Should fertilizer recommendations be adapted to parkland agroforestry systems? Case studies from Ethiopia and Rwanda
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Should fertilizer recommendations be adapted to parkland agroforestry systems? Case studies from Ethiopia and Rwanda Tesfaye Shiferaw Sida & Frédéric Baudron & Alain Ndoli & Dereje Tirfessa & Ken E. Giller
Received: 28 December 2018 / Accepted: 20 August 2019 # The Author(s) 2019
Abstract Aims This study aimed to disentangle tree-cropfertilizer interactions in agroforestry systems, which has been suggested as an entry point for sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although tree-crop systems generate multiple economic and ecological benefits, tree-crop competition commonly occurs. We hypothesized that mineral fertilizers affect facilitative and competitive interactions differently in tree-crop systems. Methods Tree-crop-fertilizer interactions were explored for wheat growing under Faidherbia albida, and maize
Responsible Editor: Remi Cardinael. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04271-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. T. S. Sida (*) : D. Tirfessa International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)-Ethiopia, Shola Campus, ILRI, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] T. S. Sida : A. Ndoli : K. E. Giller Plant Production Systems, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 430, 6700 AK, Wageningen, The Netherlands F. Baudron : A. Ndoli International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Southern Africa Regional Office, P. O. Box MP 163, Mazowe Road, Harare, Zimbabwe
growing under Acacia tortilis and Grevillea robusta through omission trials of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in open fields and fields under tree canopy, using a split plot design. The experiments were conducted in Ethiopia and Rwanda, replicated four times, and over two seasons. Results Our results demonstrated that the presence of F. albida significantly improved N and P use efficiencies, leading to significantly higher (P < 0.001) grain yields in wheat. This tree species contributed around 64 kg ha−1 yr.−1 of mineral N. The P use efficiency of wheat under F. albida was double that of open field wheat. By contrast, G. robusta and A. tortilis trees lowered nutrient use efficiencies in maize, leading to significantly less maize grain yields compared with open fields receiving the same fertilization. Probabilities of critically low crop yields and crop failure were significantly greater for maize growing under the canopy of these species. Conclusions Our results showed that recommended fertilizer rates led to facilitative interaction only with F. albida, highlighting that fertilizer recommendations need to be adapted to agroforestry systems. Keywords Tree-crop interaction . Competition . Facilitation . Agronomic use efficiency . Crop failure . Mineral fertilizer
Introduction In many smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), poor soil fertility is a major limitation to
Plant Soil
crop production (Barre
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