Authors
Harmen den Braber, Gerrie van de Ven, Esther Ronner, Wytze Marinus, Antoine Languillaume, Dennis Ochola, Godfrey Taulya, Ken E Giller, Katrien Descheemaeker
Publication date
2022/9/3
Journal
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
Volume
20
Issue
5
Pages
821-843
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Description
In South-West Uganda, manure is highly valued for sustaining yields of East African Highland Banana, but it is in short supply. As a result, banana growers import manure from rangelands up to 50 km away. We aimed to explore the potential of this regional banana-livestock integration to meet crop nutrient requirements for sustainable intensification of banana cropping systems. We used a mixed-methods approach supported by detailed data collection. Multiple spatial levels were integrated: field-level modelling to determine long-term nutrient requirements, a household-level survey to characterize farmer practices, and a regional-level spatial analysis to map banana production and manure source areas. For median to 90th percentile banana yields (37-52 t FW/ha/year), minimum K requirements were 118–228 kg/ha/year. To supply this with manure, 10.5–20.5 t DM manure/ha/year would be needed, requiring 47 …
Total citations
202220232024163
Scholar articles
H Braber, G van de Ven, E Ronner, W Marinus… - International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2022