Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T07:01:29.341Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of Crop Residue and Phosphorus Application on the Spatial Variability of Non-destructively Measured Millet Growth in the Sahel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

A. Buerkert  and
R.D. Stern
A. Buerkert
Affiliation:
ICRISAT Sahelian Center, BP 12404, Niamey, Niger
R.D. Stern
Affiliation:
ICRISAT Sahelian Center, BP 12404, Niamey, Niger
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Spatial variability in soil parameters and plant growth in the Sahel are still poorly understood and may hamper the interpretation of experimental results. This paper examines whether or not soil amendments such as phosphorus and crop residues affect the variability of final dry matter production in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). Within- and between-plot variation in millet growth was studied in a three-year experiment with three levels of crop residues and four levels of phosphorus. The effects of different rates of application on within-plot variation in number of tillers, number of heads, maximum tiller height, and total above-ground dry matter of single mature millet plant stands (pockets) were calculated. Above-ground dry matter, estimated non-destructively using an equation derived from numbers of tillers and heads and from maximum plant height, gave good predictions of total dry matter for a range of genotypes across the 12 treatments. Crop residue and phosphorus application reduced the number of missing pockets, leading to a more uniform stand with fewer pockets which did not produce grain. With amendments, pockets were also taller and of more uniform height but a decrease in variability of total dry matter production only became evident after standardization of the data. The results show the need for a clear definition of ‘growth variability’ in millet and indicate that both chemical and non-chemical factors govern its expression in the Sahel.

Efectos de los residuos de las cosechas y del fósforo en la variabilidad del mijo

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 1995 , pp. 429 - 449
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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

REFERENCES

Armbrust, D. V. & Bilbro, J. D. (1993). Predicting grain sorghum canopy structure for soil erosion modeling. Agronomy Journal 85:669–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bationo, A. & Mokwunye, A. U. (1991). The role of manure and crop residues in alleviating soil fertility constraints to crop production: With special reference to the Sahelian and Sudanian zones of West Africa. Fertilizer Research 29: 117–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bationo, A., Christianson, C. B. & Klaij, M. C. (1993). The effect of crop residue and fertilizer use on pearl millet yields in Niger. Fertilizer Research 34:251–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bationo, A., Christianson, C. B., Baethgen, W. A. & Mokwunye, A. U. (1992). A farm-level evaluation of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use and planting density for pearl millet production in Niger. Fertilizer Research 31:175–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bationo, A., Buerkert, A., Sedogo, M. P., Christianson, B. C. & Mokwunye, A. U. (1994). A critical review of crop residue use as soil amendment in the West African semi-arid tropics. In Livestock and Sustainable Nutrient Cycling in Mixed Farming Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa. Proceedings of a Conference, 22–26 November 1993. In Livestock and Sustainable Nutrient Cycling in Mixed Farming Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa. Proceedings of a Conference, 22–26 November 1993. (Ed. Powell, M.). Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia: ILCA. (In press.)Google Scholar
Blackmore, A. C., Mentis, M. T. & Scholes, R. J. (1990). The origin and extent of nutrient-enriched patches within a nutrient-poor savanna in South Africa. Journal of Biogeography 17:463–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brouwer, J., Fussell, L. K. & Herrmann, L. (1993). Soil and crop growth micro-variability in the West African semi-arid tropics: a possible risk-reducing factor for subsistence farmers. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 45:229–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brouwer, J., Geiger, S. C. & Vandenbeldt, R. J. (1992). Variability in the growth of Faidherbida albida: a termite connection? In Faidherbida albida in the West African Semi-arid Tropics. Proceedings of a Workshop, 22–26 April 1991, Niamey, Niger, 131–135 (Ed. Vandenbeldt, R. J.). Patancheru, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics; and Nairobi, Kenya: International Centre for Research in Agroforestry.Google Scholar
Buerkert, A., Stern, R. D. & Marschner, H. (1995 a). Post stratification clarifies treatment effects on pearl millet growth in the Sahel. Agronomy Journal 87(4) (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buerkert, A., Lawrence, P. R., Williams, J. H. & Marschner, H. (1995 b). Non-destructive measurements of biomass in millet, cowpea, groundnut, weeds and grass swards using reflectance, and their application for growth analysis. Experimental Agriculture 31:1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chase, R. G., Wendt, J. W. & Hossner, L. R. (1989). A study of crop growth variability in sandy sahelian soils. In Soil, Crop and Water Management Systems for Rainfed Agriculture in the Sudano-Sahelian Zone. Proceedings of an International Workshop, 11–16 January 1987, ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Niamey, Niger, 229–240 (Eds Renard, C., Vandenbeldt, R. J. and J Parr, F.). Patancheru, India: ICRISAT.Google Scholar
Dancette, C. & Poulain, J. F. (1969). Influence of Acacia albida on pedoclimatic factors and crop yields. African Soils 14:143–184.Google Scholar
Dutilleul, P. (1993). Spatial heterogeneity and the design of ecological field experiments. Ecology 74:1646–1658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (1988). Soil Map of the World. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
Geiger, S. C. & Manu, A. (1993). Soil surface characteristics and variability in the growth of millet in the plateau and valley region of Western Niger. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 45:203–211CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geiger, S. C., Manu, A. & Bationo, A. (1992). Changes in a sandy Sahelian soil following crop residue and fertilizer additions. Soil Science Society of America Journal 56:172–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoogmoed, W. B. & Stroosnijder, (1984). Crust formation on sandy soils of the Sahel. I. Rainfall and infiltration. Soil Tillage Research 4:5–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner, H., George, E., Bationo, A. & Marschner, H. (1993). Effect of crop residues on root growth and nutrient acquisition of pearl millet in an acid sandy soil in Niger. Plant and Soil 150:117–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klaij, M. C. & Hoogmoed, W. B. (1993). Soil management for crop production in the West African Sahel. II. Emergence, establishment, and yield of pearl millet. Soil Tillage Research 25:301–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kretzschmar, R. M., Hafner, H., Bationo, A. & Marschner, H. (1991). Long- and short-term effects of crop residues on aluminum toxicity, phosphorus availability and growth of pearl millet in an acid sandy soil. Plant and Soil 136:215–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawes Agricultural Trust (1993). GENSTAT 5 Release 3 Reference Manual. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Moormann, F. R. & Kang, B. T. (1978). Microvariability of soils in the tropics and its agronomic implications with special reference to West Africa. In Diversity of Soils in the Tropics. ASA Special Publication 34, 26–44 (Ed. Stelly, M.). Madison, WI: ASA.Google Scholar
Rebafka, F. P., Hebel, A., Bationo, A., Stahr, K. & Marschner, H. (1994). Short- and long-term effects of crop residues and of phosphorus fertilization on pearl millet yield on an acid sandy soil in Niger, West Africa. Field Crops Research 36:113–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott-Wendt, J., Chase, R. G. & Hossner, L. R. (1988). Soil chemical variability in sandy Ustalfs in semiarid Niger, West Africa. Soil Science 145:414–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soil Management Support Services (1988). Keys to Soil Taxonomy. Technical Monograph 6 (Fourth Printing). Ithaca, NY: Department of Agronomy, Cornell University.Google Scholar
Taguchi, G. (1987). System of Experimental Design, Volumes 1 and 2. Dearborn: American Supplier Institute.Google Scholar
Tiessen, H. & Santos, M. C. D. (1989). Variability of C, N and P content of a tropical semiarid soil as affected by soil genesis, erosion and land clearing. Plant and Soil 119:337–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, L. T., Wilding, L. P., Landeck, J. K. & Calhoun, F. G. (1984). Soil Survey of the ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Niger, West Africa. College Station, Texas: Soil and Crop Sciences Department/TropSoils, Texas A & M University System.Google Scholar
Winer, B. J. (1970). Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. London: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar