Browsing by Author "Pypers, P."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Socio-ecological niches for minimum tillage and crop residue retention in continuous maize cropping systems in smallholder farms of central Kenya
    Guto, S. N.; Pypers, P.; Vanlauwe, Bernard; de Ridder, N.; Giller, Ken (Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy, 2011)
    The prevalence of soil degradation and production constraints for smallholder farmers in Central Kenya offers an opportunity for the application of conservation agriculture practices. However, much variability exists between smallholders, rendering the benefits of CA quite site specific. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of minimum tillage and mulches on maize yields of twenty-one farms with varying soil fertility, size, and, cropping seasons. Two tillage and two crop residue trials were compared across three soil fertility classes from 2007 to 2009. It was determined that minimum tillage practices are inappropriate for good and poor soil fertility and most beneficial for farms of medium soil fertility. In order to raise agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa, additional studies that account for heterogeneity among smallholders is critical.
  • Tillage and vegetative barrier effects on soil conservation and short-term economic benefits in the Central Kenya highlands
    Guto, S. N.; Pypers, P.; Vanlauwe, Bernard; de Ridder, N.; Giller, Ken (Elsevier, 2011)
    Integrating vegetative soil erosion barriers with minimum tillage practices can be an economically viable method in reducing soil loss in intensively managed sloping land in the East African Highlands. This study sought to compare minimum and regular tillage practices with and without vegetative barriers (leucaena and Napier) under local farming conditions in Kenya. Minimum tillage yields of soybean and maize were superior to conventional, except in instances of root competition within the Napier no-till trial. Minimum tillage trials without barriers experienced significant soil loss during periods of heavy rainfall and had the lowest marginal rate of returns. Napier barriers with conventional tillage conserved the most soil and represented an economically viable option; however, leucaena barrier use couple with conventional tillage was found to be a less risky practice with even greater economic returns. Longer term studies in multiple locations are necessary to determine impacts across a highly varied cohort of smallholder farmers in the African Highlands.