129
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
B. R. Singh et al. (eds.), Climate Impacts on Agricultural and Natural Resource
Sustainability in Africa, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37537-9_7
Productivity and Chemical Composition
of Maize Stover and Rice Straw Under
Smallholder Farming Systems
Intensification in Tanzania
Ephraim J. Mtengeti, Eva Mtengeti, and Lars Olav Eik
Abstract Cereal crop-dairy production is one of the crop-livestock production
systems with a high potential for increasing food security of smallholder farmers
in Africa. The question is how to meet the challenge of increasing the productivity
and production efficiency of crops and milk per unit land area in highly populated
areas of Tanzania. In these areas, smallholder farmers own an average of 0.5–2 ha
of land and use the bulk of crop residues to feed livestock. This 4-year study aimed
at demonstrating the impact of intensification, through improved plant nutrition, on
productivity and chemical composition of maize and rice crop residues. The demonstrated treatments were farmers’ practice (FP) and improved plant nutrition
(IPN). We recorded the yield of maize and rice crop residues and the concentration
of macro- and micro-minerals in oven-dried samples of crop residue. The concentrations of N, P, K, Mg and Ca, which were not significantly (P > 0.05) different
between the farmers’ and improved plant nutrition practices, ranged from 0.48% to
0.83%, 0.03% to 0.08%, 1.11% to 2.23%, 0.07% to 0.083% and 0.10% to 0.26%
for maize stover and 0.48% to 0.84%, 0.08% to 0.23%, 2.31% to 2.83%, 0.20% to
0.33% and 0.10% to 0.22% for rice straw, respectively. The concentrations of Cu
and Zn ranged from 2.3 to 14.0 and 6.0 to 20.5 mg/kg for maize stover and 1.7 to
12.4 and 27.0 to 55.7 mg/kg for rice straw, respectively. Comparable nutrients in
the two agronomic practices can be related to nutrient dilution under improved
plant nutrition due to high biomass production that was significantly (P < 0.05)
higher (on average 8.9 Mg DM/ha) than under farmers’ practice (3.7 Mg DM/ha
for maize stover). Since cereal crop residues from improved plant nutrition did not
differ significantly (P > 0.0.5) from those of the farmers’ practice in terms of nutrient concentration, we concluded that farmers’ practice crop residues obtained their
E. J. Mtengeti (*) · E. Mtengeti
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
L. O. Eik
Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University
of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
B. R. Singh et al. (eds.), Climate Impacts on Agricultural and Natural Resource
Sustainability in Africa, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37537-9_7
Productivity and Chemical Composition
of Maize Stover and Rice Straw Under
Smallholder Farming Systems
Intensification in Tanzania
Ephraim J. Mtengeti, Eva Mtengeti, and Lars Olav Eik
Abstract Cereal crop-dairy production is one of the crop-livestock production
systems with a high potential for increasing food security of smallholder farmers
in Africa. The question is how to meet the challenge of increasing the productivity
and production efficiency of crops and milk per unit land area in highly populated
areas of Tanzania. In these areas, smallholder farmers own an average of 0.5–2 ha
of land and use the bulk of crop residues to feed livestock. This 4-year study aimed
at demonstrating the impact of intensification, through improved plant nutrition, on
productivity and chemical composition of maize and rice crop residues. The demonstrated treatments were farmers’ practice (FP) and improved plant nutrition
(IPN). We recorded the yield of maize and rice crop residues and the concentration
of macro- and micro-minerals in oven-dried samples of crop residue. The concentrations of N, P, K, Mg and Ca, which were not significantly (P > 0.05) different
between the farmers’ and improved plant nutrition practices, ranged from 0.48% to
0.83%, 0.03% to 0.08%, 1.11% to 2.23%, 0.07% to 0.083% and 0.10% to 0.26%
for maize stover and 0.48% to 0.84%, 0.08% to 0.23%, 2.31% to 2.83%, 0.20% to
0.33% and 0.10% to 0.22% for rice straw, respectively. The concentrations of Cu
and Zn ranged from 2.3 to 14.0 and 6.0 to 20.5 mg/kg for maize stover and 1.7 to
12.4 and 27.0 to 55.7 mg/kg for rice straw, respectively. Comparable nutrients in
the two agronomic practices can be related to nutrient dilution under improved
plant nutrition due to high biomass production that was significantly (P < 0.05)
higher (on average 8.9 Mg DM/ha) than under farmers’ practice (3.7 Mg DM/ha
for maize stover). Since cereal crop residues from improved plant nutrition did not
differ significantly (P > 0.0.5) from those of the farmers’ practice in terms of nutrient concentration, we concluded that farmers’ practice crop residues obtained their
E. J. Mtengeti (*) · E. Mtengeti
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
L. O. Eik
Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University
of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway