Improvement in physical quality of a Sahelian Arenosol and implications on millet yield
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Date
2015
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Taylor & Francis
Abstract
Poor soil fertility remains a threat to crop production and livelihoods in the Sahel. Understanding the impacts of proposed soil fertility manage ment technologies on soil fertility status and millet yield is essential. We conducted a 2-year experiment to assess changes in selected physical
properties of an Arenosol and their impacts on millet yields at Karabedji, Niger. Treatments consisted of four fertilizer rates applied on top and
bottom farm types selected from a long-term experiment. Mixed-model analyses indicated considerable effects (P = 0.055) of fertilizer rates and
farm types on soil structural stability being higher in the top farm than in the bottom farm type. Dexter’s soil physical quality index (S) varied
significantly with soil depth. A significant correlation (R2 = 0.24) was found between the aggregate stability index and S. Plant available
water recorded in fertilizer-treated soil was higher than the control and higher on the top farm than in the bottom farm. Fertilizer rates and farm
types influenced millet yields. Moreover, we obtained positive relation ships between millet yield and soil aggregate stability, and plant avail able water, thereby elucidating the significant role played by soil physical properties in influencing crop yields. S can be a simple way for assessing
the physical quality of Sahelian sandy soil.
Description
This article is Published by Taylor & Francis, 2015 and is also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2015.1104414
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Citation
ARCHIVES OF AGRONOMY AND SOIL SCIENCE, 2016 VOL. 62, NO. 7, 947–962