Understanding the response of sorghum cultivars to nitrogen applications in the semi-arid Nigeria using the agricultural production systems simulator

The Agricultural Production Systems simulator (APSIM) model was calibrated and evaluated using two improved sorghum varieties conducted in an experiment designed in a randomized complete block, 2014–2016 at two research stations in Nigeria. The results show that the model replicated the observed yield accounting for yield differences and variations in phenological development between the two sorghum cultivars. For early-maturing cultivar (ICSV-400), the model indicated by low accuracy with root means square error (RMSE) for biomass and grain yields of 20.3% and 23.7%. Meanwhile, Improved-Deko (medium-maturing) cultivar shows the model was calibrated with low RMSE (11.1% for biomass and 13.9% for grain). Also, the model captured yield response to varying Nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications in the three agroecological zones simulated. The N-fertilizer increased simulated grain yield by 26–52% for ICSV-400 and 19–50% for Improved-Deko compared to unfertilized treatment in Sudano-Sahelian zone. The insignificant yield differences between N-fertilizer rates of 60 and 100 kgha−1 suggests 60 kgNha−1 as the optimal rate for Sudano-Sahelian zone. Similarly, grain yield increased by 23–57% for ICSV-400 and 19–59% for Improved Deko compared to unfertilized N-treatment while the optimal mean grain yield was simulated at 80 kgNha−1 in the Sudan savanna zone. In the northern Guinea savanna, mean simulated grain yield increased by 8–20% for ICSV-400 and 12–23% for Improved-Deko when N-fertilizer was applied compared to unfertilized treatment. Optimum grain yield was obtained at 40 kgha−1. Our study suggests a review of blanket recommended fertilizer rates across semi-arid environments for sorghum to maximize productivity and eliminate fertilizer losses, means of adaptation strategies to climate variability

Handbook On Improved Agronomic Practices Of Groundnut Production In North East Nigeria

This handbook is intended to guide farmers, extension personnel, students of agriculture and researchers in Nigeria to use improved varieties and associated production practices to increase productivity. The guide draws its lessons from the work and experiences of ICRISAT and its partners in Research for Development on crop-based systems in Nigeria. The publication of this handbook is a demonstration of effective collaboration between ICRISAT, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), numerous farmers’ groups and Innovation Platform (IPs). The authors are grateful to the Management of these Institutes and organizations and gratefully acknowledge the work of other researchers that have helped immensely in compiling this manual

Hand Book on Improved Pearl Millet Production Practices in North Eastern Nigeria

This handbook is intended to guide farmers, extension personnel, students of agriculture and researchers in Nigeria to use improved varieties and complementary production practices to increase pearl millet productivity. The guide draws its lessons from the work and experience of ICRISAT and partners in Research for Development on crop-based systems in Nigeria. The publication of this handbook is a demonstration of effective collaboration between ICRISAT, Lake Chad Research Institute, (LCRI) Maiduguri, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), several farmer organizations and the demand by Innovation Platform members (IPs) members. ICRISAT and the authors are grateful to the management of these Institutes. The authors gratefully acknowledge the work of other researchers whose work have helped immensely in compiling this manual

Handbook on Improved Agronomic Practices for Sorghum Production in North East Nigeria

This handbook is intended to guide farmers, extension personnel, students of agriculture and researchers in Nigeria to use improved varieties and associated production practices to increase productivity. The guide draws its lessons from the work and experiences of ICRISAT and its partners in Research for Development on crop-based systems in Nigeria. The publication of this handbook is a demonstration of effective collaboration between ICRISAT, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), numerous farmers’ groups and Innovation Platform (IPs). The authors are grateful to the Management of these Institutes and organizations and gratefully acknowledge the work of other researchers that have helped immensely in compiling this manual

Assessment of Climatic Factors on Growth and Yield of Maize Variety as Influenced by Rates of Sunshine Organic Manure and NPK 20:10:10 Fertilizer

Maize is one of the most important cereal crops in West Africa. Its production in Nigeria has been hindered by inconsistency in rainfall pattern and low fertility especially in Akure, Ondo State. Two experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in 2016 growing season (wet and dry seasons) to determine the effects of Sunshine Organic Manure and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer on the growth and yield maize variety, as well in soil fertility improvement. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications per treatment. Suwan-1-SR-Ymaize varietywas used for the experiment and Sunshine Organic manure was applied at the rates of 0, 60, 90, and 120kg N ha-1while NPK 20:10:10 was used as standard at the rate of 70 kg N ha-1. Growth parameters (plant height and number of leaves per plant) were taken at two weeks interval for 12 weeks. At harvest, yield parameters (Seed weight/plant, Weight of 1000 seed (g), Number of seeds/cob, Yield in t ha-1, cob length (cm), cob girth (cm)) were determined. The following weather data were collected; Daily rainfall, maximum minimum temperature and solar radiation, while the soil data collected were; pH, total N, available phosphorus, potassium, organic carbon, and bulk density. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analyses. Mean separation was done using Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Results showed an increase in growth and yield parameters recorded with increasing application rates of Sunshine Organic Manure in both growing season

Response of maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield to different fertilizer application in Rainforest agroecological zone of Nigeria: Evaluation of CERES-maize crop model

Field trials were carried out in the Rainforest agroecological zone of Nigeria to assess the usefulness of the CERES – maize model as a decision support tool for optimizing growth and yield production of maize crop through varying application of organic manure as well as recommended NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer rate. The experiment was laid in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three (3) replications. The trial was conducted in the 2016 growing season at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) to calibrate and evaluate the performance of three (3) maize cultivars (Suwan-1-SR-Y, ART/98/SW1, ART/98/SW6 respectively) using sunshine organic manure (SOM) applied at the rate of 0, 60, 90, and 120 kg ha-1 and NPK 20:10:10 applied at a recommended rate of 70 kg N ha-1. Model performance across fertilizer management was evaluated using some statistical indicators such as Mean Square error (RMSE), Mean bias error (MBE), and R2 to measure its efficacy. Results showed that the model predictions captured the agronomic response of all the maize cultivars used across the fertilizer application rates. However, the model predicts accurately maize grain yield and total biomass with NPK 20:10:10 at 70kgNha-1 better than different rates of sunshine organic manure (SOM) application for all the maize cultivars. The result further showed good agreement between the model predicted and observed data with low RMSE of ≤ 1day for anthesis and ≤ 5 days for physiological maturity while the total leaf number ranged from 1.9 – 2.7. Model accuracy for predicting grain yield and total biomass was also good, for both the calibration and validation with lowest RMSE and NRMSE of the observed mean values

Sorghum yield and water use under Phosphorus fertilization applications in the Sudan savanna of Nigeria

Low soil fertility and water shortage are major constraints to food production and food security in semi-arid environments. Field experiments were conducted during two growing seasons (2014 and 2015) in two locations in Sudan savanna zone of Nigeria. The studyexaminedthe effects of Phosphorus (P) applications oncrop evapotranspiration (ETc) water use efficiency (WUE)and agronomy phosphorus use efficiency (APUE)and sorghum productivity. The experiments were arranged in split plot design with five (5) P-fertilizerlevels(0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 kg P205ha-1) as the main plot and threevarieties (CSR01, ICSV400 and local) as sub-plot in four replications.Results showed significant differences (P<0.05) amongthe P levels and sorghum varieties for grain yield in both locations and seasons. P increased grain yield by 19-39% over control treatment.The highest mean yield of 3156 kg ha-1 at Minjibir and 2929 kg ha-1 at BUK indicate optimum yield was recorded at the 45 kgP205ha-1 application rate and significantly higher than P rates at 0, 15 and 30kgha-1 respectively.Grain yield WUE washighly significantamongP-fertilizer levels and varieties, however, no significant differences between P-fertilizer rates for biomass WUE.P-application increased grain WUE of sorghum by 20-39%, the ICSV400 estimated the mean highest value of 9.3 and 8.6 kg ha-1mm-1 over CSR-01 and local at both locations.The study observed that the application of P could be an effective fertilization strategy to enhance sorghum yield and water use in low-rainfall cropping system and drought prone environment

Impacts of rainfall and temperature on photoperiod insensitive sorghum cultivar : model evaluation and sensitivity analysis

A combination of local-scale climate and crop simulation model were used to investigate the impacts of change in temperature and rainfall on photoperiod insensitive sorghum in the Sudanian zone of Mali. In this study, the response of temperature and rainfall to yield patterns of photoperiod insensitive sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model was evaluated. Following model calibration of the cultivar at varying sowing dates over two growing seasons (2013 and 2014), a long-term simulation was run using historical weather data (1981-2010) to determine the impacts of temperature and rainfall on grain yield, total biomass and water use efficiency at varying nitrogen fertilizer applications. The results showed that model performance was excellent with the lowest mean bias error (MBE) of -2.2 days for flowering and 1.4 days for physiological maturity. Total biomass and grain yield were satisfactorily reproduced, indicating fairly low RMSE values of 21.3% for total biomass and very low RMSE of 11.2 % for grain yield of the observed mean. Simulations at varying Nfertilizer application rate with increased temperature of 2 °C, 4 °C and 6 °C and decreased rainfall by 25 and 50 % (W-25% and W-50%) posed a highly significant risk to low yield compared to increase in rainfall. However, the magnitude of temperature changes showed a decline in grain yield by 10%, while a decrease in rainfall by W-25% and W-50% resulted in yield decline between 5% and 37%, respectively. Thus, climate-smart site-specific utilization of the photoperiod insensitive sorghum cultivar suggests more resilient and productive farming systems for sorghum in semi-arid regions of Mali

Simulating the effects of plant traits for increasing grain sorghum in waterlimited environments: a case study of West Africa Sudano-Sahelian region

The need to improve the performance of dryland crops in semiarid environments cannot be over emphasized, because growth and development of such crops are often limited by moisture and other abiotic factors. Sorghum production in commercial situations requires maximising grain yield on limited available water resources, which requires maximizing the ratio of yield to evapotranspiration. In this study, a system analysis was undertaken to identify those plant traits that might be altered to improve sorghum yield in a moisture-limited environment. APSIM model was used to simulate sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. moench) for 30-year period at two locations (Kano, Nigeria and Bamako, Mali), characterized by high inter-annual rainfall variability and evapotranspiration in the Sudano-Sahelian region of West Africa. Since sorghum is known to be better adapted to drier environments, a number of individual plant traits were adjusted in the calibrated APSIM sorghum-module for the two selected varieties. In the tested environments, it was found that decreasing leaf size and increasing seed growth both resulted in decreased yield while the ratio of grain yield to evapotranspiration was decreased. Combining sorghum plant traits in the model resulted in increased yield and the ratio of grain yield to evapotranspiration when the average for all the years simulated. In addition, the simulated grain yield show decline up to 25% in Bamako, Mali and 35% in Kano, Nigeria for both varieties. These results indicate future adaptations strategy to climate variability and change for sorghums variety is required while maintaining improving soil quality in a continuing process

Evaluation of the onset and length of growing season to define planting date - ‘a case study for Mali (West Africa)’

The agroecological zones (AEZ) of Mali fall within the semi-arid climate, the ability to determine efficiently or predict accurately the onset of growing season (OGS), and length of growing season (LGS) cannot be over-emphasized due to highly variable rainfall pattern and the dependence of smallholder farmers practising on rainfed farming agriculture. In this study, we determined the most suitable method for predicting the onset date of rainfall across AEZ that fitted with the planting windows of major cereal crops (maize, millet, and sorghum). Using long-term daily rainfall records from 22 meteorological stations spread across AEZ of Mali, four (4) known methods were applied to determine the onset dates of the rain. The mean onset dates were statistically compared with the farmer’s planting window for the selected weather stations to determine the suitable dates of OGS and LGS. The hypothesis considered a time lag minimum of 7 days between the mean onset date and traditional farmer sowing dates for the crops. Then, the preferred method was used to estimate OGS based on early, normal and late dates respectively across the stations. Also, the estimated LGS according to each zone was evaluated using probability distribution chart with duration to maturity for varieties of the same crops. The results showed that Def_4 was found appropriate for Sahelian and Sudano-Sahelian zones; Def_3 satisfied the criteria and exhibited superior capacity into farmer’s average planting date over Sudanian and Guinea Savannah zones. These results have an important application in cropping systems in order to prevent crop failure and ensure a better choice of crop variety according to LGS under climate variability and change being experienced across Mali