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Maize-based conservation agriculture systems in Malawi: Long-term trends in productivity

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dc.contributor.authorThierfelder, Christianen
dc.contributor.authorChisui, J. L.en
dc.contributor.authorGama, M.en
dc.contributor.authorCheesman, S.en
dc.contributor.authorJere, Z. D.en
dc.contributor.authorBunderson, W. T.en
dc.contributor.authorEash, Neal S.en
dc.contributor.authorRusinamhodzi, L.en
dc.contributor.departmentSustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) Knowledgebaseen
dc.coverage.spatialMalawien
dc.coverage.temporal2004 - 2012en
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-19T20:30:42Zen
dc.date.available2016-04-19T20:30:42Zen
dc.date.issued2013en
dc.descriptionMetadata only recorden
dc.description.abstractContinuous maize cultivation in Malawi has degraded the soils, but conservation agriculture (CA) offers an option for improving soil quality while increasing yields. However, the effect of CA can vary widely by agro-ecological context. This study evaluates this effect by comparing CA productivity trends in nine communities in the southern and central regions of Malawi. In each target community six experiments were established which applied three treatments: conventional ridge and furrow system with maize; CA with maize and CA with maize and a legume intercrop. Variability among communities was explored using principal component analysis. Site characteristics, seasonal effects, and cropping system (CA or conventional) were found to significantly impact maize grain yield. CA cropping systems had higher time-to-pond than conventional, suggesting improved water infiltration. Improvements in yield as a result of CA production systems were universal across all communities, despite vast differences in biophysical characteristics. However, these yield improvements were not immediately significant, becoming evident after three to five seasons.en
dc.description.notesLTRA-9 (Developing sustainable CAPS for smallholder farmers in Southern Africa)en
dc.format.mimetypetext/plainen
dc.identifier7829en
dc.identifier.citationField Crops Research 142: 47–57en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2012.11.010en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/70234en
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.relation.urihttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429012003826en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2012 by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserveden
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectSoilen
dc.subjectConservation agricultureen
dc.subjectSubtropicsen
dc.subjectSustainable agricultureen
dc.subjectConservation tillageen
dc.titleMaize-based conservation agriculture systems in Malawi: Long-term trends in productivityen
dc.typeAbstracten
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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