1
|
Kamara AY, Garba M, Tofa AI, Mohamed AML, Souley AM, Abdoulaye T, Kapran BI. Assessment of the impact of crop management strategies on the yield of early-maturing maize varieties in the drylands of Niger Republic: Application of the DSSAT-CERES-Maize model. Heliyon 2023; 9:e17829. [PMID: 37456015 PMCID: PMC10344770 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Maize is increasingly becoming important in Niger for use as food and feed. Production is however, faced with several abiotic and biotic constraints. Researchers have developed early-maturing maize varieties that are tolerant to drought, the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica and diseases that fit into the short growing production environment. The evaluation and deployment of these varieties would, however, involve costly and time-consuming field trials across the maize production zones of the country. The CERES-Maize model was applied to assess the performance of two early-maturing maize varieties under varying planting windows and nitrogen application in three agroecological zones of the country. The model was calibrated with datasets collected from field trials conducted under optimal conditions (supplementary irrigation and full nutrient supply) at three locations in northern Nigeria. The model was validated with independent data set obtained from field trials conducted in 2020 and 2021 at 4 locations in the Republic of Niger under rainfed conditions. For each variety the treatments were five nitrogen (N) rates (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg ha-1). The results from model calibration and validation revealed that the model accurately reproduced the observed value for days to flowering, physiological maturity, aboveground dry biomass and grain yield with low nRMSE (0.4-12.7%) and high d-index (0.70-0.99) for both varieties. The long-term simulation results (1985-2020) showed that the maize performance was dependent on location, planting window and nitrogen rates. The variety 2014 TZE-Y yielded higher than Brico in all locations for all treatments because it takes longer to mature and accumulate higher dry matter and have higher number of kernels. Simulated yields were generally higher in the Sudan savanna agroecological zone than in the other zones because of higher rainfall and higher clay content of the soil in this zone. The response to N application was influenced by planting window in each agroecological zone. With the exception of two sites, grain yield declined with planting beyond July 14 (PW3) and response to N was not significant beyond this date in the Sudan savanna agroecological zone. Grain yield declined with planting beyond July 7 in the Sahel and Sudan Sahel agroecological zones. There was no further response to N beyond 30 and 60 kg N ha-1 when planting is delayed beyond July 7 in the Sahel and Sahel-Sudan agroecological zones, respectively.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Y Kamara
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kano, 700241 Nigeria
| | - M Garba
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Niamey C/O 12404, Niger
- Institut National de La Recherche Agronomique Du Niger (INRAN), B.P. 429, Niamey, Niger
| | - A I Tofa
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kano, 700241 Nigeria
| | - A M L Mohamed
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Niamey C/O 12404, Niger
| | - A M Souley
- Institut National de La Recherche Agronomique Du Niger (INRAN), B.P. 429, Niamey, Niger
| | - T Abdoulaye
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Bamako 91094, Mali
| | - B I Kapran
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Niamey C/O 12404, Niger
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Johnson AM, Fulton JR, Abdoulaye T, Ayedun B, Widmar NJO, Akande A, Bandyopadhyay R, Manyong V. Aflatoxin awareness and Aflasafe adoption potential of Nigerian smallholder maize farmers: OPEN ACCESS. WORLD MYCOTOXIN J 2018; 11:437-446. [PMID: 33552313 PMCID: PMC7797632 DOI: 10.3920/wmj2018.2345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Aflatoxin is a potent mycotoxin that can cause cancer and death and is associated
with stunted growth. Prevalence of aflatoxin is widespread in Africa negatively
impacting health and trade. Aflasafe is a biological control product that can be
applied to maize or groundnut fields to reduce aflatoxin contamination. This
study examines the levels of aflatoxin and Aflasafe awareness and understanding
among smallholder maize farmers in Nigeria. In addition, the factors affecting
Aflasafe purchase patterns and sustained usage over multiple growing seasons by
farmers were evaluated. In-person surveys of 902 Nigerian smallholder farmers
were conducted during October and November of 2016. This work contributes to the
existing literature by documenting awareness levels of aflatoxin and use of
Aflasafe as a control in Nigeria. Results suggest that the level of awareness of
aflatoxin was very high in states where Aflasafe was promoted as an intervention
for aflatoxin management. In Kaduna state, the region with the longest
intervention, there was a consistent increase in the usage of Aflasafe since its
introduction in 2010. Furthermore, farmers who purchase Aflasafe bundled
(combined) with other inputs were more likely to persist in using the product.
Education was found to significantly and positively impact continued usage of
Aflasafe. Continued interventions, promotion and general education of the public
are recommended for increased awareness, trial, and adoption of Aflasafe in
Nigeria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A M Johnson
- Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, 403 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - J R Fulton
- Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, 403 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - T Abdoulaye
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), PMB 5320, Oyo Road, Idi-Oshe, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - B Ayedun
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), PMB 5320, Oyo Road, Idi-Oshe, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - N J O Widmar
- Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, 403 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - A Akande
- IITA, PMB 82, Garki GPO, Kubwa, Abuja, Nigeria
| | - R Bandyopadhyay
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), PMB 5320, Oyo Road, Idi-Oshe, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - V Manyong
- IITA, Plot No. 25, Mikocheni Light Industrial Area, Mwenge - Coca-cola Road, Mikocheni B, P.O. Box 34441, Dar es Salaam
| |
Collapse
|