Impact of reduced tillage and crop residue management on soil properties and crop yields in a long-term trial in western Kenya
Jeremiah M. Okeyo A D E , Jay Norton A , Saidou Koala B , Boaz Waswa B , Job Kihara B and Andre Bationo C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.
B AfNet-TSBF, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), c/o ICIPE Duduville Campus, PO Box 823-00621, Nairobi, Kenya.
C Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), PMA KIA 114, Airport, Accra, Ghana.
D Current address: Department of Land and Water Management, Embu University College, PO Box 6 (60100), Embu, Kenya.
E Corresponding author. Email: jmokeyo@outlook.com
Soil Research 54(6) 719-729 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR15074
Submitted: 6 May 2015 Accepted: 20 November 2015 Published: 4 July 2016
Abstract
Sustainable farming practices are required to address the persistent problems of land degradation and declining crop productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Approaches such as reducing tillage and retaining crop residues as mulch are potential entry points for smallholder farmers to move towards sustainability. In this study, we assessed the impact of reduced tillage (RT) compared with conventional tillage (CT), each combined with crop residue reapplication, on soil quality indicators and crop yields under an 8-year trial in western Kenya. Our results indicate that RT combined with crop residue reapplication enhanced soil physical quality through increased macroaggregate (>2000 µm) proportions and mean weight diameter. Similarly, lower respiratory quotient values indicate that soil microbes under RT have better substrate-use efficiency than those under CT. Nevertheless, soil organic carbon (C), potentially mineralisable C, microbial biomass C and mineral nitrogen contents were all higher under CT with crop residue incorporated into the soil. Maize grain yield and aboveground biomass were also higher under CT. Thus, despite RT showing potential to improve soil physical properties, CT performed better. A stepwise approach is proposed towards the practice of conservation agriculture under resource-constrained smallholder farming conditions, starting with increased biomass production to provide crop residue for soil cover, followed by RT approaches.
Additional keywords: aggregate stability, labile SOC fractions, nutrient management, qCO2, smallholder farming systems, soil quality indices.
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