ISSN:
1572-9680
Keywords:
cattle
;
crop production
;
litter
;
manure
;
soil fertility management
;
litter acquisition practices
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Abstract A questionnaire survey of fifty-two small-scale farmers was conducted to elucidate the practices associated with acquisition and use of miombo litter. On average, a household cropped 3.7 ha of land and owned ten head of cattle. Farmers collected, on average, 0.5 t of litter per household per annum with larger amounts collected by those with more cropland and more cattle. Cattle ownership is related to quantities of litter collected and the destination of the collected litter, most of the litter being cured in cattle pens. Farmers with less area of cropland applied greater quantities of litter per hectare of cropland than did farmers with more cropland. On average, five tons per hectare per season of the manure-litter mixture is applied to crop fields with litter contributing, on average, 0.12 t/ha to the mixture. Some crops, particularly maize and fingermillet, are more likely to receive litter than other crops.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00707469
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