Browsing by Author "Mwangi, H.G."
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Item Changes of Soil Conditions and Maize Yield After Years of Conventional Tillage on a Mollic Soil(East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal, 2023) Mwangi, H.G.; Irene, W.G.; Ooro, P.A.; Esilaba, A.O.; Githunguri, C.; Wasilwa, L.; Kenya Agricultural Livestock & Research Organization (KALRO)-Njoro ; University of NairobiSoil tillage affects soil physical, biological and nutrient cycling capacity. Field studies were conducted from 2016 to 2018 on same site using two tillage systems Conventional and Reduced tillage. Conventional tillage was done using a 3-disc plough while reduced tillage was done using a Chisel plough. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in some soil properties induced by two different tillage treatments and their effect on maize grain yield. The trial was set at Kenya Agricultural Livestock & Research Organization (KALRO) Njoro on a Mollic Andosol. The design was randomised complete block replicated four times. The factor tillage had two levels. Changes in water stable aggregates, compaction as measured by changes in bulk density, soil water retention at pF 4.2, total soil organic carbon and hence soil organic matter, microbial biomass [bacteria and fungi] in form of total microbial biomass-N and microbial biomass-C and maize yield were obtained after three years in 2018. With exception of bulk density that was found to be higher in Conventional tillage, results showed that aggregate stability water stable aggregates, soil water retention capacity at pF4.2, soil organic matter. Total microbial biomass-nitrogen and microbial biomass-carbon were higher in reduced tillage. Maize grain yield was higher (p<0.05) in reduced tillage. Bulk density of the soil was observed to be higher after three years of conventional tillage compared to reduced tillage. Reduced tillage increased soil organic matter, structure, water retention and microbial biomass and maize yields. This study has revealed that reduced tillage is pivotal in healing the highly weathered soils that have become degraded and soil fertility has declined through decades of continuous disc and plough tillage, lengthy exploitation and nutrient mining leading to low crop yields.Item Integrating Inorganic and Organic Fertilizers in Cropping Systems for the Transformation of Maize Productivity in Nakuru County(East African Agricultural and Forestry Journa, 2023) Ooro, P.A.; Mwangi, H.G.; Esilaba, A.O.; Nyongesa, D.; Miriti, J.M.; Okoti, M.; Lusike, W.A.; Githunguri, C.; Thuranira, E.G.; Moraa, L.M.; Luvonga, J.; Osoo, J.O.; Bor, P.K.; Kenya Agricultural Livestock & Research Organization -Njoro (KALRO), Headquaters & KabeteDespite the immense significance of maize (Zea mays L.) for Kenya’s economic prosperity and food security, productivity and production have not significantly increased over time. This is attributed to a number of things, including decreased soil fertility. In order to ascertain the applicability of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), a study was carried out between 2016 and 2017 in Nakuru County at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Njoro Centre, Nakuru County. The treatments were arranged in a split-split plot in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated four times. Soil and water conservation (SWC) and conventional tillage (CT) were allocated to the main plot, the split-plots and fertilizer sources i.e Farm yard manure (FYM), Nitrogen (N) and Phosphoros (P) fertilizers to the split-split plot. Kenya Seed Company maize hybrid (H6213) and Egerton bean variety (Chelalang) were used as test crops. A variety of maize and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) characteristics, such as plant stand at germination, plant vigor, days to 50% blooming, days to 50% maturity, plant stand at harvest, number of pods per plant, number of cobs, number of seeds per pod, grain yield, and 100-grain weight, were all recorded. Applying a full rate of inorganic fertilizer resulted in significantly maize yields (P< 0.05) compared to all other fertility management strategies, with the exception of those where a half rate of both inorganic and organic fertilizers was applied. The results further showed that the use of inorganic fertilizer alone considerably increased maize output whether cultivated as a sole crop or an intercrop compared to farmyard manure applied alone or in conjunction with inorganic fertilizer.
