Toward greater sustainability: how investing in soil health may enhance maize productivity in Southern Africa

dc.creatorThierfelder, C.
dc.creatorPaterson, E.
dc.creatorMwafulirwa, L.
dc.creatorDaniell, T.J.
dc.creatorCairns, J.E.
dc.creatorMhlanga, B.
dc.creatorBaggs, E.M.
dc.date2021-11-23T01:05:14Z
dc.date2021-11-23T01:05:14Z
dc.date2022
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-17T20:08:19Z
dc.date.available2023-07-17T20:08:19Z
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10883/21740
dc.identifier10.1017/S1742170521000442
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorioslatinoamericanos.uchile.cl/handle/2250/7513510
dc.descriptionClimate change and soil fertility decline are major threats to smallholder farmers' food and nutrition security in southern Africa, and cropping systems that improve soil health are needed to address these challenges. Cropping systems that invest in soil organic matter, such as no-tillage (NT) with crop residue retention, have been proposed as potential solutions. However, a key challenge for assessing the sustainability of NT systems is that soil carbon (C) stocks develop over long timescales, and there is an urgent need to identify trajectory indicators of sustainability and crop productivity. Here we examined the effects of NT as compared with conventional tillage without residue retention on relationships between soil characteristics and maize (Zea mays L.) productivity in long-term on-farm and on-station trials in Zimbabwe. Our results show that relationships between soil characteristics and maize productivity, and the effects of management on these relationships, varied with soil type. Total soil nitrogen (N) and C were strong predictors of maize grain yield and above-ground biomass (i.e., stover) in the clayey soils, but not in the sandy soils, under both managements. This highlights context-specific benefits of management that fosters the accumulation of soil C and N stocks. Despite a strong effect of NT management on soil C and N in sandy soils, this accrual was not sufficient to support increased crop productivity in these soils. We suggest that sandy soils should be the priority target of NT with organic resource inputs interventions in southern Africa, as mineral fertilizer inputs alone will not halt the soil fertility decline. This will require a holistic management approach and input of C in various forms (e.g., biomass from cover crops and tree components, crop residues, in combination with mineral fertilizers). Clayey soils on the other hand have greater buffering capacity against detrimental effects of soil tillage and low C input.
dc.description166-177
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.relationClimate adaptation and mitigation
dc.relationDiversification in East and Southern Africa
dc.relationResilient Agrifood Systems
dc.relationBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/117012
dc.rightsCIMMYT manages Intellectual Assets as International Public Goods. The user is free to download, print, store and share this work. In case you want to translate or create any other derivative work and share or distribute such translation/derivative work, please contact CIMMYT-Knowledge-Center@cgiar.org indicating the work you want to use and the kind of use you intend; CIMMYT will contact you with the suitable license for that purpose
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.source2
dc.source37
dc.source1742-1705
dc.sourceRenewable Agriculture and Food Systems
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
dc.subjectSoil Health Indicators
dc.subjectCLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
dc.subjectCLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE
dc.subjectCONSERVATION AGRICULTURE
dc.subjectZERO TILLAGE
dc.subjectSOIL QUALITY
dc.subjectSUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION
dc.titleToward greater sustainability: how investing in soil health may enhance maize productivity in Southern Africa
dc.typeArticle
dc.typePublished Version
dc.coverageUnited Kingdom


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