Assessment of soil fertility and potato crop nutrient status in central and eastern highlands of Kenya

Mugo, James N.; Karanja, NK; Gachene, Ckk; Dittert, Klaus; Nyawade, Shadrack O.; Schulte-Geldermann, Elmar

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64036-x

Cited by 47 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Another possible explanation can be a poor nutrient status in the soil of Kenya and India ( Sharma et al, 2009 ; Mugo et al, 2020 ; Stewart et al, 2020 ), which represent our high-VPD agroecosystems. It has been shown that the landrace maize Sierra Mixe, originally from a nitrogen-depleted region in Mexico, gets a considerable amount of its nitrogen demand through biological nitrogen fixation by diazotrophs abundant in mucilage produced by its huge nodal roots ( Van Deynze et al, 2018 ; Amicucci et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mucilage Polysaccharide Composition and Exudation in Maize From Contrasting Climatic Regions

Nazari

Banfield

et al. 2020

Front. Plant Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mucilage, a gelatinous substance comprising mostly polysaccharides, is exuded by maize nodal and underground root tips. Although mucilage provides several benefits for rhizosphere functions, studies on the variation in mucilage amounts and its polysaccharide composition between genotypes are still lacking. In this study, eight maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes from different globally distributed agroecological zones were grown under identical abiotic conditions in a randomized field experiment. Mucilage exudation amount, neutral sugars and uronic acids were quantified. Galactose (∼39–42%), fucose (∼22–30%), mannose (∼11–14%), and arabinose (∼8–11%) were the major neutral sugars in nodal root mucilage. Xylose (∼1–4%), and glucose (∼1–4%) occurred only in minor proportions. Glucuronic acid (∼3–5%) was the only uronic acid detected. The polysaccharide composition differed significantly between maize genotypes. Mucilage exudation was 135 and 125% higher in the Indian (900 M Gold) and Kenyan (DH 02) genotypes than in the central European genotypes, respectively. Mucilage exudation was positively associated with the vapor pressure deficit of the genotypes’ agroecological zone. The results indicate that selection for environments with high vapor pressure deficit may favor higher mucilage exudation, possibly because mucilage can delay the onset of hydraulic failure during periods of high vapor pressure deficit. Genotypes from semi-arid climates might offer sources of genetic material for beneficial mucilage traits.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mucilage Polysaccharide Composition and Exudation in Maize From Contrasting Climatic Regions

Nazari

Banfield

et al. 2020

Front. Plant Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Heavy clay soils are unfavorable for potatoes (Johansen et al, 2015). On such soils, especially in wet years, there is a risk of yield loss due to the rapid spread of plant diseases (Liao et al, 2016;Shi et al, 2019;Mugo et al, 2020). Territorial units, where the rate of increase is higher, are in accordance with the predominance of light soils (Figure 1, Figure 5).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Appraisal of Heavy Metal Presence and Water Quality having Microbial Load and Associated Human Health Risk: A study on tube-well water in Nalitabari township of Sherpur district, Bangladesh

Ali

Faruque

Islam

et al. 2021

GJNR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article is based on a study aimed to determine physiochemical parameters, fecal coliform, total coliforms, heterotrophic plate count, arsenic, iron and lead of water to evaluate their effects on human health. Analysis was carried out on tube-well water collected from Nalitabari township of Sherpur District in Bangladesh. The dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity and electrical conductivity were in the ranges of 4.30 to 7.30 ppm, 350 to 792 mg/l, 0.2 to 0.5%, and 715 to 1,970 μS/cm. The pH values were slightly lesser or more than permissible value. Due to the vicinity to the latrines, 17 tube-wells’ water was contaminated by fecal coliforms. The highest heterotrophic plate count was 7.5×103 cfu/ml in ward-8 of the town. Eschericia coli and Vibrio cholerae were identified in ratio of 30.56% and 18.06%, respectively, in the tube-well water, resulting into diarrhea among children. About 6.94% of tube-well water was contaminated with arsenic. 3.25% and 4.5% respondents were suffering from skin diseases and headache, respectively. So, an alternative source of drinking water should be arranged for a better public health of present and next generations.

show abstract

“…Potatoes require soil organic matter for nutrient supply, improved nutrient use efficiency, and soil water conservation. The use of manure in potato production is common in East Africa and has been confirmed by Tadesse et al (2017) and Mugo et al (2020). The benefits of using manure/compost include nutrient source, improvement of soil pH, increased soil organic matter, soil organic carbon, and crop yields (Linus et al, 2004;Muthoni and Kabira, 2011;Otieno et al, 2018).…”

Section: Potatoes Tuber Response To Manure/compost Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on yield response to nitrogen, potassium and manure applications in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production

Otieno

Mageto

2021

Arch. Agric. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Potato productivity has stagnated and remained low due to, among other causes, increasing soil infertility and poor nutrient management strategies. To avert this situation, it is essential to have a better understanding of potato response to nitrogen and potassium nutrients. Like other crops, potatoes require an adequate and balanced supply of nutrients for better growth and tuber yields. To achieve that, it is essential to conduct an extensive soil analyses for the entire farm. However, this process is expensive for most resource-constrained farmers. Moreover, the current recommendations used in the region are generic and focuses more on nitrogen than potassium. Hence, there is a need to focus on readily and freely available information for enhanced decision making. The assumption that the soils in the region are fertile and can supply adequate potassium is no longer valid, and now necessitates more actions such as adopting integrated soil fertility and precise application of nutrients within the 4R principles. All these aspects are well covered in this article. We believe the information presented in this manuscript is valuable and give a better foundation for future research and recommendations in potato production.

show abstract

Assessment of soil fertility and potato crop nutrient status in central and eastern highlands of Kenya

Cited by 47 publications

References 40 publications

Mucilage Polysaccharide Composition and Exudation in Maize From Contrasting Climatic Regions

Mucilage Polysaccharide Composition and Exudation in Maize From Contrasting Climatic Regions

Appraisal of Heavy Metal Presence and Water Quality having Microbial Load and Associated Human Health Risk: A study on tube-well water in Nalitabari township of Sherpur district, Bangladesh

A review on yield response to nitrogen, potassium and manure applications in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About