Water use - yield relationship of maize as influenced by biochar and inorganic fertilizer applications in a tropical sandy clay loam soil

Babalola, Toju; Adabembe, B. A.; Faloye, Oluwaseun Temitope

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107801

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Excessive fertilisation leads to soil compaction, which make it difficult for water to penetrate the soil. Compared with TCFs, EFFs loosen the consolidated soil and adjust the soil porosity and have a strong adsorption effect to lock soil moisture, thus improving the physicochemical properties and moisture retention capacity of the soil as well as reducing the IWC [9]. Therefore, EFFs reduce labour input in irrigation and cultivation.…”

Section: Application Reduction Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the Application of Environmentally Friendly Fertilisers Reduce Agricultural Labour Input? Empirical Evidence from Peanut Farmers in China

2023

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Environmentally friendly fertilisers (EFFs) can improve the quality of cultivated land, purify the soil environment, and promote reduction in the amounts of fertiliser applied by improving efficiency. However, few studies have analysed the spillover effects of EFF applications on agricultural labour inputs. Hence, this study discusses the impact of EFFs on agricultural labour input, using the propensity score matching method based on the micro-survey data of peanut growers in the main producing areas in China. The results showed that EFFs have a labour-saving advantage, with a significant average reduction in the number of labourers’ input and labour days in agriculture production of 0.127 persons/mu and 0.601 days/mu at the 1% to 10% significance level. Additionally, EFFs improve yield and revenue but significantly raise production costs, ultimately increasing net revenue for farmers. The mechanism of the labour-saving effect is the capability of EFFs to reduce the amount and frequency of fertilisers applications, the amounts of pesticides applied, and irrigation water consumption by their technical characteristics and farmland’s ecological environment enhancement. Accordingly, the time effect strengthens the ecological regulation function and the application reduction effect of EFFs, further decreasing agricultural labour inputs. At the same time, the application of EFFs contributes to the adoption of mechanical deep tillage and fertilisation technology (MDTFT), thereby reducing fertiliser application and ultimately improving the labour-saving effect of EFFs. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that the labour-saving effect of EFFs is more obvious for farmers operating with a larger planting scale. To improve the labour-saving effect of EFFs, the findings imply that the application years of EFFs should be appropriately extended and the MDTFT should be promoted according to local conditions.

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Section: Application Reduction Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the Application of Environmentally Friendly Fertilisers Reduce Agricultural Labour Input? Empirical Evidence from Peanut Farmers in China

2023

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“…The soil water content measured in g/g was converted to a volumetric basis by multiplying by the soil bulk density and further converting to mm by multiplying by the soil depth. Details of the crop evapotranspiration estimation are presented in [11,22], while the crop water use efficiency (CWUE) was determined as the ratio of crop yield to water use (crop evapotranspiration). In addition, measurement of the leaf area index and plant height was carried out manually as the ratio of total leaf area to total land area (details are reported in [11]), while the plant height was measured using a meter rule.…”

Section: Field Experimentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, this is imperative since maize has been noted to be a water-demanding crop [20,21]. Recently, [22] showed that maize, even when planted on biochar-amended soil, is responsive to water stress, suggesting the need to accurately predict crop evapotranspiration and crop water use efficiency of maize under both full (standard soil water conditions where irrigation demand is met) and limited water supply (deficit irrigation) for proper planning of water resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Crop Evapotranspiration and Water Use Efficiency of Maize Using Artificial Neural Network and Linear Regression Models in Biochar and Inorganic Fertilizer-Amended Soil under Varying Water Applications

Faloye,

Ajayi,

Babalola

et al. 2023

Water

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The deficit irrigation strategy is a well-known approach to optimize crop water use through the estimation of crop water use efficiency (CWUE). However, studies that comprehensively reported the prediction of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and CWUE under deficit irrigation for improved water resources planning are scarce. The objective of the study is to predict seasonal ETc and CWUE of maize using multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models under two scenarios, i.e., (1) when only climatic parameters are considered and (2) when combining crop parameter(s) with climatic data in amended soil. Three consecutive field experimentations were carried out with biochar applied at rates of 0, 3, 6, 10 and 20 t/ha, while inorganic fertilizer was applied at rates of 0 and 300 Kg/ha, under three water regimes: 100% Full Irrigation Treatment (FIT), 80% and 60% FIT. Seasonal ETc was determined using the soil water balance method, while growth data were monitored weekly. The CWUE under each treatment was also estimated and modelled. The MLR and ANN models were developed, and their evaluations showed that the ANN model was satisfactory for the predictions of both ETc and CWUE under all soil water conditions and scenarios. However, the MLR model without crop data was poor in predicting CWUE under extreme soil water conditions (60% FIT). The coefficient of determination (R2) increased from 0.03 to 0.67, while root mean-square error (RMSE) decreased from 4.07 to 1.98 mm after the inclusion of crop data. The model evaluation suggests that using a simple model such as MLR, crop water productivity could be accurately predicted under different soil and water management conditions.

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Mitigating water stress effects on Roselle production: effects of Conocarpus biochar and nitrogen fertilizer on soil nutrients and yield

Albalsmeh,

Piri

2023

Plant Soil

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Water use - yield relationship of maize as influenced by biochar and inorganic fertilizer applications in a tropical sandy clay loam soil

Cited by 7 publications

References 25 publications

Can the Application of Environmentally Friendly Fertilisers Reduce Agricultural Labour Input? Empirical Evidence from Peanut Farmers in China

Can the Application of Environmentally Friendly Fertilisers Reduce Agricultural Labour Input? Empirical Evidence from Peanut Farmers in China

Modelling Crop Evapotranspiration and Water Use Efficiency of Maize Using Artificial Neural Network and Linear Regression Models in Biochar and Inorganic Fertilizer-Amended Soil under Varying Water Applications

Mitigating water stress effects on Roselle production: effects of Conocarpus biochar and nitrogen fertilizer on soil nutrients and yield

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