Assessment of maize yield gap and major determinant factors between smallholder farmers in the Dedza district of Malawi

Assessment of maize yield gap and major determinant factors between smallholder farmers in the Dedza district of Malawi

This study explored the effect of soil nutrient status, agronomic practices and socio-economic factors on maize yield attained by smallholder farmers in the Dedza District of Malawi. Results show that maize yield ranged between 0.4 and 12 t ha −1 with a mean value of 4.1 t ha −1 . Observed high yiel...

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Veröffentlicht in:Nutrient cycling in agroecosystems 2016-07, Vol.105 (3), p.291-308
Hauptverfasser: Tamene, Lulseged, Mponela, Powell, Ndengu, Gift, Kihara, Job
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Agricultural practices
Agriculture
Agronomy
Animal manures
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Boron
Corn
Crop yield
Decision making
Economic conditions
Economic factors
Economics
Employment
Farmers
Farming systems
Fertilizer application
Households
Life Sciences
Nitrogen
Nutrient status
Original Article
Planting density
Small farms
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomics
Soil nutrients
Urea
Weeds
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Zusammenfassung:This study explored the effect of soil nutrient status, agronomic practices and socio-economic factors on maize yield attained by smallholder farmers in the Dedza District of Malawi. Results show that maize yield ranged between 0.4 and 12 t ha −1 with a mean value of 4.1 t ha −1 . Observed high yields (>8.0 t ha −1 ) were associated with households using improved varieties combined with improved management practices such as NPK, urea and animal manure. With regards to soil factors, boron (B) and nitrogen (N) which are critically deficient in the area were significantly (β = 21.1, p  
ISSN:1385-1314
1573-0867
DOI:10.1007/s10705-015-9692-7