scholarly journals Farmers’ Fertilizer Application Gap In Ricebased Cropping System: A Case Studyof Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
BR Baral ◽  
KR Pande ◽  
YK Gaihr ◽  
KR Baral ◽  
Sk Sah ◽  
...  

Low adoption of improved agricultural practices is one of the major challenges to improve food security. A case study was carried out to assist the farmer’s fertilizer application gap in rice cultivation in Nepal. To collect data a household survey was conducted in 2017 by selecting 90 households randomly from rice growing pocket area of Banke district of Nepal. The rates of fertilizers use were assessed in relation to farm size, crop variety, irrigation etc. The applications of both organic and mineral fertilizers vary highly by farmer type. Small and medium farmers applied twice the amount of organic manure compared to large farmers. For inorganic fertilizer use, large farmers applied higher amounts of nitrogen (N) fertilizer compared to medium and small farmers. Across farmer types, a higher amount of N and P fertilizers was used for hybrid varieties than inbred varieties and in irrigated fields than in rainfed fields. The use of potassium (K) fertilizer was low and not affected by farmer type or variety. Overall, farmers used a lower amount of N and K and a higher amount of P than the recommendation. The imbalanced use of fertilizers was associated with poor access to agricultural extension services. Variations of fertilizer use among farmers and the role of extension in the adoption of improved practices are still underresearched, and hence this study exposes the need to investigate indepth knowledge, determinants of fertilizer use and role of extension education. Results from this study could be important to develop an innovative extension program using multiple channels to increase farmers’ access to and awareness regarding balanced use of fertilizers to increase soil fertility and crop productivity. SAARC J. Agri., 17(2): 267-277 (2019)

Author(s):  
Tanveer Ahmad Ahngar ◽  
Zahida Rashid ◽  
Raies Ahmad Bhat ◽  
Waseem Raja ◽  
Sadaf Iqbal ◽  
...  

Intensive agriculture and excessive use of external inputs are leading to degradation of soil and water resources and negatively affecting agricultural production. This review article aims to determine the role of conservation agriculture for sustaining soil quality and improving crop productivity. Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices cause prominent changes in physical, chemical and biological properties of soil compared to conventional agricultural practices. The improved bio-physico-chemical qualities of soil in turn, affect the ecosystem services and sustainability of crop production system through counterbalancing the climate variability with the help of increasing sink for carbon sequestration within the soil. There was significant interaction of tillage and cropping system on mineral nitrogen measured at the beginning of the cropping system. Mineral N contents were higher with manual tillage and no tillage systems compared with conventional tillage in the soybean maize rotation system. Conservation agriculture also helps in improving the crop production in a sustainable way hence there is an intense need of conservation agriculture which will not only meet the present and future demand of ever increasing population, but also seize degradation of environmental quality.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Haixia Wu ◽  
Hantao Hao ◽  
Hongzhen Lei ◽  
Yan Ge ◽  
Hengtong Shi ◽  
...  

The excessive use of fertilizer has resulted in serious environmental degradation and a high health cost in China. Understanding the reasons for the overuse of fertilizer is critical to the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture, and large-scale operation is considered as one of the measures to deal with the excessive fertilizer use. Under the premise of fully considering the resource endowment and heterogeneity of large-scale farmers and small-scale farmers in production and management, different production decision-making frameworks were constructed. Based on the 300 large-scale farmers and 480 small-scale farmers in eight provinces of northern China wheat region, we analyzed the optimal fertilizer use amount and its deviation as well as the influencing factors of small-scale and large-scale farmers, then further clarified whether the development of scale management could solve the problem of excessive fertilizer use. The empirical results show that: (1) both small-scale farmers and large-scale farmers deviated from the optimal fertilizer application amount, where the deviation degree of optimal fertilizer application of small-scale farmers is significantly higher than that of large-scale farmers, with a deviation degree of 35.43% and 23.69% for small and large scale farmers, respectively; (2) not all wheat growers in North China had the problem of excessive use of chemical fertilizer, as the optimal level of chemical fertilizer application in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia are 346.5 kgha−1 and 335.25 kgha−1, while the actual fertilizer use amount was 337.2 kgha−1 and 324.6 kgha−1, respectively; and (3) the higher the risk aversion level, farmers tended to apply more fertilizer to ensure grain output. Therefore, increasing farm size should be integrated into actions such as improving technological innovation and providing better information transfer to achieve the goal of zero-increase in Chinese fertilizer use.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Novas Somanje ◽  
Geetha Mohan ◽  
Osamu Saito

Abstract Background In this study, we present the current situation and the role of agricultural extension services for farmers and indicates the potential solutions for the optimum effectiveness of these services. Thus, we investigate the vital determinants influencing the farmers’ attitudes toward using agricultural extension services in Ghana and Zambia. Methods In this study, we used a mixed-method research analysis of data from a household survey of 240 farmers and 8 key informant interviews in the Upper West Region of Ghana and the Southern Province of Zambia. Results The significant factors affecting the association of agricultural extension officers with farmers are regular meetings, demand for services and productivity, and the adoption rate of technology. Notably, approaches based on information communication technology indicators include owning cell phones; further, having radio access significantly affects agricultural practices. However, the role of gender, access to credit, and owning a television would influence food safety and nutrition. Conclusions Understanding the critical determinants will provide potential solutions to national agricultural research institutes, private research entities, and policymakers to scale-up the effectiveness of agricultural extension services, particularly in Ghana and Zambia.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade A. Givens ◽  
David R. Shaw ◽  
Greg R. Kruger ◽  
William G. Johnson ◽  
Stephen C. Weller ◽  
...  

A phone survey was administered to 1,195 growers in six states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, and North Carolina). The survey measured producers' crop history, perception of glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds, past and present weed pressure, tillage practices, and herbicide use as affected by the adoption of GR crops. This article describes the changes in tillage practice reported in the survey. The adoption of a GR cropping system resulted in a large increase in the percentage of growers using no-till and reduced-till systems. Tillage intensity declined more in continuous GR cotton and GR soybean (45 and 23%, respectively) than in rotations that included GR corn or non-GR crops. Tillage intensity declined more in the states of Mississippi and North Carolina than in the other states, with 33% of the growers in these states shifting to more conservative tillage practices after the adoption of a GR crop. This was primarily due to the lower amount of conservation tillage adoption in these states before GR crop availability. Adoption rates of no-till and reduced-till systems increased as farm size decreased. Overall, producers in a crop rotation that included a GR crop shifted from a relatively more tillage-intense system to reduced-till or no-till systems after implementing a GR crop into their production system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-170
Author(s):  
Jayshree P. Zend ◽  
Manjusha S. Revanwar ◽  
Swati S. Gaikwad

Survey was carried out regarding basic information, gender participation, time spent on various activities and technology usages and satisfaction for different activities in turmeric field. Important role of farm women in turmeric cropping system in Maharashtra, India was found in planting rhizomes, clearing weeds cleaning activities. Ploughing, forming ridges and irrigation are performed and solely by male farmers. Participation of farm women in earthing up activity was 85%and it was followed by fertilizer application (83%). Majority of the activities such as planting, earthing up, harvesting in turmeric production system were performed manually. Data on time spent by the female workers in performing different activities in turmeric production system indicated that, maximum time consuming activity was hand weeding (84 man days/ season) followed by earthing up (63 man days/ season) and cutting, sorting and cleaning roots (each of 56 days/ season). No implement or machine is used by them for earthing up activity due to lack of awareness and availability. Study revealed urgent need of development of technologies for performing these activities.


Author(s):  
V. K. Dridiger ◽  
R. G. Gadzhiumarov

The existing technology of soybean cultivation with mandatory tillage is quite expensive, when up to 30 % or more of the total costs are spent on preparing the soil for sowing, and most of them are spent on fuel and lubricants, which are becoming more expensive every year. The purpose of the research is to determine the effect of the technology recommended by scientific institutions and the technology of soybean cultivation without tillage with the introduction of various doses of mineral fertilizers on its yield and agrophysical properties of ordinary chernozem in the zone of unstable moisture in the Central Ciscaucasia. The influence of soybean cultivation technology without tillage, depending on the doses of mineral fertilizers, on its growth, development, yield and agrophysical, chemical and biological properties of ordinary chernozem has been studied, and an economic assessment of the studied agricultural practices has been given. Cultivation technologies and applied fertilizers did not significantly affect the quality of soybean seeds. The oil content in soybean seeds for both technologies and all doses of fertilizer application on average over the years of research was in the range of 19,8–20,3 %, protein for the same variants of the experiment contained 41,3–41,7 %, and all differences in these indicators were not statistically significant. When cultivating soybeans using No-till technology the cost of purchasing and applying a continuous herbicide increases by 1280 rubles/ha or by 49,4 % in relation to the recommended technology. However, the recommended technology significantly increases production costs for the purchase of fuel and lubricants – by 3,276 rubles/ha or 232,0 %, the wage fund by 824 rubles/ha or 93,4 %, depreciation and repair of equipment by 891 rubles/ha or 47,0 %. Thus, the biggest economic efficiency has been obtained when using the technology of soybean cultivation without tillage and without applying mineral fertilizers.


Ways of increasing sunflower yield in the modern conditions of the agrarian-industrial complex of the country should be based on the complex performance of scientifically grounded technological operations. The purpose of the research was to determine the impact of the system of basic tillage, the use of mineral fertilizers and growth promoters on the formation of productivity of sunflower hybrid Ratnik. The studies were conducted in 2016-2018 at the fields of the Institute of Oil Crops of the UAAS. The sowing was carried out at a depth of seed wrapping of 6-7 cm with a row spacing of 70 cm with a seeding rate of 50 thousand similar seeds per hectare. Basic tillage systems: classic – two-track disc, plowing (PN-3-35) to a depth of 22-25 cm; bottomless – two-track disc, endless tillage (KLD-3.0) to a depth of 25-27 cm; minimal – two-track discus, cultivation (KPS-4,0) to a depth of 10-12 cm. Mineral fertilizer application options: 1. Control – no fertilizer, 2. N40, 3. N40P60, 4. N60P60K60. Application options: 1. Control – treatment with water (250 l/ha), 2. Rost- concentrate + Oil gelatin (6-8 pairs of true leaves), 3. Forte gelatin + Mono boron gelatin (6-8 pairs of true leaves), 4. Mono boron chelate + Phosphate-potassium chelate (6-8 pairs of true leaves), 5. 1 treatment: Phosphate-potassium chelate + Multimix gelatin + Mono boron chelate (3-4 pairs of true leaves), 2 treatment: Mono gelatin boron (6-8 pairs of true leaves). The bookmarking of the experiments and the research were carried out in accordance with the common methods of field experiments in agriculture and crop production. As a result of the three-year studies, it was found that the performance indicators of sunflower varied under the influence of all the agricultural practices studied. According to the average three-year indicators the highest number of seeds is 1327-1392 pcs. and seed weight of 71.9-75.7 g per basket are indicated in the N60P60K60 fertilizer application under the classical basic tillage system. Other systems and power backgrounds are experiencing a decline in these indicators. The introduction of mineral fertilizers and the use of growth promoters for all systems of basic tillage led to an increase in these indicators relative to control. The diameter of the basket of sunflower hybrid Ratnik, depending on the use of fertilizers and growth promoters was 19.1-20.9 cm in the classical soil tillage system; 18,6-20,5 cm in diameter and 18,5-20,3 cm in minimum. The application of mineral fertilizers helped to increase the diameter of the basket relative to the control. An increase in the diameter of the basket under the influence of growth stimulants under all backgrounds of mineral nutrition and basic tillage systems was also noted. The largest diameter of the basket, which was equal depending on the variant of the use of growth stimulants 20.6-20.9 cm, plants of sunflower hybrid Ratnik formed under the classical system of basic tillage and fertilizer application in the dose N60P60K60. According to the results of three-year studies, an increase of 1000 seeds under the influence of mineral fertilizers and growth promoters was established for all systems of basic tillage. The largest mass of 1000 seeds of sunflower plants was formed by the classical soil tillage system. The highest yield of sunflower hybrid Ratnik – 3.46 and 3.45 t/ha obtained by cultivation under the classical system of basic tillage, fertilization at a dose of N60P60K60 for pre-sowing cultivation and the second and fifth variants of application of the preparations: 2. Growth concentrate + Oil gelatin (6-8 pairs of true leaves); 5. 1 treatment: Phosphate-potassium chelate + Multimix gelatin + Mono boron gelatin (3-4 pairs of true leaves), 2 treatment: Mono boron gelatin (6-8 pairs of true leaves). The highest yield increase from the application of mineral fertilizers was obtained when fertilizing at a dose of N60P60K60 for all systems of basic tillage and is within: for classical – 0.52-0.64 t/ha; for landless – 0.40-0.51 t/ha; at the minimum – 0.35-0.45 t/ha. It should be noted that the cultivation of sunflower crops with growth stimulants in all their applications has led to an increase in yield: in the classical system of basic tillage by 0.13-0.32; for non-drained – 0.08-0.25 and for the minimum – 0.09-0.25 t/ha. The most effective under all other conditions of cultivation was the use of a mixture of preparations Growth-concentrate + gelatin oil. Among the agricultural practices studied for crop formation, the system of basic tillage (r = -0.66) and the use of mineral fertilizers (r = 0.61) and the weak use of preparations (r = 0.17) were more influenced. It should be noted the close relationship of yield with the number of seeds (r = 0.92) and the weight of seeds (r = 0.97) from one basket, the diameter of the basket (r = 0.88), the mass of 1000 seeds (r = 0.97), husk (r = -0.93) and average with fat content (r = -0.66).


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10214
Author(s):  
Muhammad Abid ◽  
Tahira Batool ◽  
Ghulam Siddique ◽  
Shafaqat Ali ◽  
Rana Binyamin ◽  
...  

Soil quality deterioration, especially in intensive cropping systems, has become a serious problem for crop productivity; consequently, strategies for sustainable crop production and soil health are urgently required. Experiments on fields were organized to investigate the impact of organic manures on crop productivity, soil physiochemical properties and soil water availability in a maize-based cropping system. The experiment consisted of five treatments, including organic manures (OM) and inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) fertilizers applied separately and in combinations: NPK = 250-150-125 Kg/ha (recommended rate), farmyard manure (FYM) = 16 t/ha, poultry manure (PM) = 13 t/ha, NPK + FYM = 150-85-50 Kg/ha + 8.5 t/ha and NPK + PM = 150-85-50 Kg/ha + 7.0 t/ha. The results showed that the combination of OM with mineral fertilizers increased crop productivity, fertilizer use efficiency and yield sustainability indices over the treatments amended with sole application of mineral fertilizers and OM. The analysis of undisturbed soil samples during different crop growth stages revealed that the addition of OM decreased the bulk density and increased the pore volume of soil at the beds of 0–20 and 20–40 cm. The application of OM to the soil not only increased saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil but also improved total available and readily available water contents to the plants, especially when FYM was included at 16 t ha−1. Soil-water retention properties recorded over the entire seven-day monitoring period following irrigation in the OM-amended treatments were consistently higher than the sole mineral NPK application treatments. When testing the soil nutrient status during different crop growth stages, it was noted that by adding OM into the soil not only the status of the organic carbon of soil, extractable N and K and available P contents is increased, but the duration of their availability to the plants are also enhanced. The results of the study show that organic manures addition is of major significance for maintaining soil quality and crop production sustainably, and should be advocated in the nutrient management strategies of intensive water- and nutrient-demanding cropping systems.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Clement Kyei Sarpong ◽  
Xiaofeng Zhang ◽  
Qili Wang ◽  
Wenjing Wang ◽  
Zameer Hussain Jamali ◽  
...  

The overuse of agrochemicals for agricultural productivity to meet the global food demand of the rapidly growing human population is a great environmental threat, particularly for aquatic ecosystems. Being associated intimately with plant health, growth, and productivity, the plant microbiome is emerging as a promising environmentally friendly and sustainable resource for agricultural productivity. For the past decades, our understanding of the interactions between plants and microorganisms and our knowledge of how to improve the plant microbiome by using microbial inoculants has increased significantly. A better understanding of the impact of the plant microbiome on mineral resources will benefit plant and soil health. In this review, we highlight the importance of microbial inoculants and their interactions with mineral fertilizers in enhancing crop productivity, as well as current challenges.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Rondhi ◽  
Ahmad Fatikhul Khasan ◽  
Yasuhiro Mori ◽  
Takumi Kondo

This paper identifies the characteristics of the farmer that affect the degree of farmer’s perceived-impact of climate change (CC). We use data from the Indonesian Rice Farm Household survey consisting of 87,330 farmers. An ordered probit regression model was used to estimate the effect of each variable on the degree of perceived-impact of CC. The results of this study confirm the previous empirical studies. Several variables that have been identified as having a positive effect on farmer adaptation practices such as farmer education, land tenure, irrigation infrastructure, cropping system, chemical fertilizer application, access to extension services and participation in farmer group affect the degree of CC perceived-impact negatively. However, a different result was found in the estimation of the gender variable. We found that female farmer has a higher resilience toward CC than the male farmer does. Furthermore, the female farmer has a more positive perception about future farming conditions than the male does. Finally, we suggest that the implementation of national adaptation policy should prioritize more to the farmer with insecure land tenure and utilize and expand the channel of agricultural extension services to deliver the planned adaptation policy.


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