Effects of wood ash on soil fertility and plant performance in southwestern Kenya

A field experiment was conducted in Kisii county, southwestern Kenya from February to May 2017. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of wood ash on soil pH, soil nutrient content and productivity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and compare it to effects from mineral fertilizer (Diammonium phosphate, DAP) application and liming using calcium carbonate, CaCO3. Two weeding approaches with different timings were also included in the study. The experiment was two-factorial with six fertilizer/lime treatments (recommended dose of mineral fertilizer, mineral fertilizer dose used by farmers, mineral fertilizer dose used by farmers with lime, lime only, wood ash and a control where no amendments were made) and two weeding treatments (early and farmers practice) replicated four times. Soil samples were collected before experiment establishment and four weeks after the experiment was established. Data was taken on soil pH, available P, exchangeable base cation content, CEC and BS. Parameters for plant growth and development recorded were emergence, days to developmental stage V4 and R1, number of flowers and pods, bean yield and plant biomass. This was collected throughout the growing season. Data were analysed using ANOVA and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. The soil pH after treatments was found to be significantly higher in the ash treatment compared to the control and the treatments where only mineral fertilizer and no lime was applied. Lime application had no significant effect on the soil pH. However, base saturation was higher in the treatments where lime was applied than in the other treatments. No significant effects by the different treatments were recorded on available P or exchangeable base cations. The number of flowers and pods per plant was higher in plots treated with ash than in those treated with lime. The harvested plant biomass was lower in the lime treatment than in the other treatments. No significant differences were found in bean yield. Plant performance did not differ between weeding treatments, nor were there any significant interactions between fertilizer/lime treatment and weeding approach. Based on these results ash successfully increased soil pH. There are also indications that wood ash can provide other nutrients to meet the requirement of beans when grown under these conditions. Studies performed over a longer period of time would be required to see long term effects on soil pH, nutrient status and plant performance

Factors influencing DON-levels in oats : an interview study reviewing the growing season 2013

Växtpatogena svampar av släktet Fusarium skapar problem i bland annat i spannmål världen över. Angrepp kan orsaka skördenedsättningar. Vissa arter producerar även mykotoxiner vilka kan vara toxiska för människor och djur. Ett av dessa toxiner är deoxynivalenol (DON). Med anledning av detta finns gränsvärden inom EU för hur mycket DON spannmål får innehålla. I Sverige har ett starkt samband påvisats mellan arten F. graminearum och förekomst av DON. I västra Sverige har lantbrukare haft stora problem med DON-halter över gränsvärdet 1750 μg/kg i havre. Fuktiga förhållanden har visats gynna infektion och tillväxt av F. graminearum och toxinproduktion. Jordar med högt innehåll av silt, så kallade kapillära jordar, torkar upp långsamt efter nederbörd. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om det finns en koppling mellan kapillära jordar och hög DON-halt i havre, samt att titta på om andra odlingsåtgärder påverkar DON-halterna. I studien intervjuades lantbrukare i Värmland. Intervjuerna fokuserade på lantbrukarnas erfarenheter av DON och Fusarium odlingssäsongen 2013, jordtyp och övriga agrara förutsättningar samt odlingsåtgärder den aktuella säsongen. Resultaten visade ingen koppling mellan jordar med högt siltinnehåll och DON-halter över gränsvärdet 1750 μg/kg. Bland odlingsåtgärder var val av sort den faktor som visade på högst relevans. Inga statistiskt signifikanta skillnader kunde visas. För att helt säkerställa om och hur jordens siltinnehåll korrelerar med DON-halter i havre skulle en studie där jordens siltinnehåll bestäms genom analys av jordprover från aktuella fält och noggrannare koppling mellan aktuellt fält och värde för DON-halt rekommenderas. Ett större antal prov och en analys av fler faktorer skulle också kunna ge ett tydligare resultat.Plant pathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium cause problems in cereals worldwide. Infections may result in reduced crop yields. Some species also produce mycotoxins that are toxic to humans and animals. One of these mycotoxins is deoxynivalenol (DON). Because of this there are threshold values for DON-levels in cereals within the European Union. In Sweden, a clear relationship between the species F. graminearum and presence of DON has been shown. In the western parts of Sweden, farmers have experienced problems with DON-levels above the threshold value 1750 μg/kg in oats. Studies have shown that a moist environment favours the infection and growth of F. graminearum and the production of mycotoxins. Soils with a high content of the silt fraction, also called capillary soils, dry up slowly. The purpose of this study was to find out whether there is a relationship between capillary soils and high DON-levels in oats. The study also examines other factors that may influence the levels of DON. In this study farmers in Värmland were interviewed. The interviews focused on framers’ experiences of Fusarium and DON during 2013, their soil type and other agrarian conditions and cultivation measures during 2013. The results showed no relation between soils with a high content of silt and DON-levels above 1750 μg/kg. Among cultivation measures the factor that seemed most relevant was selection of cultivar. The results were not statistically significant. To ensure that there is no relationship between the silt content of the soil and DON-levels in oats a more extended study could be proposed. It would improve the relevance of the results to analyse soil samples to find out the exact silt content and accurately connect the soils to specific levels of DON. A larger number of samples and an analysis including more factors might also give a more clear result

Gender issues in contemporary research on agriculture for food security - Knowledge gaps and key issues across the AgriFoSe2030 themes

Agriculture in low- and middle-income countries faces considerable challenges, ranging from increased food demand to climate change impacts, with rapidly evolving scope and complexity. At the same time, the opportunities to address these challenges are significant, which brings optimism that efforts in agricultural research can succeed. One major barrier, however, threatens to inhibit the impacts of agricultural research: the low level of gender equity in low- and middle-income countries. This is problematic on many levels and across entire crop and livestock value chains, all the way to landscape management. ContentsForewordGender dimensions of formal and informal land tenure systems in South Asia and sub--Saharan Africa by Srilata Sircar and Agnes Andersson-DjurfeldtWomen and food production in multifunctional landscapes by Lisa Westholm and Madelene OstwaldGender and sustainable intensification practises in smallholder crop production by Johanna Wetterlind, Jonna Wiklund and Håkan MarstorpGender research in relation to livestock production by Sofia Boqvist, Sofia Förster, Daovy Kongmanila, Maria Nassuna-Musoke and Ulf MagnussonConcluding remarks and future research needs</p

Gender issues in contemporary research on agriculture for food security - Knowledge gaps and key issues across the AgriFoSe2030 themes

Agriculture in low- and middle-income countries faces considerable challenges, ranging from increased food demand to climate change impacts, with rapidly evolving scope and complexity. At the same time, the opportunities to address these challenges are significant, which brings optimism that efforts in agricultural research can succeed. One major barrier, however, threatens to inhibit the impacts of agricultural research: the low level of gender equity in low- and middle-income countries. This is problematic on many levels and across entire crop and livestock value chains, all the way to landscape management. ContentsForewordGender dimensions of formal and informal land tenure systems in South Asia and sub--Saharan Africa by Srilata Sircar and Agnes Andersson-DjurfeldtWomen and food production in multifunctional landscapes by Lisa Westholm and Madelene OstwaldGender and sustainable intensification practises in smallholder crop production by Johanna Wetterlind, Jonna Wiklund and Håkan MarstorpGender research in relation to livestock production by Sofia Boqvist, Sofia Förster, Daovy Kongmanila, Maria Nassuna-Musoke and Ulf MagnussonConcluding remarks and future research needs</p

Gender issues in contemporary research on agriculture for food security - Knowledge gaps and key issues across the AgriFoSe2030 themes

Agriculture in low- and middle-income countries faces considerable challenges, ranging from increased food demand to climate change impacts, with rapidly evolving scope and complexity. At the same time, the opportunities to address these challenges are significant, which brings optimism that efforts in agricultural research can succeed. One major barrier, however, threatens to inhibit the impacts of agricultural research: the low level of gender equity in low- and middle-income countries. This is problematic on many levels and across entire crop and livestock value chains, all the way to landscape management. ContentsForewordGender dimensions of formal and informal land tenure systems in South Asia and sub--Saharan Africa by Srilata Sircar and Agnes Andersson-DjurfeldtWomen and food production in multifunctional landscapes by Lisa Westholm and Madelene OstwaldGender and sustainable intensification practises in smallholder crop production by Johanna Wetterlind, Jonna Wiklund and Håkan MarstorpGender research in relation to livestock production by Sofia Boqvist, Sofia Förster, Daovy Kongmanila, Maria Nassuna-Musoke and Ulf MagnussonConcluding remarks and future research needs</p