Weed community responses to rotations with cover crops in maize-based conservation agriculture systems of Zimbabwe

Mhlanga, Blessing; Cheesman, Stephanie; Maasdorp, B.V.; Muoni, Tarirai; Mabasa, Stanford; Mangosho, Eunice; Thierfelder, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2014.11.010

Cited by 46 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Kramberger et al (2009) and Ngome et al (2011) indicated that cover crops adoption in maize based cropping systems contributes a range of benefits, however this depend on cover crop type. Benefits include: increased residue crop cover and infiltration (Araya et al, 2012;Ngwira et al, 2011), enhancing soil factors (Abdin et al, 2000;Nyalemegbe et al, 2011), increased maize yields (Chabi-Olaye et al, 2005;Mwangi et al, 2015), managing weeds (Mhlanga et al, 2015;Tim et al, 2000) and is more cost effective with increased gross margins particularly in drier years (Mhlanga et al, 2015;Ngwira et al, 2011) among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Factors influencing adoption of cover crops for weed management in Machakos and Makueni counties of Kenya

Mwangi

Kihurani

Wesonga

et al. 2015

European Journal of Agronomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Factors influencing adoption of cover crops for weed management in Machakos and Makueni counties of Kenya

Mwangi

Kihurani

Wesonga

et al. 2015

European Journal of Agronomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Generally, this technique will be marginal to CA systems if it involves excessive mechanical manipulation of the soil surface to encourage weed seed germination in a favorable 'seed-bed'. In smallholder situations, with limited land area and little mechanization, light surface scraping of the soil with the hand-hoe can be enough to initiate a phytochrome-mediated germination process in certain weed seeds [74]. Emerged seedlings can then be eliminated during a subsequent surface scraping operation [53] and this light operation can be considered compatible with CA.…”

Section: Increased Germinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Weed Management for Conservation Agriculture: Options for Smallholder Farmers

Sims¹,

Corsi²,

Gbèhounou³

et al. 2018

Agriculture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Land degradation and soil fertility deterioration are two of the main causes of agricultural production stagnation and decline in many parts of the world. The model of crop production based on mechanical soil tillage and exposed soils is typically accompanied by negative effects on the natural resource base of the farming environment, which can be so serious that they jeopardize agricultural productive potential in the future. This form of agriculture is destructive to soil health and accelerates the loss of soil by increasing its mineralization and erosion rates. Conservation agriculture, a system avoiding or minimizing soil mechanical disturbance (no-tillage) combined with soil cover and crop diversification, is considered a sustainable agro-ecological approach to resource-conserving agricultural production. A major objective of tillage is supposed to be weed control, and it does not require very specific knowledge because soil inversion controls (at least temporarily) most weeds mechanically (i.e., by way of burying them). However, repeated ploughing only changes the weed population, but does not control weeds in the long term. The same applies to the mechanical uprooting of weeds. While in the short term some tillage operations can control weeds on farms, tillage systems can increase and propagate weeds off-farm. The absence of tillage, under conservation agriculture, requires other measures of weed control. One of the ways in which this is realized is through herbicide application. However, environmental concerns, herbicide resistance and access to appropriate agro-chemicals on the part of resource-poor farmers, highlight the need for alternative weed control strategies that are effective and accessible for smallholders adopting conservation agriculture. Farmers in semi-arid regions contend with the additional challenge of low biomass production and, often, competition with livestock enterprises, which limit the potential weed-suppressing benefits of mulch and living cover crops. This paper reviews the applicability and efficacy of various mechanical, biological and integrated weed management strategies for the effective and sustainable management of weeds in smallholder conservation agriculture systems, including the role of appropriate equipment and prerequisites for smallholders within a sustainable intensification scenario.Keywords: smallholder farming; conservation agriculture; sustainable and ecological weed management; preventive; cultural and direct control methods of weed management

show abstract

“…At both sites, a cluster of on-farm validation trials were established, comprising two CA treatments and one conventional control [25]. The design at each site was a completely randomized block with six replications in Zidyana and seven to nine replications in Zimuto.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These constraints for example lack of access to critical inputs (improved seed, fertilizers, herbicides and specialized tools or machinery) and dysfunctional markets [18,19] which are general limitations to all farming enterprises in the area. More specifically to CA, these constraints are competition for crop residues in mixed crop-livestock systems [20][21][22], weed control in the absence of effective herbicides [23][24][25][26][27] and also the mindset of farmers that agriculture is only possible and adequate if the soil is tilled [1,28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence and Lessons Learned from Long-Term On-Farm Research on Conservation Agriculture Systems in Communities in Malawi and Zimbabwe

Thierfelder¹,

Bunderson²,

Mupangwa³

2015

Environments

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A long-term study was carried out in the Zidyana Extension Planning Area (EPA), Malawi and in the Zimuto Communal Area, Zimbabwe, to evaluate the effect of different conservation agriculture (CA) systems on crop productivity, soil quality and economic performance. Maize productivity results from Zidyana showed that CA systems out-yielded the conventional system in seven out of nine cropping seasons. Labour savings relative to the conventional control ranged from 34-42 labour days· ha −1 due to reduced time needed to make manual ridges and for weed control, leading to higher net benefits of 193-444 USD· ha −1 . In Zimuto, yield benefits were apparent from the second season onwards and there was a much clearer trend of increased yields of CA over time. Greater net benefits (in USD· ha −1 )were achieved on CA systems in Zimuto compared with conventional control treatments due to overall higher yields from CA systems. In Zimuto, both increased infiltration and a gradual increase in soil carbon were recorded, which may have contributed to the greater yield response of CA in this area. In Zidyana, yield increases were attributed primarily to enhanced water infiltration since no increases in soil carbon levels were measured. Farmers highlighted critical challenges to the adoption of CA. These will have to be addressed in future research and extension to provide effective solutions to farmers. OPEN ACCESSEnvironments 2015, 2 318

show abstract

Weed community responses to rotations with cover crops in maize-based conservation agriculture systems of Zimbabwe

Cited by 46 publications

References 12 publications

Factors influencing adoption of cover crops for weed management in Machakos and Makueni counties of Kenya

Factors influencing adoption of cover crops for weed management in Machakos and Makueni counties of Kenya

Sustainable Weed Management for Conservation Agriculture: Options for Smallholder Farmers

Evidence and Lessons Learned from Long-Term On-Farm Research on Conservation Agriculture Systems in Communities in Malawi and Zimbabwe

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About