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Title Manure matters: prospects for regional banana-livestock integration for sustainable intensification in South-West Uganda | ||
Full text
https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/589679 | ||
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Date 2021 | ||
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Author(s) Braber, Harmen, den; Ven, Gerrie, van de; Ronner, Esther; Marinus, Wytze; Languillaume, Antoine; Ochola, Dennis; Taulya, Godfrey; Giller, Ken E.; Descheemaeker, Katrien | ||
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Abstract 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 90<sup>th</sup> 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 47'91 tropical livestock units and 27'52 ha of rangeland, far more than what is potentially available currently. However, using only manure to satisfy potassium requirements increases the risk of N losses due to nutrient imbalances likely to result from large manure applications. For sustainable intensification, manure supplemented with K-based fertilizers is a better option than manure alone, as it is more cost-effective and reduces potential N losses. | ||
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Subject(s) cattle; crop-livestock integration; East African highland banana; nutrient requirements; potassium; spatial analysis | ||
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Language en | ||
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Relation https://edepot.wur.nl/557754 | ||
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Type of publication Article/Letter to editor | ||
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Format text/html | ||
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Source International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability (2021); ISSN: 1473-5903 | ||
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Rights Wageningen University & Research | ||
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Identifier 10.1080/14735903.2021.1988478 | ||
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Repository Wageningen - University of Wageningen 
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| Added to C-A: 2021-11-24;13:32:33 |
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