Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT PRODUCTION
Volume 15, Issue 3, Pages 407-418Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s42106-021-00144-6
Keywords
Compost; Farmyard Manure (FYM); Mineral fertilizer; Nutrient balances
Categories
Funding
- Capacity building for scaling up of evidence-based best practices in agricultural production in Ethiopia (CASCAPE) project, a Joint Ethio-Netherlands project for increasing agricultural productivity in Ethiopia
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study conducted a 2-year on-farm field experiment in Ethiopia to test the integration of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil quality, nutrient balance, and maize yields. Results showed a 40% yield increase with the combined use of compost and recommended inorganic fertilizer. Soil quality improved significantly with organic inputs and showed accumulations of nitrogen and phosphorus over the study period, suggesting a sustainable method for mitigating nutrient depletion in smallholder systems.
Declining soil quality is among the factors leading to low crop yields in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, a 2 year on farm field experiment was carried out in Ethiopia to test whether integration of organic and inorganic fertilizer inputs increases soil quality, the nutrient balance and maize yields. Treatment combinations included 2 and 4 t ha(-1) of compost (Com) and farm yard manure (FYM), and 50 and 100% of the recommended inorganic fertilizer (RIF). The treatments were laid out on 11 farmer fields where each farm served as a replicate. About 40% yield increase was recorded due to the combined use of 4 t ha(-1) of Com along with 50% RIF compared to the 100% RIF. Soil quality was significantly improved in the top 20 cm of the soil due to application of FYM or Com combined with 50% RIF. Carbon and Nitrogen stocks were respectively 86 and 175% higher in the 4 t Com + 50% RIF compared to the control with no significant variation between farms. Further, the N and P partial balances were between 12.2 and 41.6 kg ha(-1) year(-1) and 10.2 and 17.4 kg ha(-1) year(-1) for N and P, respectively implying that the sites showed N and P-accumulations over the study period. Results suggest that nutrient depletion can be mitigated in smallholder systems through the use of locally available organic inputs, hence longer-term productivity of smallholders can be sustained.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available