scholarly journals The Potential of Termite Mound Spreading for Soil Fertility Management under Low Input Subsistence Agriculture

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1002
Author(s):  
Amsalu Tilahun ◽  
Wim Cornelis ◽  
Steven Sleutel ◽  
Abebe Nigussie ◽  
Bayu Dume ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Termite Mound ◽  
Termite Mounds ◽  
Spatially Differentiated

Termites can play a localized prominent role in soil nutrient availability and cycling because mound materials are often enriched in nutrients relative to surrounding soil. Mound materials may thus prove to be useful amendments, though evidently mound spatial arrangement needs to be considered as well. Furthermore, it is not known if gradients of soil properties exist from termite mound to interspace sites. Studying both aspects would be required to decide whether spreading of mounds or spatially differentiated management of surrounding crop to accommodate soil fertility gradients would be valid nutrient-management strategies. Mound abundance and mass were estimated at 9 and 4 mounds ha−1, representing 38.9 and 6.3 t ha−1 on Nitisols and Vertisols, respectively. Soil physical and chemical properties were measured on samples collected from internal and external parts of mounds and adjacent soils at 0.5, 1 and 10 m away from mounds. In general, termite mounds were enriched in plant nutrients and SOC on Vertisols but not on Nitisols. Termite mounds constituted only 0.3 to 1.3% of the 0–15 cm SOM stock on a per ha basis but nevertheless the immediate vicinity of termite mounds was a relative fertile hotspot. Hence, under the studied condition, we suggest spatial arrangement of crop around termite mounds according to soil fertility gradient and spatially differentiated nutrient management strategies. Our result suggests recommendation of termite mound spreading for soil nutrient amendment has to consider plant nutrient stock in termite mounds on per ha basis besides their nutrient enrichment. Interesting topics for future investigation would be growth experiment for different crops with mound materials treatment. It would also be interesting to study the effect mound building termite on soil properties under different soil conditions, slope class and land use.

Establishing soil nutrient distribution zones across free range egg farms to guide practical nutrient management strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
pp. 20-29
Author(s):  
Stephen Wiedemann ◽  
Chris Pratt ◽  
Naomi Bliefield ◽  
David G. Mayer ◽  
Matthew R. Redding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Nutrient Distribution ◽  
Free Range

scholarly journals Soil Fertility Management for Better Crop Production

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1349
Author(s):  
John Havlin ◽  
Ron Heiniger
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Nutrient Use Efficiency ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Fertility Management

Increasing crop productivity per unit of land area to meet future food and fiber demand increases both soil nutrient removal and the importance of replenishing soil fertility through efficient nutrient management practices. Significant progress in enhancing nutrient-use efficiency in production agriculture requires improved estimates of plant-available nutrients in the root zone, enhanced crop response to applied nutrients, and reduced offsite nutrient transport. This special issue, Soil Fertility Management for Better Crop Production, presents 15 manuscripts that advance our knowledge of interrelated soil, plant, and management factors important to increasing the nutrient availability and crop recovery of applied nutrients.

scholarly journals MANAGEMENT OPTIONS FOR DROUGHT PRONE RAINFED LOWLAND RICE IN ASIA: A REVIEW

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-84
Author(s):  
Gaurab Neupane ◽  
Avish Dhakal ◽  
Kalyan Bhattarai ◽  
Pradeep Kumar Teli
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Oryza Sativa L ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Rice Area ◽  
Rainfed Lowland ◽  
Moderate Drought

The rice-based rainfed lowland system in Asia covers about 45 million hectares which is almost 30% of the total rice area worldwide. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the main crop in this system and grown in bunded fields that are flooded for at least part of the season. Altogether, drought stress is the most important limitation to production in rainfed lowlands and is estimated to affect frequently about 19 to 23 million hectares resulting the reduced yield and hunger problems. In addition, drought-prone environments are often simultaneously affected by other abiotic stresses like submergence, adverse soil conditions, pests and weeds. In turn two main management strategies for drought stress alleviation in rice can be distinguished. The first strategy is based on management options which allow to escape drought by either avoiding severe dry periods or by providing access to additional water resources. The second strategy is to moderate drought by reducing unproductive water losses and thereby “saving” water for productive transpiration. Within both strategies there are several management options which offer considerable scope for improvement of drought-prone rainfed lowlands, however, direct seeding and improved nutrient management are probably the most widely applicable options. “Aeroabic rice” a new system of rice cultivation still under development and is thought to have potential to adopt in specific target environments within the rainfed lowlands of Asia.

scholarly journals Soil Properties Spatial Variability and Delineation of Site-Specific Management Zones Based on Soil Fertility Using Fuzzy Clustering in a Hilly Field in Jianyang, Sichuan, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed S. Metwally ◽  
Sameh M. Shaddad ◽  
Manqiang Liu ◽  
Rong-Jiang Yao ◽  
Ahmed I. Abdo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Available Phosphorus ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Nutrient Contents

Avoiding soil degradation and improving crop productivity could be achieved by performing sustainable soil nutrient management with an appropriate understanding of soil properties’ spatial variability. The present fertilizer recommendations for the region where the study area is located are typically symmetric for large regions. This leads to the under-application of fertilizers in zones with low nutrient contents and over-application in zones with high nutrient contents. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess soil management zones (MZs) in the study area for effective soil nutrient management and to evaluate soil properties’ spatial variability. A total of 100 geo-referenced soil samples were collected at a depth of 0–20 cm, processed and analyzed for pH, available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP), while C:N, C:P and N:P ratios were calculated. Soil properties’ coefficients of variation (CVs) widely varied from low (1.132%) to moderate (45.748%). Ordinary kriging and semi-variogram analysis showed differed spatial variability patterns for the studied soil properties with spatial dependence ranged from weak to strong. MZs were delineated by performing principal component analysis (PCA) and fuzzy K-means clustering. Four PCs with eigen values more than 1 dominated 84.44% of the total variance, so they were retained for clustering analysis. Three MZs were delineated based on the two criteria modified partition entropy (MPE) and fuzzy performance index (FPI). The studied soil properties differed significantly among MZs. Thus, the methodology used for MZ delineation could be used effectively for soil site-specific nutrient management for avoiding soil degradation concurrently with maximizing crop production in the study area.

scholarly journals A review on yield response to nitrogen, potassium and manure applications in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-86
Author(s):  
Hillary M.O. Otieno ◽  
Edna K. Mageto
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Solanum Tuberosum ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Solanum Tuberosum L ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Available Information

Potato productivity has stagnated and remained low due to, among other causes, increasing soil infertility and poor nutrient management strategies. To avert this situation, it is essential to have a better understanding of potato response to nitrogen and potassium nutrients. Like other crops, potatoes require an adequate and balanced supply of nutrients for better growth and tuber yields. To achieve that, it is essential to conduct an extensive soil analyses for the entire farm. However, this process is expensive for most resource-constrained farmers. Moreover, the current recommendations used in the region are generic and focuses more on nitrogen than potassium. Hence, there is a need to focus on readily and freely available information for enhanced decision making. The assumption that the soils in the region are fertile and can supply adequate potassium is no longer valid, and now necessitates more actions such as adopting integrated soil fertility and precise application of nutrients within the 4R principles. All these aspects are well covered in this article. We believe the information presented in this manuscript is valuable and give a better foundation for future research and recommendations in potato production.

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