The residual effects of subsoil compaction (below 0.15 m depth) on soil properties, growth, yields and nutrient uptake by irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum) and cotton (Gossipium hirsutum) are reported. The study was initiated during 1997 on a sandy clay loam soil in a semiarid region of Pakistan. Results showed that the adverse effects of subsoil compaction on bulk density, penetration resistance, total porosity and air-filled porosity of soil persisted for at least four years. In the third and fourth years after the imposition of treatments, compaction decreased yields of wheat by 12–18% and by 7% for cotton. The corresponding reductions in nutrient uptake by wheat were 11–16% for N, 11–15% for P and 5–10% for K. For cotton, the values were 9% for N, 3% for P and 7% for K. Subsoil compaction decreased nutrient use efficiency by 16% in wheat and 5% in cotton. The reductions in water use efficiency were estimated to be 11% in wheat and 7% in cotton. Wheat root length density was also decreased in the subsoil.

A nutrient-balance model was used to investigate the nitrogen contributions of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) to pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) intercropping systems in semi-arid northern Namibia. Data on nitrogen fixation, production, crop nitrogen off-take and competition effects came from two seasons of fieldwork. Supplementary data were taken from secondary sources. The model was used as a tool to attempt to identify grain legume management options with the potential to make significant contributions to soil fertility. The crop parameters pearl millet grain yield, nitrogen fixation rates, nitrogen harvest index and biomass production were found to be critical in determining system nitrogen inputs and outputs as was the form of residue management. The model indicated that it is extremely difficult to manage grain legumes in dryland environments in ways that lead to consistent increases in pearl millet grain yields, measurable against season-to-season variation due to other factors. Several of the options for improved legume management conflict strongly with farmers' risk-avoidance strategies and their tendency to invest preferentially in off-farm activities in an environment where livelihoods have diversified considerably away from agriculture. Potential routes for increasing grain legume contributions to soil fertility in dryland areas are discussed.

Management deficiencies on the part of the pastoralists were claimed to be one of the major causes of the high losses of camel (Camelus dromedarius) calves contributing to low productivity of camel herds. In the present study, calf deaths, and the causes thereof, were analysed in connection with pastoral calf management in order to assess possible relationships. Progeny history data on 1506 Rendille, 789 Gabra and 1206 Somali calves born between 1980 and 1995 provided quantitative information on losses and the underlying causes. Assessment of the causes of death, and analysis of related management practices, led to suggestions for management changes. In feedback seminars with pastoralists, however, it became apparent that these management changes would not be adopted because they contradicted the pastoralists' assumptions on the causes of calf mortality. The discussions revealed that differences between pastoralists' and scientists' perceptions determined different opinions on proper calf-rearing management practices. Combining different knowledge systems offers the possibility of a more complete understanding, which is required for the derivation of adoptable calf mortality-reducing interventions that are compatible with the knowledge and production systems of the pastoralists.

Pulses of potassium (K+) applied to columns of repacked calcium (Ca2+) saturated soil were leached with distilled water or calcium chloride (CaCl2) solutions of various concentrations at a rate of 12 mm h−1. With increased Ca2+ concentration, the rate of movement of K+ increased, as did the concentration of K+ in the displaced pulse, which was less dispersed. The movement of K+ in calcite-amended soil leached with water was at a similar rate to that of the untreated soil leached with 1 mM CaCl2, and in soil containing gypsum, movement was similar to that leached with 15 mM CaCl2. The Ca2+ concentrations in the leachates were about 0.4 and 15 mM respectively, the expected values for the dissolution of the two amendments. Soil containing native K+ was leached with distilled water or CaCl2 solutions. The amount of K+ leached increased as Ca2+ concentration increased, with up to 34 % of the exchangeable K+ being removed in five pore volumes of 15 mM CaCl2. Soil amended with calcite and leached with water lost K+ at a rate between that for leaching the unamended soil with 1 mM CaCl2 and that with water. Soil containing gypsum and leached with water lost K+ at a similar rate to unamended soil leached with 15 mM CaCl2. The presence of Ca2+ in irrigation water and of soil minerals able to release Ca2+ are of importance in determining the amounts of K+ leached from soils.The LEACHM model predicted approximately the displacement of K+, and was more accurate with higher concentrations of displacing solution. The shortcomings of this model are its inability to account for rate-controlled processes and the assumption that K+: Ca2+ exchange during leaching can be described using a constant adsorption coefficient. As a result, the pulse is predicted to appear a little earlier and the following edge has less of a tail than that measured. In practical agriculture, the model will be more useful in soils containing gypsum or leached with saline water than in either calcareous or non-calcareous soils leached with rainwater.

Most of the agricultural lands in the highlands of western Kenya are depleted of plant nutrients, particularly phosphorus. This depletion has resulted in a continued decline in crop production in the area. Recent experiments, in which direct application of indigenous phosphate rocks were evaluated, have yielded variable results, depending on the relative reactivity of the rock phosphate tested. The effectiveness of rock phosphate was generally low compared with fertilizers such as triple super phosphate. This is attributed to the relatively low solubility of the rocks as opposed to the readily water soluble phosphorus fertilizers. Phosphate rocks are available locally and are cheaper than triple super phosphate. If the solubility of these phosphate rocks could be improved, the resource-poor smallholder farmers in western Kenya would have an affordable source of phosphorus for their crops. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of combining different on-farm organic materials with the Minjingu rock phosphate (from Tanzania) on the availability of phosphorus to maize (Zea mays) in western Kenya. The greenhouse results indicated that there were significant positive linear relationships between rock phosphate application rates and (i) the Olsen-extractable soil phosphorus in the soil samples taken four weeks and nine weeks respectively after the application of the treatments; (ii) the dry matter yield, and (iii) phosphorus uptake. Results of the field experiments showed that rock phosphate combined with farmyard manure or crop residues (maize stover) generally increased the Olsen-extractable soil phosphorus, maize yields and phosphorus uptake, particularly in the first season when both the Minjingu rock phosphate and organic materials were applied, but the effectiveness of the materials and their combinations varied between the two sites. Combining Minjingu rock phosphate with the organic materials improved its relative agronomic effectiveness for maize.

In Mozambique the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is grown as both a leafy vegetable, the terminal shoots or vines being progressively harvested during the season, and as a root crop. This paper reports the development of crop yield/water-use production functions using data from two irrigation experiments designed to evaluate the effects of water availability and vine harvesting practices on the productivity and water use (ETc) of sweet potato (cv. TIS 2534) during two contrasting seasons in the south of the country. As the frequency of vine harvesting increased, the water-use efficiency (WUE-ETc) for vine production (dry mass) increased from 1–2 to 4–5 kg ha−1 mm−1 during the rainy season, and from 1 to 9 kg ha−1 mm−1 during the dry season. By contrast, there was a corresponding reduction in the WUE-ETc for storage root production from 14 to 8–9 kg ha−1 mm−1 during the rainy season, and from 23 to 15–17 kg ha−1 mm−1 during the dry season. For the total yields (vines plus storage roots) the WUE-ETc during both seasons were independent of the vine harvesting treatment. Separate lines represented each season, the slopes of which were 13 kg ha−1 mm−1 in the rains, and 24 kg ha−1 mm−1 in the dry season. When, however, crop water-use was normalised using either the seasonal mean daily total of incoming solar radiation, or reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo), but not the saturation deficit of the air, a single common, linear relationship with yield resulted. Possible explanations for this are considered. Plotting relative yields against relative rates of water-use, also gave consistent results that could have general application for predicting the effects of water availability on productivity. Vine yields, when harvested frequently, were less sensitive to drought (yield response factor, Ky=0.7–0.9) than storage roots (Ky=1.2). For total production (vines plus roots), the sensitivity to water stress (Ky) increased, from 0.9–1.0 to 1.2, as the interval between vine harvests increased. Farmers in southern Mozambique trying to maximize total yield during the season, under conditions of water uncertainty, should harvest vines at intervals of not more than 14 days.

The small amount of on-farm research that has been carried out with fodder trees in Africa has mainly involved exotic species selected by researchers rather than farmers. In this study, farmers who had participated in a pre-planting survey chose, during feedback meetings, seedlings of indigenous, naturalized and some exotic fodder trees from a nursery. They planted them on-farm, where the planting niches, management, biomass production, and animal response were evaluated over a short period, and compared with the results of the earlier survey. The farmers came from three agro-ecological zones in central Kenya with respective mean annual rainfall totals of 775, 950 and 1300 mm. Data were collected at two months, one year and two years after planting. The feedback meetings proved important to the understanding of discrepancies between the earlier survey results and farmers' practices. Survival and growth of seedlings, manure application by farmers, and percentage of trees pruned for fodder, differed among species. The farmers showed a strong interest in experimenting with and actively cultivating local fodder trees.

The effects of different seed treatment methods and durations of exposure on germination of wild okra (Corchorus olitorius), a traditional leafy vegetable consumed in many parts of Africa, were investigated. Seeds were exposed to seven treatments (hot water at 80 °C, hot water at 100 °C, dry heat at 80 °C, dry heat at 100 °C, concentrated sulphuric acid, 10% hydrogen peroxide and water at room temperature) for periods of up to 30 minutes. Exposure for five to 15 minutes in hot water at 80 °C was the most effective treatment for enhancing germination (>90%), followed by five minutes in hot water at 100 °C (80%) and 30 minutes in sulphuric acid (57%). Other treatments were less effective. Soaking seeds in hot water at approximately 80 °C for about 10 minutes can be recommended, therefore, to farmers as a simple, cheap and very effective way of germinating wild okra.

COWPEA YIELD GAIN FROM RESISTANCE TOSTRIGA GESNERIOIDESPARASITISM IN SOUTHERN BENIN

By R. J. CARSKY, C. AKAKPO, B. B. SINGH and J. DETONGNON