Empirical analysis of dry spells during growing season with respect to maize crop in Nigeria

Nnoli, Nnadozie Okonkwo; Balogun, Ahmed A.; Omotosho, J. Bayo

doi:10.1007/s00704-020-03327-9

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…At this point, the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) were adopted for each model in order to verify the difference between the modeled and measured values of the infiltration water in the soil, and both performance evaluation parameters are given in Table 2. A model is considered to be better when RMSE and MAE are smaller and its R 2 is higher and the model performance diminishes in the order Philip (1957) > Kostiakov (1932) > Horton (1940) [38,56].…”

Section: Performance Of the Infiltration Models For Predicting Cumulative Infiltrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Different Tillage Practices on Soil Water Infiltration for Sustainable Agriculture

et al. 2021

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Over the years, cultivation using sustainable tillage practices has gained significant importance, but the impact of tillage on soil water infiltration is still a concern for landowners due to the possible effects on crop yield. This study investigates the impact of different tillage managements on the infiltration rate of sandy clay loam soil under a semiarid environment. Field experiments were conducted in Chott Mariem Sousse, Tunisia. The tillage practices consisted of three treatments, including a tine cultivator (TC, 16 cm), moldboard plows (MP, 36 cm) and no-tillage (NT). Three infiltration models, Kostiakov, Philip and Horton, were applied to adjust the observed data and evaluate the infiltration characteristics of the studied soils. Comparison criteria, including the coefficient of determination (R2), along with the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE), were used to investigate the best-fit model. The results showed that moldboard plowing enhanced soil infiltration capacity relative to tine cultivation and no-tillage treatments. The mean saturated hydraulic conductivity was highest under MP, while it was lowest in NT, with 33.4% and 34.1% reduction compared to TC and MP, respectively. Based on the obtained results, Philip’s model showed better results with observed infiltration due to a higher R2 (0.981, 0.973 and 0.967), lower RMSE (3.36, 9.04 and 9.21) and lower MAE (1.46, 3.53 and 3.72) recorded, respectively, for NT, MP and TC. Horton’s model had a low regression coefficient between observed and predicted values. It was suggested that the Philip two-term model can adequately describe the infiltration process in the study area.

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Section: Performance Of the Infiltration Models For Predicting Cumulative Infiltrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Different Tillage Practices on Soil Water Infiltration for Sustainable Agriculture

et al. 2021

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“…However, there are also some risks associated with early sowing such as early or mid-season dry spells or other bio-physical challenges whose impact on the crops could be severe as these might affect the crop when it is not well established [ 50 , 51 ]. This could be attributed to dry spells that are increasingly becoming a threat for maize yields in Nigeria [ 52 ]. In trying to manage such risk, results indicate the benefit of delayed sowing dates, which is mostly common in northern Nigeria due to relatively low and highly variable rainfall.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal distribution of optimal maize sowing dates in Nigeria

Mkuhlani,

Bendito,

Tofa

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Climate change and inter-annual variability cause variation in rainfall commencement and cessation which has consequences for the maize growing season length and thus impact yields. This study therefore sought to determine the spatially explicit optimum maize sowing dates to enable site specific recommendations in Nigeria. Gridded weather and soil data, crop management and cultivar were used to simulate maize yield from 1981–2019 at a scale of 0.5°. A total of 37 potential sowing dates between 1 March and 7 November at an interval of 7 days for each year were evaluated. The optimum sowing date was the date which maximizes yield at harvest, keeping all other management factors constant. The results show that optimum sowing dates significantly vary across the country with northern Nigeria having notably delayed sowing dates compared to southern Nigeria which has earlier planting dates. The long-term optimal sowing dates significantly (p<0.05), shifted between the 1980s (1981–1990), and current (2011–2019), for most of the country. The most optimum planting dates of southern Nigeria shifted to later sowing dates while most optimum sowing dates of central and northern Nigeria shifted to earlier sowing dates. There was more variation in optimum sowing dates in the wetter than the drier agro-ecologies. Changes in climate explain changes in sowing dates in wetter agro-ecologies compared to drier agro-ecologies. The study concludes that the optimum sowing dates derived from this study and the corresponding methodology used to generate them can be used to improve cropping calendars in maize farming in Nigeria.

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Vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate variability in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe

Zvobgo

Odoulami

Johnston

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Vulnerability to climate variability and change differs from one group to another, from sector to another, and between regions. Understanding the degree to which smallholder farmers are vulnerable to climate risk is critical when assessing adaptation responses to offset current and future risks. Here, we assessed the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate variability in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. Vulnerability is assessed using a two-dimensional approach – quantitative analysis of observed climate data to assess farmers’ exposure and qualitative analysis of farmers’ socio-economic data. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) is applied to understand levels of farmers’ livelihood vulnerability. 16 rainfall and temperature indices and extreme events critical to rainfed smallholder farmers were analysed at annual and seasonal scales from 1972–2021. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 100 smallholder farmers. Our results confirm an increased warming trend, and forward shift of the rainy season onset, with both of these indices showing statistically significant trends. A maximum temperature increase of 0.1 oC annum-1 was observed. All the other indices and extreme events exhibited insignificant trends. The total seasonal rainfall has increased by 3.2 mm annum-1. Increased interseasonal variability of the measured indices was observed. Hot days for maize and sorghum have increased by 0.25 and 0.85 days annum-1 respectively. The combination of increased delayed rainy season onset and a decreasing trend for rainy season length suggests that the rainy season is shrinking slowly. There was alignment between farmers’ perceptions of the climate and trends from observed climate data on the majority (seven) of the indices. Livelihood vulnerability to climate risk varied for farmers in communal and resettled wards. Farmers in resettled areas had a higher LVI (0.4076) than farmers in communal areas (0.3762). The LVI-IPCC shows a relatively similar index for both communal and resettled wards (-0.0874 and -0.0849 respectively). Importantly, farmers with Indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge (LK) background showed lower LVI than farmers without IK and LK, implying the important role of IK and LK, in climate vulnerability assessment and in increasing farmers’ adaptive capacity. Our results have implications on the implementation of climate adaptation responses by smallholder farmers in Chiredzi. Adaptation measures should be tailored based on the vulnerability levels of farmers and their exposure to climate risks. This is important for the implementation of effective climate adaptation responses in the Chiredzi district.

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Empirical analysis of dry spells during growing season with respect to maize crop in Nigeria

Cited by 5 publications

References 58 publications

Impacts of Different Tillage Practices on Soil Water Infiltration for Sustainable Agriculture

Impacts of Different Tillage Practices on Soil Water Infiltration for Sustainable Agriculture

Spatial and temporal distribution of optimal maize sowing dates in Nigeria

Vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate variability in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe

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