Unlocking the Land Capability and Soil Suitability of Makuleke Farm for Sustainable Banana Production (original) (raw)
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MDPI (Land Journal), 2023
In South Africa (SA), smallholder farmers contribute significantly to food production and play an essential role in the nation’s food and nutritional security. However, there is a lack of basic understanding of the spatial variability of soil nutrients and their controlling factors in these smallholdings, which subsequently hinders their agricultural production. In this work, we assessed the spatial variability and structure of key soil nutrients required by banana fruit, identified their factors of control, and delineated management zones in a smallholder farm. We used a regular grid (50 m x 50 m) to collect a total of 27 composite samples from the 0–30 cm depth interval and analysed for soil physicochemical properties. Our classical statistics results indicated that phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and zinc (Zn) varied highly, while magnesium (Mg) and total nitrogen (TN) varied moderately across the plantation. On the other hand, geostatistics revealed that P and K were strongly spatially dependent (implying a good structure), while Mg and Zn were moderately spatially dependent (indicating a moderate structure) across the banana plantation. Soil Ca and TN contents were found to be weakly spatially dependent (meaning there was no structure) across the farm. The spatial prediction maps showed that P, Mg and Zn contents were high in the northeast part (underlain by Valsrivier) and low in the northwest part (underlain by Westleigh) of the banana plantation farm. Similarly, K and Ca were low in the northwest part (underlain by Westleigh), but they were high in the south to southwest portion (underlain by Glenrosa) of the farm. Soil TN was high in the west part (underlain by Westleigh) and low in the east-northeast part (underlain by Valsrivier) across the plantation. Three management zones (MZs) were delineated for soil P, K and Ca, while for other nutrients (Mg, Zn and TN), two MZs were delineated. The results of this study provide baseline information for site-specific management of fertilisers to supplement soil nutrients in the field to improve banana productivity.
Networking on soil fertility management: improving soil fertility in Africa-Nutrient networks & stakeholder perceptions. It was drawn up with the primary aim of bringing together the following three research programmes: • The dynamics of soil fertility management in savannah Africa coordinated by IIED and IDS/UK; • Spatial and temporal variation of soil nutrient stocks and management in sub-Saharan Africa systems (VARINUTS) coordinated by SC/DLO the Netherlands; • Potentials of low-external input and sustainable agriculture to attain productive and sustainable land use in Kenya and Uganda (LEINUTS) coordinated by LEI/DLO, the Netherlands. NUTNET is a partnership of 15 organisations coming from 6 African and 2 European countries. They are INERA,
2006
The increasing attention paid to local soil knowledge results from a greater recognition that farmer knowledge can offer 16 many insights into the sustainable management of tropical soils and that the integration of local and technical knowledge 17 systems helps extension workers and scientists work more closely with farmers. A participatory approach and a methodological 18 guide were developed to identify and classify local indicators of soil quality and relate them to technical soil parameters, and 19 thus develop a common language between farmers, extension workers and scientists. This methodological guide was initially 20 developed and used in Latin America and the Caribbean-LAC (Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Dominican 21 Republic), and was later improved during adaptation and use in eastern African (Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia) through a 22 South-South exchange of expertise and experiences. The aim of the methodological guide is to constitute an initial step in the 23 empowerment of local communities to develop a local soil quality monitoring and decision-making system for better 24 management of soil resources. This approach uses consensus building to develop practical solutions to soil management 25 constraints identified, as well as to monitor the impact of management strategies implemented to address these constraints. The 26 particular focus on local and technical indicators of agroecosystem change is useful for providing farmers with early warnings 27 about unobservable changes in soil properties before they lead to more serious and visible forms of soil degradation. The 28 methodological approach presented here constitutes one tool to incorporate local demands and perceptions of soil management 29 constraints as an essential input to relevant research for development activities. The participatory process followed was effective 30 in facilitating farmer consensus; for example, about which soil related constraints were most important and what potential soil 31 management options could be used. Development of local capacities for consensus building constitute a critical step prior to Geoderma xx (2006) xxxxxx + MODEL www.elsevier.com/locate/geoderma ⁎ Corresponding author. Fax: +57 2 4450073.
Integrating scientific and farmers' evaluation of soil quality indicators in Central Kenya
Geoderma, 2007
A study was conducted to determine farmers' perceptions of soil quality and common soil management practices that influenced soil fertility within farmers' fields in Chuka and Gachoka divisions, Kenya. Soils were characterised by smallholders after which they were geo-referenced and sampled at surface depth (0-20 cm) for subsequent physical and chemical analyses, to determine differences within farmers' soil quality categories. Indicators for distinguishing productive and non-productive fields included crop yield and performance, soil colour and soil texture. There were significant differences among soil fertility categories, using parametric techniques (ANOVA) for key soil properties (p b 0.005), implying that there was a qualitative difference in the soils that were characterised as different by farmers. Fertile soils had significantly higher pH, total organic carbon, exchangeable cations and available-N. Factor analysis on 15 soil properties identified 4 main factors that explained 68% of the total variance in soil quality. The four Varimax-rotated factors were designated as contrasts that described soil quality status on farmers' fields. The first factor grouped calcium, magnesium and soil pH, while the second component comprised available nitrogen, organic carbon and total nitrogen. The third factor included plant nutrients mainly extractable phosphorus and available nitrogen, while the fourth factor comprised soil physical properties (macroaggregates, microaggregates, silt, and clay). Soil fertility and crop management practices that were investigated indicated that farmers understood and consequently utilised spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability in soil quality status within their farms as a resource to maintain or enhance agricultural productivity.
In recent years, integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) paradigm has emerged as the best strategy for different resource-poor smallholders to mitigate problems of food insecurity and poverty. This makes characterisation and evaluation of ISFM technologies under different socio-economic and biophysical farmers' circumstances imperative. The study examined how local and technical soil quality indicators (LSQI and TSQI) could be used to delineate farmers in maize-based cropping systems of central Kenya into different inter-farm recommendation domains. Depending on levels of organic and inorganic fertilizers, soil conservation structures and depth of tillage, 3 classes of farmer were identified, based on local soil quality indicators. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to validate LSQI-and TSQI-based classification. Results depicted significant (P<0.05) differences in mean % Carbon, % Nitrogen and ppm Phosphorous within and between different classes. Carbon ranged from 1.4% in Kirinyaga to 2.1% in Maragwa, while Nitrogen ranged from 0.06-0.17% in two districts respectively. Kirinyaga had highest Phosphorous levels (649 ppm) while Maragwa had the lowest (45 ppm). This could help develop more targeted ISFM technologies to suit different recommendation domains, for more productivity in smallholder agro-ecosystems.
Critical levels for soil attributes in irrigated banana plantations in semiarid region
Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, 2015
ABSTRACTThis study aimed to estimate the critical levels for soil chemical attributes through the criterion of reduced continuous probability distribution (NCRIz) in areas under irrigated banana cultivation and evaluate soil fertility of low-yield areas in the Apodi Plateau. A dataset composed of analysis of 60 producing areas and their respective yields was used. It was concluded that the method can be used to obtain critical levels for soil chemical attributes and the critical levels obtained for the irrigated areas under banana cultivation corresponded to 7.2 for pH, 0.91 g kg-1 for N, 0.31, 6.34, 2.63, 1.42 and 25.76 mg kg-1 for Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and P, respectively, and 6.43, 1.14, 0.24 and 0.36 cmolc kg-1 for Ca, Mg, Na and K, respectively. In the low-yield areas, the highest deficiencies were of P and Fe, and there was an excess of Mg.
Agronomy
Banana is an important crop in high altitude areas of Tanzania, grown widely both as a food staple and as the main source of income. However, its production is constrained by low soil fertility, a result of gradual nutrient mining by the crop. Currently, soil fertility management in banana-based farming systems in the country relies mainly on applications of animal manure. However, the amount of manure produced in most farms is not enough to replenish soil fertility due to the small number of animals kept by smallholder resource-poor farmers who are the major producers in the country. Field experiments were conducted at three sites with varying soil types and contrasting weather conditions along the altitudinal gradients on the slopes of the volcanic mountains of Kilimanjaro and Meru, northern Tanzania to (1) investigate the effect of mineral nitrogen (mineral N) fertilizer applications on the growth and yield of Mchare banana (Musa spp., AA, a traditional East African highland cook...