Evaluation of the Performance of Different Organic Fertilizers on Maize Yield: A Case Study of Kampala, Uganda

Komakech, Allan John; Zurbrügg, Christian; Semakula, Denis; Kiggundu, Nicholas; Vinnerås, Björn

doi:10.5539/jas.v7n11p28

Cited by 10 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…[34,35,38,56]. In the SSA context, however, plant responses to applications of biogas slurry, e.g., [57], biochar, e.g., [58], human urine e.g., [59] or faeces e.g., [37,60] have, to date, only rarely been studied. Nevertheless, existing scientific studies can be used to extrapolate overall improved soil properties and stimulated biomass growth with, for example, increasing maize grains yields to 200-400%, compared to plants grown on unamended soil.…”

Section: Intersectional Resource Management For Subsistence Fertilizementioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling Improves Soil Fertility Management in Smallholdings in Tanzania

Krause

Rotter

2018

Agriculture

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Abstract:Residues from bioenergy and ecological sanitation (EcoSan) can be utilized to sustain soil fertility and productivity. With regard to certain cooking and sanitation technologies used in smallholder households (hh), we systematically analyzed how utilization of the respective potentials to recover residues for farming affects (i) soil nutrient balances, (ii) the potential for subsistence production of composts, and (iii) environmental emissions. On the example of an intercropping farming system in Karagwe, Tanzania, we studied specific farming practices including (1) current practices of using standard compost only; (2) a combination of using biogas slurry, urine, and standard compost; (3) a combination of using so-called "CaSa-compost" (containing biochar and sanitized human excreta, Project "Carbonization and Sanitation"), urine, and standard compost. The system analysis combines a soil nutrient balance (SNB) with material flow analysis (MFA). Currently, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are depleted by −54 ± 3 and −8 ± 1 kg·ha −1 ·year −1 , respectively. Our analysis shows, however, a clear potential to reduce depletion rates of N, and to reverse the SNB of P, to bring about a positive outcome. Composts and biogas slurry supply sufficient P to crops, while urine effectively supplements N. By using resources recovered from cooking and sanitation, sufficient compost for subsistence farming may be produced. Human excreta contribute especially to total N and total P in CaSa-compost, whilst biochar recovered from cooking with microgasifier stoves adds to total carbon (C) and total P. We conclude that the combined recycling of household residues from cooking and from sanitation, and CaSa-compost in particular, is especially suitable for sustainable soil management, as it mitigates existing P-deficiency and soil acidity, and also restores soil organic matter.

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Section: Intersectional Resource Management For Subsistence Fertilizementioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling Improves Soil Fertility Management in Smallholdings in Tanzania

Krause

Rotter

2018

Agriculture

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“…Concentrations of calcium acetate lactate (CAL) soluble P (P CAL ) and K (K CAL ) were determined with an iCAP 6000 inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) device (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, USA) from air-dried soil suspended in CAL solution (0.05 M calcium acetate-calcium lactate and 0.3 M acetic acid) following the protocol given in chapter A 6.2.1.1 of VDLUFA (2012). Cations such as Al 3+ , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ and Zn 2+ were exchanged with ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl) and their concentration measured using ICP-OES, following the protocol given in chapter A3.2.1.8 of König (2006). We calculated CEC eff from the sum of the ion equivalents of K, Al, Tables S1 and S2. calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn) and hydrogen (H).…”

Section: Soil Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…digestion under pressure(König, 2006) and an iCAP 6000 inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) device (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, USA). Total concentrations of C, N and S were analysed according toISO DIN 10694 (1995) for Ctot,ISO DIN 13878 (1998) for Ntot and DIN ISO15178 (HBU 3.4.1.54b) for Stot, and using a Vario ELIII CNS analyser (Elementar, Hanau, Germany).…”

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confidence: 99%

Organic wastes from bioenergy and ecological sanitation as a soil fertility improver: a field experiment in a tropical Andosol

Krause

Nehls

George

et al. 2016

SOIL

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Abstract. Andosols require the regular application of phosphorus (P) to sustain crop productivity. On an Andosol in NW Tanzania, we studied the short-term effects of amending standard compost, biogas slurry and CaSa compost (containing biochar and sanitized human excreta) on (i) the soil's physico-chemical properties, on (ii) biomass growth and crop productivity, and on (iii) the plants' nutrient status. The practice-oriented experiment design included the intercropping of seven locally grown crop species planted on 9 m2 plots with five repetitions arranged as a Latin rectangle. Differences in plant growth (biomass production and crop yield, e.g., of Zea mays) and crop nutrition (total C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, etc.) were related to pH, CEC (cation exchange capacity), total C and the availability of nutrients (N, P, K, etc.) and water (water retention characteristics, bulk density, etc.) in the soil. None of the amendments had any significant effect on soil water availability, so the observed variations in crop yield and plant nutrition are attributed to nutrient availability. Applying CaSa compost increased the soil pH from 5.3 to 5.9 and the level of available P from 0.5 to 4.4 mg per kg. Compared to the control, adding biogas slurry, standard compost and CaSa compost increased the aboveground biomass of Zea mays by, respectively, 140, 154 and 211 %. The grain yields of maize on soil treated with biogas slurry, standard compost and CaSa compost were, respectively, 2.63, 3.18 and 4.40 t ha−1, compared to only 1.10 t ha−1 on unamended plots. All treatments enhanced crop productivity and increased the uptake of nutrients into the maize grains. The CaSa compost was most effective in mitigating P deficiency and soil acidification. We conclude that all treatments are viable as a substitute for synthetic fertilizers. Nevertheless, further steps are required to integrate the tested soil amendments into farm-scale nutrient management and to balance the additions and removals of nutrients, so that the cycle can be closed.

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“…In PH stripe three seeds were directly planted at 2.5 to 3 cm depth by hands (Komakech, Zurbrügg, Semakula, Kiggundu & Vinnerå s, 2015) in all the basins. While on the other stripes, 10 cm long x 5 cm wide x 5 cm deep planting holes were dug by a hand hoe.…”

Section: Treatment Allocationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crop heights were obtained by measuring from the soil surface to growing tip (Komakech et al 2015) during the vegetative growth stage. This stage was chosen because it is believed that during this time plant elongation (increase in height) is directly proportional to soil fertility and inversely proportional to water stress in maize (Cakir 2004;Asea et al 2014).…”

Section: Crop Heightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Incorporating Biochar into the Soil Using Power Tiller and Ox-Plough

Ndhlovu¹,

Kiggundu²,

Wanyama³

et al. 2017

SAR

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Existing knowledge about biochar is derived from trials where biochar incorporation into the soil is done by hands, a practice too tedious to scale-up to commercial levels. To enhance scalability, biochar incorporation needs to be integrated into conventional mechanised tillage systems. This study aimed at assessing the effects of incorporating biochar by power tiller and ox-plough on soil water retention, maize growth and yield. A 2 x 3 factorial experiment was conducted in a split-plot design with biochar incorporating method as a main plot factor and biochar level as subplot factor, on ferralsols of central Uganda. Incorporation methods were by power tiller and ox-plough with hand mixing in planting basins as a control, while levels of biochar were 0 and 10 t ha -1 application rates. Data was analysed using two-way ANOVAs in Minitab for significant differences among incorporation methods. Results showed that incorporating biochar by power tiller significantly increased water retention effect of biochar by 27.5% (p < 0.05), while no significant effect was observed (p ≥ 0.05) when incorporated by ox-plough, compared to hand mixing. No significant difference on growth and yield was observed (p ≥ 0.05) as a result of incorporating biochar by power tiller and ox-plough instead of hands in planting basins. These findings suggest that biochar incorporation can be scaled-up, to commercial levels, through the use of power tiller and ox-plough, without negative effects on biochar performance. It is recommended that promotion of biochar technology encompasses the use of power tillers and ox-ploughs to enhance scalability.

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Evaluation of the Performance of Different Organic Fertilizers on Maize Yield: A Case Study of Kampala, Uganda

Cited by 10 publications

References 25 publications

Recycling Improves Soil Fertility Management in Smallholdings in Tanzania

Recycling Improves Soil Fertility Management in Smallholdings in Tanzania

Organic wastes from bioenergy and ecological sanitation as a soil fertility improver: a field experiment in a tropical Andosol

Effects of Incorporating Biochar into the Soil Using Power Tiller and Ox-Plough

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