Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T04:39:40.876Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On-Farm Evaluation of Nitrate-Nitrogen Dynamics Under Maize in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

G. Webert ,
V. Chude ,
J. Pleysier  and
S. Oikeh
G. Webert
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan
V. Chude
Affiliation:
Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru, Nigeria
J. Pleysier
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan
S. Oikeh
Affiliation:
Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru, Nigeria
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Nitrate-nitrogen was analysed over two cropping seasons in 57 farmers' fields in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. Differences between fields were at least five-fold and often ten-fold irrespective of fertilization rates. Average concentrations were highest at the beginning of the rainy season. Loamy soils had a later peak for nitrate release and maintained high concentrations for a longer period after the start of the rains than the more sandy soils. Nitrate-N was not correlated with soil organic carbon or total nitrogen content. Grain yield of maize was closely associated with nitrate-N in the soil but not with organic carbon or total N. Four patterns of nitrate-N release over the season could he differentiated using cluster analysis. Soil texture, soil pH, soil organic carbon, stover management and cropping history contributed most to a differentiation of the four cluster groups in a discriminant model. There was wide variability in the inherent soil-nitrate level and in its importance in explaining differences in yield among farmers' fields. The development of technologies resulting in improved nitrogen availability or better nitrogen utilization should be based on research of inherent soil processes. For the transfer of such technologies, recommendation domains should be defined based on different native patterns of soil-nitrogen availability.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , July 1995 , pp. 333 - 344
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Blondel, D. (1971). Contribution à l'étude de la connaissance de matière sèche et de l'alimentation azotée des céréales de culture sèche au Senegal. L'Agronomie Tropicale 26:707–720.Google Scholar
Falusi, A. O. (1987). Economic and technical efficiency of fertilizer use in food production in Nigeria. Paper presented at the National Fertilizer Seminar. Port Harcourt, Nigeria.Google Scholar
FAO (1978). Report of the Agro-ecological Zones Project. Vol. I. Methodology and Results for Africa. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Goldsworthy, P. R. (1967). Responses of cereals to fertilizers in northern Nigeria. II. Maize. Experimental Agriculture 3:263–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iita (1981). Analytical Services Laboratory Manual. Ibadan, Nigeria: IITA.Google Scholar
Jones, M. J. (1972). Time of application of nitrogen fertilizer to maize at Samaru, Nigeria. Experimental Agriculture 9:113–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, M. J. (1975). Water movement and nitrate leaching in a Nigerian savanna soil. Experimental Agriculture 12:69–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, M.J. (1976). Effects of three nitrogen fertilizers and lime on pH and exchangeable cation content at different depths in cropped soils at two sites in the Nigerian savanna. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 53:243–254.Google Scholar
Kang, B. T., Gichuru, M., Hulugalle, N. & Swift, M. J. (1991). Soil constraints for sustainable upland crop production in humid and sub-humid West Africa. Tropical Agriculture Research Series 24:101–112.Google Scholar
Lele, U., Christiansen, R. E. & Kadiresan, K. (1989). Fertilizer Policy in Africa. Lessons from Development Programs and Adjustment Lending, 1970–87. MA DIA Discussion Papers 5. Washington: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Manu, A., Bationo, A. & Geiger, S. C. (1991). Fertility status of selected millet producing soils of West Africa with emphasis on phosphorus. Soil Science 152:15–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntire, J. (1986). Constraints to fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa. In Management of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizers in Sub-Saharan Africa, 33–57 (Eds Mokwunye, A. U. and Vlek, P. L. G.). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogungbile, A., Olukosi, J. & Elemo, K. (1992). Characterization of target zone and technology adaptation for the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. In Characterization of Target Zones and Technological Adaptations for On farm Testing of Leguminous Species, 43–49 (Eds Weber, G., Smith, J. and Olukosi, J.). Ouagadougou: WAFSRN.Google Scholar
Pieri, C. (1990). Fertilité des Terres de Savannes. Paris:CIRAD.Google Scholar
Smith, J., Barau, A. D., Goldman, A. & Mareck, J. H. (1994). The role of technology in agricultural intensification: the evolution of maize production in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria. Economic Development and Cultural Change 42:537–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tian, G., Kang, B. T. & Brussaard, L. (1992). Biological effects of plant residues with contrasting chemical composition under humid conditions-decomposition and nutrient release. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 24:1051–1060.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Versteeg, M. & Koudokpon, V. (1993). Participative farmer testing of four low external input technologies, to address soil fertility decline in Mono Province (Benin). Agricultural Systems 42:265–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wild, A. (1972). Nitrate leaching under bare fallow at a site in northern Nigeria. Journal of Soil Science 23:315–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar