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Unlocking maize crop productivity through improved management practices in northern Tanzania

dc.contributor.authorKihara J.
dc.contributor.authorKizito F.
dc.contributor.authorJumbo M.
dc.contributor.authorKinyua M.
dc.contributor.authorBekunda, M.
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-07T14:56:43Z
dc.date.available2021-07-07T14:56:43Z
dc.date.issued2020-12
dc.identifier.citationKihara J., Kizito F., Jumbo M., Kinyua M. & Bekunda, M. (2020). Unlocking maize crop productivity through improved management practices in northern Tanzania. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 20(7), 17095-17112.
dc.identifier.issn1684-5374
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/7160
dc.description.abstractAddressing the problem of low crop productivity and food insecurity can be accelerated through community-centered implementation of good agricultural management practices. This study was conducted in Babati, Northern Tanzania. The objective of thestudy was to determine nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) application requirements formaize, and demonstrate economically viable best bet yield-improving management-technologies under three ecozones namely; ‘low elevation low rainfall’, ‘medium elevation high rainfall’ and ‘medium elevation low rainfall’ ecozone. Two sets of trials were conducted: N (0, 45, 90, 120 and 150 kg ha-1) and P (0, 15, 30, 40 kg ha-1) responsetrials in 16 representative fields in three seasons of 2013/14, 2014/205 and 2015/16 and; demonstrations trials in 8 farmer-selected fields in 2015/16 season. Combined N and P application increased maize yields by 32 to 62% over single nutrient applications. In the medium elevation low rainfall ecozone, 60-86% yield response to nitrogen was observed.Largely, modest applications of 50 kg N ha-1 and 20 kg P ha-1 resulted in profitable (marginal rate of return (MRR) of 2.4 to 3.0) yield increases of up to 214% over the farmers practice (unfertilized), varying with variety and ecozone. The source of P (DAP or Minjingu Mazao) had little influence on maize productivity except under low altitude low rainfall where Minjingu Mazao is unprofitable. Farmer rankings and agronomic indices showed new maize hybrids namely Meru H513, Meru H515 and SC627 as priority across the ecozones; Mams H913 is suitable mainly in medium elevation low rainfall ecozone. The conclusion is that use of new maize hybrids and appropriate rates of locally available N and P nutrient sources can bridge existing yield gaps and reduce food insecurity. Technologies from community-driven research in development are easily adopted by a large number of farmers and could result in a quick, yet lasting productivity gains.
dc.description.sponsorshipAustralian Centre for International Agricultural Research
dc.description.sponsorshipUnited States Agency for International Development
dc.description.sponsorshipNetherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation
dc.description.sponsorshipSwedish International Development Cooperation Agency
dc.format.extent17095-17112
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectFertilizer Application
dc.subjectPhosphorus
dc.subjectNitrogen
dc.subjectSoil Fertility
dc.subjectMaize
dc.subjectCrop Yield
dc.subjectTanzania
dc.titleUnlocking maize crop productivity through improved management practices in northern Tanzania
dc.typeJournal Article
cg.contributor.crpMaize
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Center for Tropical Agriculture
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEast Africa
cg.coverage.countryTanzania
cg.coverage.hubEastern Africa Hub
cg.researchthemeNatural Resource Management
cg.identifier.bibtexciteidKIHARA:2020
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR Multi Centre
cg.iitasubjectAgronomy
cg.iitasubjectFood Security
cg.iitasubjectMaize
cg.iitasubjectNutrition
cg.iitasubjectPlant Breeding
cg.iitasubjectPlant Production
cg.journalAfrican Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
cg.notesOpen Access Article; Published online: 18 Jun 2021
cg.accessibilitystatusOpen Access
cg.reviewstatusPeer Review
cg.usagerightslicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
cg.targetaudienceScientists
cg.identifier.doihttps://dx.doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.95.17965
cg.iitaauthor.identifierJob Kihara: 0000-0002-4394-9553
cg.iitaauthor.identifierFred Kizito: 0000-0002-7488-2582
cg.iitaauthor.identifierMateete Bekunda: 0000-0001-7297-9383
cg.futureupdate.requiredNo
cg.identifier.issue7
cg.identifier.volume20


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