Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-22dnz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-29T01:51:58.825Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maize grain and straw yields over 14 consecutive years in burned and mulched Mucuna pruriens var. utilis and Pueraria phaseoloides relay cropping systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2020

Stefan Hauser Open the ORCID record for Stefan Hauser [Opens in a new window] ,
Jacqueline Henrot  and
Samuel Korie
Stefan Hauser*
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Headquarters, Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
Jacqueline Henrot
Affiliation:
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Biodiversity Discovery Group, Darwinweg, Leiden, the Netherlands
Samuel Korie
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Headquarters, Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
*
*Corresponding author. Email: s.hauser@cgiar.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The cover crops Mucuna pruriens var. utilis and Pueraria phaseoloides were introduced to African farmers to improve crop production on degraded soils, yet they appear not to be adopted at scale. In the humid forest zone of West and Central Africa, the dominant Acrisols and Nitisols are inherently poor even when not degraded through agriculture. In this zone, sole maize cropping and vegetable production systems are gaining importance, yet both suffer from nutrient deficiencies. Cover crops were often introduced along with a system change, requiring biomass retention, mainly for nutrient retention reasons. Farmers in the zone commonly use slash and burn systems due to added weed control and ease of operations on clean fields. This study evaluated mucuna and pueraria with and without burning the fallow biomass in an annual sole maize crop relay system against the burned and retained natural fallow. Over 14 consecutive years, biomass burning did not cause lower maize grain yields in any of the fallow types, on the contrary, the economically important marketable cob yields were higher when biomass was burned (mulched 2.10 cobs m−2 vs. 2.26 cobs m−2 when burned, p < 0.07). After cover crop fallow, maize grain yields were significantly higher than after natural fallow (1.92 Mg ha−1) over the 14 years, with maize yields in the pueraria treatment (2.63 Mg ha−1) out yielding those in the mucuna treatment (2.28 Mg ha−1). Maize produced 1.92 cobs m−2 in natural fallow, significantly less than in the mucuna (2.23 m−2, p < 0.013) and the pueraria (2.39 m−2, p < 0.001) fallow. Introducing mucuna or pueraria cover crops into slash and burn systems appears as a suitable measure to increase yields without changing the land preparation approach.

Keywords

Cover cropsMaizeNo-input agricultureBiomass burningMulchingPuerariaMucuna
Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 56 , Issue 6 , December 2020 , pp. 851 - 865
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Afifi, A.A. and Clark, V. (1990). Computer Aided Multivariate Analysis, 2nd Edn, New York: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Agyare, W.A., Clottey, V.A., Mercer-Quarshie, H. and Kombiok, J.M. (2006). Maize yield response in a long-term rotation and intercropping systems in the guinea savannah zone of Northern Ghana. Journal of Agronomy 5, 232–238.Google Scholar
Anderberg, M.R. (1973). Cluster Analysis for Applications. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Anthofer, J. and Kroschel, J. (2002). Partial macronutrient balances of mucuna/maize rotations in the forest savannah transitional zone of Ghana. In Vanlauwe, B., Diels, J., Sanginga, N. and Merckx, R. (eds), Integrated Plant Nutrient Management in sub-Saharan Africa: From Concept to Practice. Wallingford: CABI, pp. 87–96.Google Scholar
Bremner, J.M. and Mulvaney, C.S. (1982). Inorganic nitrogen. In Page, A.L., Miller, R.H. and Keeney, D.R. (eds), Methods of Soil Analysis Part 2. Madison: American Society of Agronomy, pp. 595–624.Google Scholar
Bremner, J.M. and Tabatabai, M.A. (1972). Use of an ammonia electrode for determination of ammonium in Kjeldahl analysis of soils. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 3, 71–80.10.1080/00103627209366361CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Büttner, U. (1996). Soil nutrient management practices of farmers in the humid forest region of Southern Cameroon. Unpublished MSc. thesis, Faculty of Rural Development, Universität Göttingen, Germany.Google Scholar
Büttner, U. and Hauser, S. (2003). Farmers’ nutrient management practices in indigenous cropping systems in southern Cameroon. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 100, 103–110.10.1016/S0167-8809(03)00178-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carsky, R.J., Becker, M. and Hauser, S. (2001). Mucuna fallow for the maintenance and restoration of soil fertility of tropical cropping systems: Potential and limitations. SSSA Special Publication no. 58, Sustaining Soil Fertility in West Africa. pp. 111–135.Google Scholar
Carsky, R.J., Eteka, A.C., Keatinge, J.D.H and Manyong, V.M. (2000). Cover crops for natural resource management in West Africa. Proceedings of a workshop organized by IITA and CIEPCA, 26–29 October 1999. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan Nigeria. 316 pp.Google Scholar
Carsky, R.J., Tarawali, S.A., Becker, M., Chikoye, D., Tian, G. and Sanginga, N. (1998). Mucuna – herbaceous cover legume with potential for multiple uses. Resource and Crop Management Research Monograph Vol. 25. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Duindam, J.W., Fermont, A. and Hauser, S. (2010). Pueraria fallows improve labour efficiency and productivity of cassava systems in the forest zone of Cameroon. Proceedings, Tropentag 2010, September 14–16, Zurich, Switzerland. Available at https://www.tropentag.de/2010/abstract.php?code=oMZddn1t (accessed 24 November 2020).Google Scholar
Duindam, J.W. and Hauser, S. (2011). Prioritizing research efforts to increase on-farm income generation: the case of cassava-based farmers in Peri-Urban Southern Cameroon. In Bationo, A., Waswa, B., Okeyo, J. M., Maina, F. and Kihara, J. (eds), Innovations as Key to the Green Revolution in Africa. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 913–919.10.1007/978-90-481-2543-2_91CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gustafson, D.I., Jones, J.W., Porter, C.H., Hyman, G., Edgerton, M.D., Gocken, T., Shryock, J., Doane, M., Budreski, K., Stone, C., Healy, D. and Ramsey, N. (2014). Climate adaptation imperatives: untapped global maize yield opportunities. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 12, 471–486.10.1080/14735903.2013.867694CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hairiah, K. and van Noordwijk, M. (1989). Root distribution of leguminous cover crops in the humid tropics and effects on a subsequent maize crop. In Van der Heide, J. (ed.), Nutrient Management for Food Crop Production in Tropical Farming Systems. Haren, The Netherlands: Institute for Soil Fertility; Malang, Indonesia: Universita Brawijaya, pp. 157–169.Google Scholar
Hamadina, M.K., Henrot, J., Isirimah, N.O. and Tariah, N. (1996). Potential benefits of a leguminous cover crop and a slow decomposing mulch in fallow management on a degraded soil of the humid tropics. In Neeteson, J.J. and Henrot, J. (Eds), The Role of Plant Residues in Soil Management for Food Production in the Humid Tropics. Haren, The Netherlands: DLO-AB, pp. 81–96.Google Scholar
Hauser, S. (2006). Soil temperatures during burning of large amounts of wood, effects on soil pH and subsequent maize yields. Proceedings of the Tropentag 2006, University of Bonn, October 11–13, 2006, 4 pp.Google Scholar
Hauser, S. (2007). Maize yield response to mulch, burning and insecticide application on an Ultisol. Proceedings of the Tropentag 2007, University of Kassel and University of Göttingen, October 9–11, 2007. 6 p.Google Scholar
Hauser, S., Bengono, B. and Bitomo, O.E. (2008). Short- and long-term maize yield response to Mucuna pruriens and Pueraria phaseoloides relay fallow and biomass burning versus mulching in the forest zone of southern Cameroon. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 26, 1–17.10.1080/01448765.2008.9755066CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hauser, S., Henrot, J. and Hauser, A. (2002). Maize yields in a Mucuna pruriens var. utilis and Pueraria phaseoloides relay fallow system on an Ultisol in southern Cameroon. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 20, 243–256.10.1080/01448765.2002.9754968CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hauser, S. and Nolte, C. (2002). Biomass production and N fixation of five Mucuna pruriens varieties and their effect on maize yields in the forest zone of Cameroon. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 165, 101–109.10.1002/1522-2624(200202)165:1<101::AID-JPLN101>3.0.CO;2-F3.0.CO;2-F>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hauser, S. and Norgrove, L. (2013). Slash-and-Burn Agriculture, Effects of. In Levin, S. A. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, 2nd Edn. Waltham, MA: Academic Press. Volume 6, pp. 551–562.10.1016/B978-0-12-384719-5.00125-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heanes, D.L. (1984). Determination of organic C in soils by an improved chromic acid digestion and spectro-photometric procedure. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 15, 1191–1213.10.1080/00103628409367551CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulugalle, N.R. and Ndi, J.N. (1993). Effects of no-tillage and alley cropping on soil properties and crop yields in a Typic Kandiudult of southern Cameroon. Agroforestry Systems 22, 207–220.10.1007/BF00705234CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ile, E., Hamadina, M.K., Henrot, J. and Tariah, N.M. (1996). Residual effects of a previous Mucuna pruriens crop on the performance of maize. In Neeteson, J.J. and Henrot, J. (eds), The Role of Plant Residues in Soil Management for Food Production in the Humid Tropics. Haren, The Netherlands: AB-DLO, pp. 97–105.Google Scholar
Ketterings, Q.M., Wibowo, T.T., van Noordwijk, M. and Penot, E. (1999). Farmers’ perspective on slash-and-burn as a land clearing method for small-scale rubber producers in Sepunggur, Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Forest Ecology and Management 120, 157–169.10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00532-5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotou, M., Havard, M., Ouédraogo, D., Sangaré, M., Toillier, A., Thombiano, T. and Vodouhe, D.S. (2016). Facteurs d’adoption des innovations d’intégration agriculture-élevage: cas du Mucuna pruriens en zone cotonnière ouest de Burkina Faso. Tropicultura 34, 424–439.Google Scholar
Koutika, S.L., Hauser, S. and Henrot, J. (2001). Soil organic matter assessment in natural regrowth, Pueraria phaseoloides and Mucuna pruriens fallow. Soil Biology Biochemistry 33, 1095–1101.10.1016/S0038-0717(01)00015-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehlich, M. (1984). Mehlich 3 soil test extractant: a modification of the Mehlich 2 extractant. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 15, 1409–1416.10.1080/00103628409367568CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motomizu, S., Wakimoto, P. and Toei, K. (1983). Spectrophotometric determination of phosphate in river waters with molybdate and malachite green. Analyst (London) 108, 361–367.10.1039/AN9830800361CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norgrove, L., Nkem, J.N. and Hauser, S. (2003). Separating the agronomic effects of burning and biomass removal in a typical slash and burn rotation system in the humid tropics. Biological Agriculture & Horticulture 21, 367–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tandzi, L.N., Ngonkeu, E.M., Nartey, E., Yeboah, M., Ngeve, J., Mafouasson, H.A., Nso Ngang, A., Bassi, O. and Gracen, V. (2015). Farmers’ adoption of improved maize varieties in the humid forest area of Cameroon. International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Applied Science 1, 17–28.Google Scholar
Tian, G., Hauser, S., Koutika, L.S., Ishida, F. and Chianu, J.N. (2001). Pueraria phaseoloides cover cropping for the maintenance and improvement of soil fertility. SSSA Special Publication no. 58, Sustaining Soil Fertility in West Africa. pp. 137–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tian, G., Kolawole, G.O., Ishida, F. and Carsky, R.J. (2000). On-farm study of pueraria cover crop-fallow system in the derived savanna of West Africa. In Carsky R.J., Eteka A.C., Keatinge J.D.H. and Manyong V.M. (eds), Cover Crops for Natural Resource Management in West Africa. Proceedings of a workshop organized by IITA and CIEPCA, Cotonou, Republic of Benin, October 26–29 1999. pp. 185–193.Google Scholar
Vine, H. (1953). Experiments on the maintenance of soil fertility at Ibadan, Nigeria, 1922-33. Empire Journal of Experimental Agriculture 21, 65–85.Google Scholar
Ward, J.H. Jr. (1963). Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function. Journal of the American Statistical Association 58, 236–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar