Effects of integrated water and nutrient management technologies on crop and labour productivity in Zimbabwe

Abstract: 
Poor soils, erratic rainfall, frequent dry spells have been cited as the major threats to the development agricultural in Southern Africa. This experiment was designed to evaluate the benefits derived from post planting tied ridging, conservation farming basins and rip and potholing treated with cattle manure and compound D on maize and soya bean yield, soil profile moisture storage, plant nitrogen uptake and biomass. Nine farmers from the semi-arid region of Kadoma are hosing the experiment with a parallel study being conducted in Domboshawa which receives annual rainfall of between 450 – 650 mm and 7501000 mm, respectively. Labour productivity for each innovation will also be assessed.
Les sols pauvres, les précipitations irrégulières et les périodes fréquentes de sécheresse ont été citées comme les principales menaces pour le développement agricole en Afrique australe. Cette expérience a été conçue pour évaluer les avantages découlant du buttage lié à la post-semence, des bassins d’agriculture de conservation et de ripage et de la spéléologie traitée avec du fumier de bovins et le composé D sur le maïs et le rendement du soja, le stockage d’humidité du profil du sol, l’absorption de l’azote des plantes et la biomasse. Neuf agriculteurs de la région semi-aride de Kadoma realisent l’expérience avec une étude parallèle menée à Domboshawa qui reçoit des précipitations annuelles comprises entre 450 et 650 mm et entre 750 et 1000 mm, respectivement. La productivité du travail pour chaque innovation sera également évaluée.
Language: 
English
Date of publication: 
2010
Country: 
Region Focus: 
Southern Africa
Author/Editor(s): 
University/affiliation: 
Collection: 
RUFORUM Conferences and Workshops
Licence conditions: 
Open Access
Access restriction: 
Form: 
Printed resource
Publisher: 
ISSN: 
E_ISSN: 
Edition: 
Extent: 
1351-1355
Notes: 
 
"The 2010 RUFORUM Biennial Conference was the second in the series. The main objective of the Biennial conferences is to provide a platform for agricultural research for development stakeholders in Africa and beyond to actively exchange findings and experiences, while at the same time learning lessons towards improving performance of the agricultural sector and ultimately people’s livelihoods. The biennial conference is RUFORUM’s most comprehensive meeting for the diversity of stakeholers in agriculture. It is especially dedicated to graduate students and their supervisors, grantees in RUFORUM member universities and alumni. It is a platform for peer review, quality control, mentorship, networking and shared learning. This record contains an extended abstract accepted under the theme soil science and water management".