Improving Food Security of Highly Weathered Soils of Gùrué District, Mozambique
| dc.contributor.author | Rocha, Antonio J. | |
| dc.contributor.department | Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-05-28T20:41:57Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-05-28T20:41:57Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Farmers among productive areas in Sub-Saharan Africa have been struggling to reduce food insecurity in tropical environments where they live. Low soil essential nutrients, low soil pH, acidic reddish – brown soils, high rainfall events coupled with pest attacks and diseases are some of the biotic and abiotic factors that challenge African farmers to improve crop productive, where Mozambique is not an exception. Locally available rock phosphate, limestone and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.,) and pigeon pea (Cajanus Cajan L.) were tested in these acid reddish- brown soils of Mepuagiua at summit and backslope topographic positions. A Phosphate experiment using Evate rock phosphate and pigeon pea crop and limestone experiment using common bean crop was used in the research. The purpose of the experiment was to provide production alternatives to farmers by changing the soil conditions by applying and incorporating limestone; and the second, was to choose the crop (pigeon pea) to fit the soil conditions. A phosphate experiment was conducted to assess the feasibility of using local Evate rock phosphate (40.7% total P2O5) as a corrective to supply phosphorus. The rock phosphate was applied at rates of 20, 40, 80 and 160 kg total P ha-1. For a comparison, triple super phosphate was also added at four P levels (0, 10, 20 and 40 kg P ha-1). Factorial amounts of triple super phosphate (TSP) and Evate rock phosphate (ERP) were compared in terms of pigeon pea growth and grain yield. A limestone experiment, four rates of lime were applied,subsequently, 0, 1, 3, 6 Mg ha-1. Urea ( 46%) as source of nitrogen and TSP (Triple superphosphate_45% P2O5) as source of phosphorus were applied 5 cm a part by hand at 20 kg.ha-1; 208.6 g and 488.53 g respectively. A pigeon pea grain yield of 1000 kg grain ha-1 was possible with an application of 80 kg ha-1 of total P added as Evate rock phosphate. By comparison 20 kg P ha-1 as TSP was needed to reach a maximum yield of pigeon pea grain. This ratio suggests that Evate rock phosphate was 25% as effective as TSP on a total P basis. This research suggests that the Evate rock phosphate can be an effective amendment that can enable or enhance food grain production on the acid, infertile upland soils of Central Mozambique. For common bean, soil pH was adjusted upward using lime from nearby Nampula Province. Germination and early growth were extremely limited with no lime application, however maximum growth occurred with the modest application of 1 Mg ha-1 of lime. Further studies are needed to determine how long the 1 Mg ha-1 of lime will continue to support improved common bean growth. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10125/62807 | |
| dc.language | eng | |
| dc.publisher | University of Hawaii at Manoa | |
| dc.subject | Phosphate rock | |
| dc.subject | limestone | |
| dc.subject | Mozambique | |
| dc.title | Improving Food Security of Highly Weathered Soils of Gùrué District, Mozambique | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.dcmi | Text | |
| dcterms.description | M.S. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017. |
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