons with other diseases (Ballo 1996, Burger 1973, Lockitch 1973, Marasas 1986), yet have been fruitless in determining the etiology of MJD or the dwarfism. Dwarfism has been linked to Zn deficiencies in other areas and several bone-related disorders have been associated with P, Ca, and Mg deficiencies (Hidiroglou 1980). Calcium, Mg, Mn, and F deficiencies have all been speculated as possible causative factors of MJD (Fincham 1981, 1986), and the possibility of soil-derived nutrient deficiencies within this landscape is addressed. Maputaland is located on the northeast corner of South Africa, occupying an area about 50 by 100 km. It has a warm, subtropical climate, with summer rainfall occurring as cyclonic events, and varying from 1000 mm at the coast to 600 mm near Mseleni. Summer temperatures are high, averaging 29° C, and winters mild at 17° C. The region has high floral and faunal diversity and endemism (van Wyk 1996), and contains 15 major vegetation zones. Geologically, Maputaland is covered with recent Quaternary sands, with several north-south paleodune cordons parallel to the coast. There is little relief and, besides the coastal dunes reaching almost 200 m above mean sea level, the average elevation is 100 m. No rivers cross the plain, but groundwater is frequently exposed at the surface, as evidenced by Lake Sibayi and the numerous pans in the region. Soils are mostly the Waterton family of the Fernwood form (thermic, coated Typic Quartzipsamments) (SCWG 1991, USDA 1999). These sands are inherently infertile, vary in pH from neutral to acidic, have a low cation exchange capacity, low organic matter content, and are dominated in the clay fraction by kaolinite.

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