Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4rdrl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-04T05:03:31.312Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Rotation and tillage effects on yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and aspects of crop water balance and soil fertility in a semi-arid tropical environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

M. C. Klaij
Affiliation:
ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Resource Management Program, BP 12404, Niamey, Niger
B. R. Ntare
Affiliation:
ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Resource Management Program, BP 12404, Niamey, Niger
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A 4-year field experiment was conducted from 1986 to 1989 in Niger to determine the effects of pre- and post-harvest tillage and rotation of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L). R. Br.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) on crop yield, crop water use and soil fertility on a sandy soil. Presowing tillage increased grain and crop residue yields over the traditional system of no tillage. Post-harvest tillage resulted in lower yields than pre-sowing tillage during the last 2 years of the experiment. Millet-cowpea rotation increased yield and there were no important tillage × rotation interactions. Crop water use was similar for a dry and a wet year, but less water was held in the profile after the harvest of cowpea. Compared to pre-sowing tillage and no tillage, post-harvest tillage increased the amount of water conserved until the next season. In all treatment combinations, soil organic matter and total N content both declined on average by 62%, and soil pH (KCI) decreased from 4·6 to 4·3.

Type
Crops and Soils
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

References

Bationo, A. & Mokwunye, A. U. (1991). Alleviating soil fertility constraints to increased crop production in West Africa: the experience in the Sahel. Fertilizer Research 29, 95115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charreau, C. & Nicou, R. (1971). L'amélioration du profil cultural dans les sols sableux et sablo-argileux de la zone tropicale séche Ouest-africaine et ses incidences agronomiques (d'après les travaux des chercheurs de I'IRAT en Afrique de l'Ouest). L'Agronomie Tropicale 26, 209255, 565–631, 903–978, 1183–1237.Google Scholar
Christianson, C. B., Bationo, A., Henao, J. & Vlek, P. L. G. (1988). Fate and efficiency of N fertilizers applied to pearl millet in Niger. Plant and Soil 125, 221231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, M. J. & Wild, A. (1975). Soils of the West African Savanna: The Maintenance and Improvement of their Fertility. Commonwealth Bureau of Soils, Technical Communication No. 55. Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google 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, 301315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klaij, M. C. & Vachaud, G. (1992). Seasonal water balance of a sandy soil in Niger cropped with pearl millet, based on profile moisture measurements. Agricultural Water Management 21, 313330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klaij, M. C., Renard, C. & Reddy, K. C. (1994). Low-input technology options for millet-based cropping in the Sahel. Experimental Agriculture 30, 7782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muleba, N., Mwanke, M. & Drabo, I. (1991). Use of successional sowing in evaluating cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) adaption to drought in the Sudan savannah zone. 1. Seed yield response. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 116, 7381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicou, R. & Charreau, C. (1985). Soil tillage and water conservation in semi-arid west Africa. In Appropriate Technologies for Farmers in Semi-arid West Africa (Eds Ohm, H. W. & Nagy, J. G.), pp. 932. West Lafayette, Indiana, USA: Purdue University.Google Scholar
Preece, D. A. (1986). Some general principles of crop rotation experiments. Experimental Agriculture 22, 187198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sivakumar, M. V. K. (1992). Climate change and implicasystems tions to agriculture in Niger. Climatic Change 20, 297312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, L. T., Wilding, L. P., Landeck, J. K. & Calhoun, F. G. (1984). Soil Survey ofthe ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Niger, West Africa. Soil and Crop Sciences Department/Tropsoils Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas, USA.Google Scholar