Integrated management of Striga hermonthica, stemborers, and declining soil fertility in western Kenya

Vanlauwe, Bernard; Kanampiu, Fred; Odhiambo, George D.; Groote, Hugo De; Wadhams, L. J.; Khan, Zeyaur R.

doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2008.01.002

Cited by 70 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Commercial varieties WH505 and H516 or the untreated IR-maize did not have any protection, thus the Striga was able to attach early. Early Striga attachment affects the host crop growth resulting in significant crop yield loss (De Groote et al, 2007, Vanlauwe et al, 2008. Late emergence was an indication of late attachment, the crop was thus protected from Striga parasitism during the critical initial growth period (8 weeks) of the crop.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing imazapyr-resistant maize yield by increasing plant density under natural Striga hermonthica infestation

Illa¹,

Odhiambo²,

Dida³

2010

ABJNA

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Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important crops in East Africa serving both as a staple food and cash crop to millions of people. As a vegetable, it is produced as green maize cobs, sweet corn or baby corn. Yields under farmers' conditions in the Lake Victoria Basin average 1.3 t ha -1 which is less than 25% of the potential yield. This is attributed to several factors; the greatest being Striga (Striga hermonthica) which is a parasitic weed attacking several crops in the grass family. A medium term technological breakthrough in form of a herbicide (imazapyr) resistant maize variety has been developed to help reduce Striga infestation. The optimum maize plant population for effective seedbank reduction and optimum grain yield has however not been determined. The main objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the performance of imazapyr-resistant (IR) maize at different plant densities on Striga weed incidence and crop growth. The study was conducted for two seasons on a naturally infested Striga field in Western Kenya. The experiment was laid out as a split plot with three replications. Maize variety (treated IR maize, untreated IR maize and WH505/H516 commercial checks) was the main plot factor and density (44,444, 66,666 and 88,888 plants ha -1 ) as the sub-plot factor. Data was collected on maize stand, days to first Striga emergence, Striga incidence, Striga biomass, maize biomass and its yield components. Treated IR maize delayed Striga emergence on maize thus suppressing Striga parasitism. Any late Striga attachments had little or no effect on maize growth. Increasing the plant density of treated IR maize from 44,444 to 88,888 plants ha -1 did not affect Striga incidence but increased maize yield from 1.60 to 3.48 t ha -1. It is therefore recommended that treated IR maize should be planted in Striga infested fields at 75cm x 15cm to hasten Striga seed bank reduction and maximize on maize yield to improve staple food availability.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing imazapyr-resistant maize yield by increasing plant density under natural Striga hermonthica infestation

Illa¹,

Odhiambo²,

Dida³

2010

ABJNA

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“…Estimates for grain yield loss due to striga in farmers' fields range between 15 and 95% 84 . The effects of striga have also been associated with declining soil fertility 85 . A study comparing CA with herbicides and conventional treatments with manual weeding only on 54 paired demonstration plots in Malawi 86 showed a drastic reduction in striga emergence under CA fields (Fig.…”

Section: Pest and Disease Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge

Thierfelder¹,

Rusinamhodzi²,

Ngwira

et al. 2014

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

140

112

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The increasing demand for food from limited available land, in light of declining soil fertility and future threats of climate variability and change have increased the need for more sustainable crop management systems. Conservation agriculture (CA) is based on the three principles of minimum soil disturbance, surface crop residue retention and crop rotations, and is one of the available options. In Southern Africa, CA has been intensively promoted for more than a decade to combat declining soil fertility and to stabilize crop yields. The objective of this review is to summarize recent advances in knowledge about the benefits of CA and highlight constraints to its widespread adoption within Southern Africa. Research results from Southern Africa showed that CA generally increased water infiltration, reduced soil erosion and run-off, thereby increasing available soil moisture and deeper drainage. Physical, chemical and biological soil parameters were also improved under CA in the medium to long term. CA increased crop productivity and also reduced on-farm labor, especially when direct seeding techniques and herbicides were used. As with other cropping systems, CA has constraints at both the field and farm level. Challenges to adoption in Southern Africa include the retention of sufficient crop residues, crop rotations, weed control, pest and diseases, farmer perception and economic limitations, including poorly developed markets. It was concluded that CA is not a 'one-size-fits-all' solution and often needs significant adaptation and flexibility when implementing it across farming systems. However, CA may potentially reduce future soil fertility decline, the effects of seasonal dry-spells and may have a large impact on food security and farmers' livelihoods if the challenges can be overcome.

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“…Striga infestation densities were least in the tephrosia fallows and this could be the reason why its maize yield was high. The maize yield in all the systems, including the legume fallows, increased by 1-3 tons ha -1 with the addition of inorganic N. This indicates that although improved fallows replenish soil N (Vanlauwe et al 2006(Vanlauwe et al , 2008, they have limited potential to overcome its deficiency, especially in severely depleted soils like those of western Kenya. Therefore, there is need for integrating organic and inorganic fertilizers in these nutrientdepleted soils.…”

Section: Farmers' Preferences For Fallow Systemsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…in sub-Saharan Africa has been associated with declining soil fertility (Vanlauwe et al 2008;Gacheru and Rao 2001) as a result of continuous cropping without fertilizer inputs (Ransom 2000;Tittonell et al 2005), a common phenomenon in densely populated areas such as western Kenya (Vanlauwe et al 2006). Striga weeds are known to cause crop yield losses of between 30 and 100% for maize (Kim et al 2002;Vanlauwe et al 2008), and 20-50% for sorghum (Lendzemo et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coppicing improved fallows are profitable for maize production in striga infested soils of western Kenya

Kiwia¹,

Imo

Jama

et al. 2009

Agroforest Syst

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Striga hermonthica (striga) weed is a major threat to crop production in sub-Saharan Africa, and short duration improved fallow species have recently been found to reduce the effects of this weed because of their ability to replenish soil nitrogen. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and profitability of coppicing improved fallow species (Gliricidia sepium [gliricidia], Leucaena trichandra [leucaena] and Calliandra calothyrsus [calliandra]) and non-coppicing species (Sesbania sesban [sesbania], Mucuna pruriens [mucuna], and Tephrosia vogelii [tephrosia]), in controlling striga.Natural fallow and a sole maize crop were included as control treatments. The fallow treatments were split into two and either fertilized with N or unfertilized. The results showed that coppicing fallows produced higher biomass than non-coppicing fallows. For example, Callindra (coppicing fallow species) produced 19.5 and 41.4 Mg ha -1 of leafy and woody biomass, respectively after four cumulative harvests as compared with Sesbania (non-coppicing species), which produced only 2.3 and 5.9 Mg ha -1 leaf and woody biomass, respectively. Improved fallows reduced striga population in proportion to the amount of leafy biomass incorporated into the soil (r = 0.87). N application increased cumulative maize yield by between 15-28% in improved fallow systems and by as much as 51-83% in the control treatments. Added total costs of the coppicing fallows did not differ significantly from those of the non-coppicing fallows and control treatments. However, the added net benefits of the coppicing fallows were significantly higher (US$ 527 for ?N and 428 for -N subplots; P \ 0.01) than those of the non-coppicing fallows (US$ 374 for ?N and 278 for -N), and the least for the control treatments. The most profitable fallow system was Tephrosia with net added benefits of US$ 453.5 ha -1 season -1 without N, and US$ 586.7 ha -1 season -1 with added N.

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Integrated management of Striga hermonthica, stemborers, and declining soil fertility in western Kenya

Cited by 70 publications

References 26 publications

Increasing imazapyr-resistant maize yield by increasing plant density under natural Striga hermonthica infestation

Increasing imazapyr-resistant maize yield by increasing plant density under natural Striga hermonthica infestation

Conservation agriculture in Southern Africa: Advances in knowledge

Coppicing improved fallows are profitable for maize production in striga infested soils of western Kenya

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