Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T23:02:05.942Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of hedgerow species in alley cropping systems on surface soil physical properties of an Oxic Paleustalf in south-western Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

N. R. Hulugalle  and
B. T. Kang
N. R. Hulugalle
Affiliation:
Resource and Crop Management Program, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, PMB 5320, Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
B. T. Kang
Affiliation:
Resource and Crop Management Program, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, PMB 5320, Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Effects of hedgerow species on surface soil physical properties were studied in an on-going trial established since 1981 on an Oxic Paleustalf in southwestern Nigeria. The experimental treatments were Leucaena leucocephala, Gliricidia sepium, Alchornea cordifolia and Acioa barterii hedgerows planted at 4 m interhedgerow spacings and a control (no hedgerows). Plots were sequentia-ly cropped with maize (Zea mays) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Soil physical properties, i.e. particle size distribution, bulk density, apparent pore size distribution and water infiltration, were monitored during the dry season in January and the main growing season in June 1989. Soil temperature was monitored at approximately monthly intervals from February to June 1989. Soil properties of alleycropped plots were superior to those of the control. Soil compaction was highest in the control and lowest with L. leucocephala. Between the hedgerow species, within-season increases in soil compaction were largest with A. cordifolia. Lowest soil temperatures were observed with L. leucocephala and A. barterii. Frequency, quantity and quality of prunings produced by the hedgerow species appeared to have a major beneficial effect on soil physical properties.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 114 , Issue 3 , June 1990 , pp. 301 - 307
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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

REFERENCES

Ball, B. (1985). Root distribution and nutrient cycling of some tree shrubs suitable for alley cropping in the humid tropics. MSc thesis, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.Google Scholar
Campbell, G. S. (1985). Soil Physics with BASIC. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Fao (1978). The State of Food and Agriculture 1977. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
International Institute of tropical Agriculture (1989). Resource and Crop Management Program Annual Report for 1989. Ibadan, Nigeria: IITA.Google Scholar
Hulugalle, N. R. & Rodriguez, M. S. (1988). Soil physical properties of tied ridges in the Sudan savannah of Burkina Faso. Experimental Agriculture 24, 375–384.Google Scholar
Kang, B. T. & Ghuman, B. S. (1989). Alley cropping as a sustainable crop production system. Paper presented at International Workshop on Conservation Farming on Hillslopes, Taichung, Taiwan, 20–29 March 1989.Google Scholar
Kang, B T., Grimme, H. & Lawson, T. L. (1985). Alley cropping sequentially cropped maize and cowpea with leucaena on a sandy soil in southern Nigeria. Plant and Soil 85, 267–276.Google Scholar
Kang, B. T., Reynolds, L. & Atta-Krah, A. N. (in press). Alley farming. Advances in Agronomy 43.Google Scholar
Kang, B. T., Wilson, G. F. & Lawson, T. L. (1984). Alley Cropping: A Stable Alternative to Shifting Cultivation. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.Google Scholar
Kang, B. T., Wilson, G. F. & Sipkens, L. (1981). Alley cropping maize (Zea mays L.) and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephal) in southern Nigeria. Plant and Soil 63, 165–179.Google Scholar
Klute, A. (Ed.) (1986). Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical and Mineralogical Methods. Madison, WI, USA: American Society of Agronomists.Google Scholar
Lagemann, J. (1977). Traditional Farming Systems in Eastern Nigeria. Munich: Waltforum-Verlag.Google Scholar
Lal, R. (1976). Soil Erosion Problems on an Alfisol in Western Nigeria and their Control. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.Google Scholar
Lal, R. (1987). Tropical Ecology and Physical Edaphology. Chichester: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Lal, R. (1988). Soil erosion control with alley cropping. Paper presented at 5th International Soil Conservation Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, 18–29 January 1988.Google Scholar
Little, T. M. & Hills, F. J. (1978). Agricultural Experimentation: Design and Analysis. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Moormann, F. R., Lal, R. & Juo, A. S. R. (1975). The soils of IITA. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.Google Scholar
Mwenye, R. W. (1984). Study of biomass production, nutrient and crop performance of four woody species alley cropped with maize. Farming Systems Program Project Report. Ibadan, Nigeria: IITA.Google Scholar
Philip, J. R. (1957). The theory of infiltration: 4. Sorptivity and algebraic infiltration equation. Soil Science 84, 257–264.Google Scholar
Yamoah, C. F., Agboola, A. A., Wilson, G. F. & Mulongoy, K. (1986). Soil properties as affected by the use of leguminous shrubs for alley cropping with maize. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 18, 167–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, A. (1986). The potential of agroforestry for soil conservation, Part I: Erosion control. ICRAF Working Paper No. 42. Nairobi: ICRAF.Google Scholar
Young, A. (1987). The potential of agroforcstry for soil conservation, Part II: Maintenance of soil fertility. ICRAF Working Paper No. 43. Nairobi: ICRAF.Google Scholar