Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Saleque, M.A
• Uddin, M.K
• Ferdous, A.K.M
• Rashid, M.H

Titel

Use of Farmers' Empirical Knowledge to Delineate Soil Fertility-Management Zones and Improved Nutrient-Management for Lowland Rice

Ist Teil von

• Communications in soil science and plant analysis, 2008-01, Vol.39 (1-2), p.25-45

Ort / Verlag

Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis Group

Erscheinungsjahr

2008

Quelle

Taylor & Francis Journals Auto-Holdings Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Development of a field-specific nutrient-management program with the use of farmers' empirical knowledge of soil-fertility is important for its adoption and to increase yield in farmers' fields. Using nutrient-management trials conducted in farmers' fields of three districts in Bangladesh, the objectives of this study were to (i) identify farmers' defined fertility-management zones (FMZ) at the village level, (ii) compare the farmers' perception of soil-fertility with the laboratory soil-test results, and (iii) compare an improved nutrient-management (INM) program (based on soil-test results of FMZs and farmers' opinion) with the farmers' practice (FP) of nutrient-management. Farmers of the participatory villages prepared soil-fertility maps for each village (100-200 ha) delineating three management zones - zone I (most fertile soil), zone II (medium fertile soils), and zone III (least fertile soils). Farmers were able to identify difference in soil between management zones through their empirical knowledge, such as soil color, texture, water-holding capacity, depth of plow, or presence of earthworms. Laboratory analyses of soil samples showed that the soil organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N) concentration, exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), available sulfur (S), and micronutrient concentration were higher in FMZ I and the least in zone III. In each management zone, the INM was compared with the FP. The INM programs, in most cases, consist of 11-71% greater dose of N, 6-100% higher dose of phosphorus (P), and 39-100% higher dose of potassium (K) fertilizers. The application of INM doses increased rice yield in all the participatory villages. The magnitude of yield increase with the INM doses varied from 4 to 63% in Aus (April-July), 9-52% in T. Aman (July-November), and 7-56% in Boro (December-May) seasons. The yield ranges of FP and INM were 2.03-3.68 and 2.80-4.56 t/ha in Aus, 2.34-3.80 and 3.21-4.44 t/ha in Aman, and 3.17-5.44 and 3.88-7.76 t/ha in Boro, respectively. The investigation informed the farmers of required fertilizer doses for the parcels of land of the specific management zone to achieve higher rice yield. The INM doses may be disseminated to the neighbor villages of similar topography and soil properties through farmer-to-farmer communications. However, cost of fertilizers and their availability in the villages may stand in the way for farmers to adopt INM.