Kirchmann, Holger
- Department of Soil Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
This paper examines the soil fertility management practices of smallholder farmers in north eastern Zimbabwe and investigates whether mixed farming systems like these are sustainable. To maintain crop production, farmers used inorganic fertilizers and a variety of locally-derived fertilizers: manure, termitarium soil, crop residues, woodland litter, compost and household waste. On average, locally-derived fertilizers provide about 25 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) and 65 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) for fields and gardens, respectively, indicating the importance of gardens as a focus for soil management. Farmers achieve target yields without the high application rates recommended by the extension service, probably because of the positive interactive effects of applying inorganic and organic fertilizer. Current yields on these nutrient-poor sands cannot be maintained in the absence of the inorganic inputs, thus sustainability is threatened by rising human populations and the recent massive increases in fertilizer prices.
Published in
Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
1998, volume: 11, number: 2-3, pages: 19-39
Publisher: HAWORTH PRESS INC
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Agricultural Science
Soil Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/j064v11n02_04
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/44210