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Fertility management and landscape position: farmers' use of nutrient sources in western Niger and possible improvements

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/6414/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1025105014135
 
Title Fertility management and landscape position: farmers' use of nutrient sources in western Niger and possible improvements
 
Creator Gandah, M
Brouwer, J
Hiernaux, P
Duivenbooden, N van
 
Subject Millets
 
Description Poor millet growth and yields in Niger are commonly attributed to rainfall deficits and low soil nutrient content. Land management by local farmers is done as a function of soil types, crops, and available resources. Farmer management practices in millet fields located on four different landscape positions were studied in a village in western Niger located near the 600 mm isohyet. Average distance from homestead to field was 980 m, with fields in the valley bottom much closer (average 225 m) and fields on the plateau much further (average 2300 m). Farmers considered the valley and plateau fields slightly more fertile than the other fields, but rainfall infiltration on plateau fields is often relatively poor. Nitrogen and phosphorus contents in the soil were highest on the less intensively cropped plateaus. More than 50% of the fields did not receive any applied nutrients other than during livestock grazing of leftover stover. Manure application was done through corralling in only four of the fields studied (20%), out of which three were farmed by Fulani using their own herds for manuring. There was no significant effect of landscape unit on yield, though yields in the valley and on the upper slope were slightly higher than average. Millet grain yields, soil carbon and soil phosphorus decreased significantly with distance from the living quarters. This may be because manuring usually takes place close to home (average distance in 1997
 
Publisher Springer
 
Date 2003
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/6414/1/NutrientCyclinginAgroecosystems_67_1_55-66_2003.pdf
Gandah, M and Brouwer, J and Hiernaux, P and Duivenbooden, N van (2003) Fertility management and landscape position: farmers' use of nutrient sources in western Niger and possible improvements. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 67 (1). pp. 55-66. ISSN 1385-1314