ABSTRACT Climate change is a major stressor that would adversely affect tropical agriculture, which is largely rainfed. Available evidence shows that associated with climate change is an increasing trend in temperature and in some locations, decline in rainfall leading to repeated droughts during the growing season. In this study, the effects of increased temperature and drought on soybean, a C3 plant, was investigated under greenhouse conditions. An understanding of how soybean would respon...
Abstract Various methods have been proposed for the improvement and maintenance of soil structure. In Ghana, the effects of agroforestry in the improvement of soil physical properties have not attracted much attention. This study seeks to determine the effects of agroforestry on the chemical and physical properties of soils in the semi-deciduous ecological zone. Three plots under Alley cropping and one plot under Woodlot (Leucaena leucocephala) were used. The soil properties determined includ...
ABSTRACTCrop production in peasant cropping systems in the semi-arid areas of West Africa is generally constrained by low and uncertain rainfall, poor soil fertility and lack of credit facilities to purchase inputs such as fertilizers and improved varieties. In this study, two field experiments (September to November 1996 and March to June 1997) were conducted on an Ultisol (Bekwai series) at Kwadaso, Kumasi in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana. An assessment was made of production pote...
ABSTRACT Maize farmers accrue low yields due to poor weather, lack of certified seeds and farm inputs. The crop cutting method used by MoFA in yield estimation is tedious, labour intensive and most information are not adequately captured for decision making and policy. This study explores an additional method of scaling farmer-level yield to Tolon District level yield. The DSSAT-CERES maize model was used to simulate farmer-level yields where weather, soil and crop management data from select...
ABSTRACT The use of inorganic fertilizers in crop production in Sub Saharan Africa is very low due to exorbitant cost. Coincidentally nitrogen which is a limiting nutrient in sub Saharan African soils is locked up in organic waste with the waste breeding flies and having become an environmental nuisance in most towns in the sub region. Composting these organic wastes to be used as organic amendment has been proposed as one of the ways of improving on the low fertility status in soils and rid...
Long-term greenhouse experiments with corn (Zea mays) established that uptake of Fe from nutrient solutions may be significantly enhanced by increasing the supply of potassium. A mechanism was proposed to describe how uptake of macronutrient ions may in turn influence availability and uptake of Fe and other elements from their chelated and sparingly soluble compounds. It was hypothesized that since differential accumulation of cations is accompanied by a net release of H ions, and excess anio...
Summary Samples of soil have been taken from various situations at different times to illustrate the effects of season, water, sha.de, agriculture, disturbance and type of soil, on the soil meiofauna of the Accra Plains, It is shown that there is a significant difference both in numbers and in vertical distribution of the animals in different seasons and in different soils. Water is thought to be the most important factors as it is demonstrated that there is a direct correlation between size ...
ABSTRACT The objective o f the study was to obtain information on the existence o f Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains in Ghanaian soils, evaluate their effectiveness with the view to improving nodulation, nitrogen fixation and yield potential o f soybean. Eight soil series were screened for nodulation capabilities of soybean using six cultivars (four promiscuous and two non-promiscuous). The soils were Adenta, Akuse, Anyinase and Bekwai; the rest were Hatso, Nyigbenya, Nzima and Toje. Four cul...
ABSTRACT Knowledge of soil spatial variability and the relationships among soil properties are important for the evaluation of agricultural land management practices and soil research. The study was conducted to assess the spatial variability of selected soil properties on a 2.17 ha field at the School of Agriculture Teaching and Research farm from March to October, 2010. A stratified random sampling design was employed in the study. Samples were collected from two depths 0-10 cm and 10-20 c...
ABSTRACT Mining is one of the main causes of environmental pollution by heavy metals. Re-vegetation of mine spoils is an effective way of restoring the mined land to its pristine status. The study was conducted to assess the physicochemical soil properties, heavy metal concentrations in two re-vegetatively restored mined spoils at an AngloGold concession at Obuasi. Concentration of heavy metals in cassava were used as an indicator for comparism. A simple random sampling technique was used to...
ABSTRACT The study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of biochar and poultry manure in improving the fertility of a strongly weathered soil and the yield of lettuce. In two separate experiments, three rates (0, 39 and 65 t ha-1 per 1 kg soil) of biochar (CCB, CHB and PMB) solely or in combination with poultry manure (0 and 10 t ha-1 ) were incorporated into pots containing 1 kg soil and arranged in completely randomized design. Biochar and or manure effects on SOC, mineral N, AVP, pH, E...
ABSTRACT Trees in general and leguminous trees in particular form an integral part of the traditional farming systems in Ghana. Compared to other plants, leguminous trees have the advantage that, they are generally capable of growing better on N-deficient soils due to their ability to convert unavailable atmospheric N2 into plant utilizable N. However, several factors including the abundance and effectiveness of the specific rhizobial partner, the available N and P in soil, are among the impo...
ABSTRACT Eight soil series from two agro-ecological zones of Ghana were evaluated for their suitability for maize production intensification using three approaches: the Soil Quality Index (SQI), DSSAT yield simulations and the Multi-criteria Analysis (MCA). Four of the series were from the Forest – Savanna Transition namely Wenchi series (Feric Dystric Leptosol), Ejura series (Haplic Lixisol), Damongo series (Dystric Nitosol) and Lima series (Eutric Gleysol). The four soils from the Guinea ...
ABSTRACT An experimental study of solute transport during one-dimensional sorption of a solution of KC1 into a uniformly packed horizontal soil column of Akuse clay, (a tropical clay loam from Ghana which is dominantly montmorillonitic) and Brookston clay of the Huron Catena (dominantly illitic) is reported in this thesis. A hydrodynamic equation based on the existing theories of irreversible thermodynamics is developed to incorporate the effect of anion exclusion in the usual hydrodynamic eq...
ABSTRACT The study basically examined the movement of agrochemical compounds in soil. Four different soil samples made up of three sandy loams and a sandy clay were used in the study. Potassium chloride solution and chlorpyrifos were used as infiltration solutions in a horizontal infiltration study under laboratory conditions. At the end of each experiment, the infiltration column was sectioned and the moisture content as well as the solution concentration of the agrochemical compound (Cl- , ...