Abstract
Summary Smallholders in Southern Africa continue to grapple with low maize productivity despite this being the staple food crop. This study sought to analyze and isolate the relative contribution of agronomic practices to maize yields obtained by smallholders in Malawi and Mozambique using data generated from on-farm trials testing the performance of conservation agriculture cropping systems. The trials were implemented in two communities, namely Kasungu district in Malawi and Sussundenga district in Mozambique, and ran for seven consecutive growing seasons starting in 2010–2011. Maize yield was measured annually in the on-farm trials, which included a ‘control treatment’ representing an improved farm practice, and in neighboring fields managed by the same farmers on their own, hence representing a ‘true farm practice’. Results indicated that maize yield increased linearly with increasing plant population at harvest at both sites. On average, an increase in plant population at harvest by 1000 plants ha –1 resulted in an increase in maize yield of 90 and 63 kg ha –1 at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively. The greatest maize yields were obtained when plant population at harvest exceeded 40 000 plants ha –1 . Yet, the plant population at harvest was below the generally recommended optimum for most of the cropping systems studied and in most growing seasons. Furthermore, the use of agronomic practices alone without conservation agriculture (i.e., improved varieties, fertilizer management, and timely weed control) resulted in maize yield gains of as much as 54% and 43% relative to the ‘true farm practice’ at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively. Overall, the proportion of these yield increases relative to the ‘true farm practice’ accounted for by agronomic practices amounted to 53–70% and 57–85% at Kasungu and Sussundenga for the highest to the lowest-yielding cropping system. Although conservation agriculture significantly improved maize yield at both sites, such increases were smaller in magnitude compared to the yield gains derived from improved agronomic practices. The study suggests that considerable strides toward narrowing maize yield gaps in Southern Africa can be achieved through improvement of current crop management practices, let alone adhering to the conservation agriculture principles of minimum tillage, residue retention, and crop diversification.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Maize yield rose linearly with plant population at both sites.
- Organ / stage
- harveste0
- Outcome
- maize yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- increasing plant population at harveste0
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“maize yield increased linearly with increasing plant population at harvest at both sites”
Claim · model-written summary
At Kasungu, 1000 more plants per hectare corresponded to 90 kg per hectare higher maize yield.
- Organ / stage
- harveste0
- Outcome
- maize yielde0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 90 and 63 kg ha –1e0
- Qualifier
- 1000 plants ha –1e0
- Setting
- Kasungue0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“an increase in plant population at harvest by 1000 plants ha –1 resulted in an increase in maize yield of 90 and 63 kg ha –1 at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
At Sussundenga, 1000 more plants per hectare corresponded to 63 kg per hectare higher maize yield.
- Organ / stage
- harveste0
- Outcome
- maize yielde0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 90 and 63 kg ha –1e0
- Qualifier
- 1000 plants ha –1e0
- Setting
- Sussundengae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“an increase in plant population at harvest by 1000 plants ha –1 resulted in an increase in maize yield of 90 and 63 kg ha –1 at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Greatest maize yields occurred above 40 000 plants per hectare.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The greatest maize yields were obtained when plant population at harvest exceeded 40 000 plants ha –1”
Claim · model-written summary
Improved agronomic practices without conservation agriculture gained up to 54% maize yield at Kasungu.
- Treatment
- agronomic practices alone without conservation agriculturee0
- Outcome
- maize yield gainse0
- Direction
- gainse0
- Value
- 54% and 43%e0
- Comparator
- ‘true farm practice’e0
- Setting
- Kasungue0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the use of agronomic practices alone without conservation agriculture (i.e., improved varieties, fertilizer management, and timely weed control) resulted in maize yield gains of as much as 54% and 43% relative to the ‘true farm practice’ at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Improved agronomic practices without conservation agriculture gained up to 43% maize yield at Sussundenga.
- Treatment
- agronomic practices alone without conservation agriculturee0
- Outcome
- maize yield gainse0
- Direction
- gainse0
- Value
- 54% and 43%e0
- Comparator
- ‘true farm practice’e0
- Setting
- Sussundengae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the use of agronomic practices alone without conservation agriculture (i.e., improved varieties, fertilizer management, and timely weed control) resulted in maize yield gains of as much as 54% and 43% relative to the ‘true farm practice’ at Kasungu and Sussundenga, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Conservation agriculture significantly increased maize yield at both sites, less than improved agronomic practices.
- Treatment
- conservation agriculturee0
- Outcome
- maize yielde0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Comparator
- improved agronomic practicese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“conservation agriculture significantly improved maize yield at both sites, such increases were smaller in magnitude compared to the yield gains derived from improved agronomic practices”
Claim · model-written summary
Improving current crop management could substantially narrow maize yield gaps.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“considerable strides toward narrowing maize yield gaps in Southern Africa can be achieved through improvement of current crop management practices”
The same questions in other papers
tillage · yield · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
811 papers in the same direction as this paper · 230 in the opposite direction · 57 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- no effect
- negative
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See all 1,099 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.