Nutrient depletion is a major constraint to crop production for moist savanna soils, and inputs of nutrients are required to overcome this constraint. The impact of sole and combined applications of organic inputs (OIs) [fresh tree prunings, Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth. residues, and manu...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Aihou, K.
,
Aman, S
,
Iwuafor, E.N.O.
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Tossah, B.K.
,
Diels, J.
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Sanginga, Nteranya
,
Lyasse, O.
,
Merckx, R.
,
Deckers, J.
,
[Maize yield as affected by organic inputs and urea in the West African moist savanna]
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Maize yield as affected by organic inputs and urea in the West African moist savanna
Crop response, tree biomass production and changes in soil fertility characteristics were monitored in a long-term (1986–2002) alley-cropping trial in Ibadan, Nigeria. The systems included two alley cropping systems with Leucaena leucocephala and Senna siamea on the one hand and a control (no-tre...
Vanlauwe, Bernard
,
Diels, J.
,
Sanginga, Nteranya
,
Merckx, R.
,
[Long-term integrated soil fertility management in South-western Nigeria : Crop performance and impact on the soil fertility status]
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Long-term integrated soil fertility management in South-western Nigeria : Crop performance and impact on the soil fertility status
The 13C natural labeling technique in combination with modeling could potentially be used to analyze SOM changes in long-term experiments involving complex cropping systems such as agroforestry systems. It requires information on quantity and 13C abundance of all plant materials entering the soil...
Diels, J.
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Vanlauwe, Bernard
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Sanginga, N.
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Coolen, E.
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Merckx, R.
,
[Temporal variations in plant delta 13C values and implications for using the 13C technique in longterm soil organic matter studies]
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Temporal variations in plant delta 13C values and implications for using the 13C technique in longterm soil organic matter studies
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.
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Houngnandan, P.
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Diels, J.
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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
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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.
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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