Sustainable Intensification of Sorghum and Pearl Millet Production by Seed Priming, Seed Treatment and Fertilizer Microdosing under Different Rainfall Regimes in Mali
Adama Coulibaly, Kamkam Woumou, Jens B. Aune
Agronomy November 12, 2019 DOI: 10.3390/agronomy9100664 via DOAJ
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractIn the drylands of West Africa, low-cost methods such as seed priming and microdosing of fertilizer can boost sorghum and millet yields, but their effectiveness depends on local rainfall. Over four years in Mali, microdosing 0.4 g NPK per hill (4 kg/ha) worked best in central Mali, while 0.8 g NPK per hill (20 kg/ha) was best in southern Mali. Seed priming helped in central but not southern Mali. Adding a urea top dressing (1 g per hill, 25 kg/ha) improved yields only in southern Mali. Sorghum responded better to microdosing than pearl millet. A decision tree was created to guide farmers on crop and fertilizer choices based on rainfall.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Sorghum and pearl millet crops in Mali |
| Interventions | Seed priming seed treatment with pesticide urea top dressing |
| Dose | 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 g NPK hill−1; 1 g urea hill−1 |
| Duration | Four years |
| Topics | Microdosing |
| Keywords | Seed priming Seed treatment Economic return Fertilizer use efficiency |
| Key finding | The optimal microdosing rate of NPK fertilizer varied by region: 0.4 g per hill in central Mali and 0.8 g per hill in southern Mali, and seed priming was effective only in central Mali. |
Abstract
Sorghum and pearl millet are the most important stable crops in the drylands of West Africa. This four-year study based on two experiments assessed different low-cost methods for intensification of sorghum and millet production under contrasting rainfall conditions in Mali. Experiment 1 assessed the microdosing rates 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 g NPK hill−1 combined with seed priming across four locations in Mali while Experiment 2 assessed the cumulative effects of the seed priming, seed treatment with pesticide, microdosing and urea top dressing. In central Mali, there was a clear effect of seed priming while there was no such effect in southern Mali with better rainfall conditions. In central Mali, the microdosing rate of fertilizer of 0.4 g NPK hill−1 (4 kg NPK ha−1) performed best, while in southern Mali the microdosing rate of 0.8 g NPK hill−1 (20 kg NPK ha−1) gave the best result. Experiment 2 showed that there was a clear effect of top dressing of 1 g urea hill−1 (25 kg urea ha−1) in southern Mali while no such effect was apparent in central Mali. In general, there was a better response to microdosing in sorghum than in pearl millet. A decision tree for crop and fertilizer management in Mali was developed, taking into consideration rainfall, crop choice, use of seed priming and microdosing rates.