United States Agency for International Developmen

Amur, N.

Chivenge, P.P.

Kimaro, Anthony A.

Okori, P.

Semoka, J.

Swai, E.

Chivenge, Pauline P.

CGSpace

Sustainable intensification of maize-based systems through improved use of phosphorus fertilizers1A. A. Kimaro, 2N. Amur, 2J. Semoka, 3E. Swai, 4P. Chivenge, and 4P. Okori1World Agroforestry Centre, 2Sokoine University of Agriculture, 3Agriculture Research Institute-Hombolo, 4International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid TropicsKey messages• Land degradation, reflected in soil fertility depletion and reducedvegetation cover, is still a major biophysical constraint to sustainableagricultural productivity in Kongwa and Kiteto.• Targeting nutrient management options to different agro-ecologies isa promising strategy to sustain crop production and to scale therelevant technologies.• More farmers are realizing that use of fertilizers improves cropyields, even in semiarid sites, when good agronomic practices areadopted.This poster is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. January 2017We thank farmers and local partners in Africa RISING sites for their contributions to this research. We also acknowledge the support of all donors which globally support the work of the CGIAR centers and their partners through their contributions to the CGIAR systemObjectives and approachPurpose: Evaluate soil health status and drivers of land degradation (Fig1) and promote better fertilizer use for sustainable intensification in semi-arid Tanzania.Approach: Field experiments were carried out to develop phosphorous(P) fertilizer application rate. Baby plot demonstrations were establishedbased on the promising rate for validation and upscaling purposes.Key results• Application of 15 - 45 kg P ha-1 doubled maize yield relative to thecontrol (Fig. 1). Maize yield increase with fertilizer additions peaked at30 kg P ha-1, but 15 kg P ha-1 is recommended as yield increase afterthis rate was not significant (Fig. 2). P-use efficiency was improved at amicrodose rate of 7.5 kg P ha-1 and at 15 kg P ha-1 (Table 1).• Maize response to Minjingu fertilizers in farmers’ fields was similar tothat of YARA, suggesting that both fertilizer materials can be used byfarmers depending on availability and costs (Fig 3).• Fertilizer use is profitable when site specific rates (15 kg P ha-1 ) andappropriate crop management practices are used (Table 2).Significance and scaling potential• This work contributes to developing fertilizer guidelines in semi-arid Tanzania as there are no fertilizer recommendations for this agro-ecology. • Over 600 farmers in Kongwa and Kiteto have noted yield benefits due to the use of fertilizer and there high promise to expand the technology to more farmers in these districts.• Strategic partnership between public private sector and communities is needed for scaling out. This is being investigated in phase II.Fig. 3: Maize grain yield response to fertilizers baby plots (n=275) in Moleti and Njoro (Kongwa and Kiteto Districts), Tanzania. P was applied at 15 ha-1 and N at 60 ha-1.P rates (kg ha-1)Phosphorus Use Efficiency (%)Moleti Mlali Njoro0 0.000a 0.000a 0.000a7.5 5.691b 12.47b 4.966a15 4.370ab 7.275a 4.177a30 5.447ab 4.74ab 2.055aRate (kg P ha-1)Moleti (low rainfall) Njoro (high rainfall)2013 2014 2013 20140 1.41a 1.14c 1.57ba 1.31ba7.5 1.24a 1.20c 1.53ba 1.27ba15 1.31a 1.75a 1.86a 1.62a30 1.33a 1.62ba 1.88a 1.69aTable 1: Phosphorus use efficiency in Kongwa and KitetoTable 2: Cost Benefit Ratio of P-Fertilizer in Moleti and Njoro  Fig. 2: Maize grain yield response to fertilizers in mother sites in Kongwa and Kiteto Districts, Tanzania. Nitrogen was applied at 60 ha-1in all plots except control. (a) (b)Fig. 1: (a) Google map of the sentinel site in Njoro (Kongwa district), (b) infiltration measurement.Partners

Sustainable intensification of maize-based systems through improved use of phosphorus fertilizers

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Sustainable intensification of maize-based systems through improved use of phosphorus fertilizers

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