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Fifty Years of Experimental Agriculture II. The Maintenance of Soil Fertility in Tropical Africa: A Review†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

G. Watts Padwick
G. Watts Padwick
Affiliation:
Formerly of Plant Protection Division, ICI, Fernhurst, Haslemere, Surrey, England and ICI America Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, USA
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Summary

Shifting agriculture is an ancient basis for maintaining soil fertility but pressures of population have caused it to give place in most countries to rotations and bare fallows which, in turn, have had to be reduced or modified. Research on various measures to shorten the duration of fallows and increase their effectiveness is reviewed. These measures include the use of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers, green manuring, mulches and the growing of legumes and grasses, which are discussed in relation to their effects on the soil and on crop yields. The increasing use of the factorially-designed experiment is recognized as a major contributor to this research.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , October 1983 , pp. 293 - 310
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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