Although the fertility status of soils in the West African moist savanna is generally believed to be low, crop yields on farmers' fields vary widely from virtually nil to values near the potential production. The soil fertility status was evaluated for a number of farmers' fields selected at rand...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Diels, J.
,
Lyasse, O.
,
Aihou, K.
,
Iwuafor, E.
,
Sanginga, N.
,
Merckx, R.
,
Deckers, J.
,
[Fertility status of soils of the derived savanna and northern guinea savanna benchmarks and response to major plant nutrients, as influenced by soil type and land use management]
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Fertility status of soils of the derived savanna and northern guinea savanna benchmarks and response to major plant nutrients, as influenced by soil type and land use management
Improved cropping systems with in-situ production of organic matter require the input of additional inorganic N to maintain crop production in a sustainable way. For proper management of this fertilizer-N, it is necessary to quantify how the applied fertilizer N is used by the various components ...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Sanginga, N.
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Alley cropping with Senna siamea in southwestern Nigeria: 1 Recovery of 15N labelled urea by the alley cropping system]
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Alley cropping with Senna siamea in southwestern Nigeria: 1 Recovery of 15N labelled urea by the alley cropping system
Crop and tree roots are crucial in the nutrient recycling hypotheses related to alley cropping systems. At the same time, they are the least understood components of these systems. The biomass, total N content and urea-derived N content of the Senna and maize roots in a Senna-maize alley cropping...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Sanginga, N.
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Alley cropping with Senna siamea in southwestern Nigeria: 11 Dry matter, total N, and ureaderived N dynamics of the Senna and maize roots]
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Alley cropping with Senna siamea in southwestern Nigeria: 11 Dry matter, total N, and ureaderived N dynamics of the Senna and maize roots
Although the West-African moist savanna zone has a high potential for crop production, yields on farmers' fields are, on average, far below this potential, mainly due to the low use of external sources of nutrients. Since the mid-1990s, it has become clear that in order to upgrade crop production...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Aihou, K.
,
Houngnandan, P.
,
Diels, J.
,
Sanginga, N.
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Nitrogen management in adequate input maizebased agriculture in the derived savanna benchmark zone of Benin Republic]
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Nitrogen management in adequate input maizebased agriculture in the derived savanna benchmark zone of Benin Republic
The contribution of organic resources to the restoration of soil fertility in smallholder farming systems in East Africa is being tested as an alternative to costly fertilizers. Organic inputs are expected to have advantages over fertilizers by affecting many biochemical properties controlling nu...
Nziguheba, Generose
,
Merckx, R.
,
Palm, C.
,
[Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in a phosphorus deficient soil amended with organic residues and fertilizers in western Kenya]
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Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in a phosphorus deficient soil amended with organic residues and fertilizers in western Kenya
In cropping systems with limited amounts of external inputs, the soil organic matter pool (SOM) may contribute significantly to plant nutrition. The impact of organic inputs on total SOM and particulate organic matter (POM) N contents as affected by soil type and the relationships between sources...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Aman, S.
,
Aihou, K.
,
Tossah, B.K.
,
Adebiyi, V.
,
Sanginga, N.
,
Lyasse, O.
,
Diels, J.
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Alley cropping in the moist savanna of West Africa III. Soil organic matter fractionation and soil productivity]
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Alley cropping in the moist savanna of West Africa III. Soil organic matter fractionation and soil productivity
The fumigation–incubation (FI) and the fumigation–extraction (FE) ninhydrin methods for quantifying the microbial biomass pool were tested and the relationships between microbial biomass characteristics and soil organic matter fractions (separated following particle size) investigated for a range...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Nwoke, O.C.
,
Sanginga, N.
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Evaluation of methods for measuring microbial biomass C and N and relationship between microbial biomass with soil organic matter particle size classes in West African soils]
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Evaluation of methods for measuring microbial biomass C and N and relationship between microbial biomass with soil organic matter particle size classes in West African soils
Due to increasing population pressure and declining soil fertility, there is need for profitable alternatives to the slash-and-burn (SB) practice for cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production in the humid lowlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) has high pot...
Pypers, Pieter
,
Bimponda, W
,
Lodi Lama, JP
,
Lele, B
,
Mulumba, R
,
Kachaka, C
,
Boeckx, P.
,
Merckx, R.
,
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
[Combining mineral fertilizer and green manure for increased, profitable cassava production]
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Combining mineral fertilizer and green manure for increased, profitable cassava production
Volcanic mountains in the East African Rift (e.g. Mt. Kenya, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Elgon) are some of the most productive agricultural regions, often dominated by coffee and banana cultivation. Consequently, these regions suffer from a high and increasing population density with a declining soil f...
Bauw, P. de
,
Asten, Piet J.A. van
,
Jassogne, Laurence T.P.
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Soil fertility gradients and production constraints for coffee and banana on volcanic mountain slopes in the east African rift: a case study of Mt. Elgon]
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Soil fertility gradients and production constraints for coffee and banana on volcanic mountain slopes in the east African rift: a case study of Mt. Elgon
A litterbag experiment with Leucaena leucocephala and Senna siamea residues collected during four different pruning activities was carried out in no-tree-control and alley cropping plots. Decomposition was followed for 112 days after the respective pruning dates. Other factors studied were “amoun...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Sanginga, N.
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Decomposition of four Leucaena and Senna prunings in alley cropping systems under subhumid tropical conditions: the process and its modifiers]
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Decomposition of four Leucaena and Senna prunings in alley cropping systems under subhumid tropical conditions: the process and its modifiers