Claim · model-written summary
Tied-ridging with mineral N and P fertilizer produced maize grain yield six times prevailing farmer practice.
- Treatment
- tied-ridged tillage with inputs of mineral N and P fertilizere0
- Outcome
- maize grain yielde0
- Direction
- yield increasese0
- Value
- six timese0
- Comparator
- farmers’ practicese0
Zea maysNot reportedMaterialGeneCompoundOrgan / stageInteractorInteractor roleSecond interactorSecond interactor roleSettingQualifier
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Considerable yield increases above “farmers’ practices” (i.e. flat cultivation and no fertilizer) could be realised by combining tied-ridged tillage with inputs of mineral N and P fertilizer, reaching maize grain yield levels of six times the prevailing yield under farmers’ practices of approximate 1 Mg ha−1”
Title
Pump Industry Analyst 2016. doi:10.1016/s1359-6128(16)30064-7
Other claims from this paper (19)
- Intervention effect Tied-ridging enhanced response to rainfall and fertilizer in maize-based cropping systems.
- Intervention effect Tied-ridging enhanced soil supply of plant-available N in the maize system.
- Intervention effect Tied-ridging enhanced the benefit of inter-cropping for total grain yield in the maize system.
- Intervention effect Tied-ridging enhanced harvest index in the maize system.
- Method / resource Empirical functions accounted for 98% of the variance in maize yields under tied-ridged conditions.
- Intervention effect At high fertilizer inputs in near-normal rainfall years, rainfall-grain productivity could be tripled to 6 kg ha−1 mm−1.
- Intervention effect Tied-ridging had a predominantly positive effect at near-normal rainfall of 500–600 mm.
- Intervention effect The negative effect of tied-ridging dominated above 700–900 mm annual rainfall.
- Intervention effect Fertilizer inputs partly mitigated the negative effect of tied-ridging.
- Association The more weathered soil site had greater sensitivity to moisture deficits and excesses.
- Association The more weathered soil site had a narrower rainfall range over which ridging helped.
- Intervention effect Tied-ridging without nutrient inputs increased grain yield by 34% at one site under near-normal to slightly dry conditions.
- Intervention effect Tied-ridging without nutrient inputs increased grain yield by 42% at the other site under near-normal to slightly dry conditions.
- Observation Benefit–cost analysis found tied-ridging potentially profitable, especially at the better-soil, better-connected site.
- Recommendation A subsistence household maximizes profitability of maize–cowpea inter-cropping with tied-ridging and no fertilizer input.
- Recommendation A market-oriented household maximizes profitability with tied-ridging and high fertilizer inputs.
- Observation Cattle manure was economically nonviable as a major nutrient input for most local farmers.
- Observation Cowpea inter-cropping was economically important but constrained by diseases and low crop densities.
- Recommendation The authors support tied-ridging for semi-arid environments receiving 500–700 mm annual rainfall.