Abstract
Farming systems that minimize the rate of soil degradation and optimize food crop yields are needed to sustain soil productivity on sloping, acid, infertile soils in the humid tropics. Research was conducted on two Oxisols with slopes ranging from 22 to 30% to evaluate the performance of several contour hedgerow systems, with and without the addition of 60 kg N ha−1 per crop, on rice (Oryza sativa) and maize (Zea mays L.) production. Contour hedgerows were double rows of the tree legume Gliricidia sepium (G); Gliricidia and the native grass Paspalum conjugatum (GPas); Gliricidia and an exotic fodder grass Penisetum purpureum (GPen); double rows of Penisetum (Pen); and a conventional open field (C) farming system without hedgerows. Gliricidia prunings and all crop residues were applied to the soil surface in the alleys, but Penisetum was harvested. Food crop yields in all hedgerow treatments tended to be less than the Control for the first two years, presumably due to the displacement of land planted to the food crop. In the third and the fourth years, the rice and maize yields of Treatments G and GPas exceeded the Control, most consistently when N was not applied. Penisetum reduced food crop yields regardless of N application presumably due to nutrient removal in the fodder. The results indicate that Gliricidia in a contour hedgerow increases food crop yield on strongly acid Oxisols by recycling nutrients and partially supplementing the N demand by the food crops.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agus F, Cassel DK and Garrity DP (1997) Soil-water and soil physical properties under contour hedgerow systems on sloping Oxisols. Soil and Tillage Research 40: 185–199
Agus F (1993) Soil processes and crop production under contour hedgerow systems on sloping Oxisols. Ph.D. Dissertation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
Basri I, Mercado A and Garrity DP (1990) Upland rice cultivation using leguminous tree hedgerows on strongly acid soils, p 140. Agron Abstract Amer Soc Agron, Madison, WI
Evensen CLI (1989) Alley cropping and green manuring for upland crop production in West Sumatra. Ph.D. Dissertaton, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
Fernandes ECM (1990) Alley cropping on acid soils. Ph.D. Dissertation North Carolina State University, Raleigh (Diss. Abstr. 91-21993)
Garrity DP (1993) Sustainable land use systems for sloping uplands in Southeast Asia. In: Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics, pp 41–46. Amer. Soc Agron Spec Publ 56, Madison, WI
Garrity DP, Kummer DM and Guiang ES (1993) The Philippines. In: National Research Council. Sustainable Agriculture and the Ecosystem in the Humid Tropics, pp 549–624. NRC, Washington, DC
Garrity DP (1996) Tree-soil-crop interactions on slopes. In: Ong C and Huxley P (eds) Tree-Crops Interactions: A Physiological Approach, pp 299–318. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International, London
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (1989) Program report for 1988. IRRI, Los Baños, Philippines, 317 pp
Kang BT, Reynolds L and Atta-Krah AN (1990) Alley farming. Adv Agron 43: 315–359
Kang BT, Wilson GF and Sipkens EL (1981) Alley cropping of maize (Zea maysL) and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephalaLam) in Southern Nigeria. Plant and Soil 63: 165–179
König D (1992) The potential of agroforestry methods for erosion control in Rwanda. Soil Tech 5: 167–176
Ladha JK, Peoples MB, Garrity DP, Capuno VT and Dart PJ (1993) Estimating diN fixation of hedgerow vegetation using the N-15 natural abundance method. Soil Sci Soc Am J 57: 732–737
Lal R (1989) Soil management options in the tropics as alternatives to slash and burn. Soil Technology 2: 253–270
Lal R (1991) Myths and scientific realities of agroforestry as a strategy for sustainable management for soils in the Tropics. Adv Soil Sci 15: 91–137
Maclean RH, Litsinger JA, Moody K and Watson AK (1992a) Increasing Gliricidia sepium and Cassia spectabilisbiomass production. Agrofor Syst 20: 199–212
Maclean RH, Litsinger JA, Moody K and Watson AK (1992b) The impact of alley cropping Gliricidia sepiumand Cassia spectabilison upland rice and maize production. Agrofor Syst 20: 213–228
Monteith JL, Ong CK and Corlett JE (1991) Microclimate interactions in agroforestry systems. Forest Ecology and Management 45: 31–44
Nair PKR (1984) Crop Yield Aspects of Agroforestry. ICRAF, Nairobi
Salazar A and Palm CA (1987) Screening of leguminous trees for alley cropping on acid soils of the humid tropics. Proceedings, Workshop on Gliricidia sepium(Jacq.) Walp. Management and Improvement, NFTA, Waimanalo, Hawaii and CATIE, Turialba, Costa Rica
Szott LT, Palm CA and Sanchez PA (1991) Agroforestry in acid soils of the humid tropics. Adv Agron 45: 275–300
Wischmeier WH and Smith DD (1978) Predicting rainfall erosion losses–a guide to conservation farming. Agric Handbook No. 537. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 58 pp
Young A (1987a) Soil productivity, soil conservation, and land evaluation. Agrofor Syst 5: 277–292
Young A (1987b) The environmental basis of agroforestry. In: Reifsnyder WS and Darnhofer TO (ed) Meteorology and Agroforestry, pp 29–43. Proceedings, International Workshop of Meteorology to Agroforestry Systems Planning and Management, Nairobi 9–13 Feb, 1987
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Agus, F., Garrity, D.P., Cassel, D.K. et al. Grain crop response to contour hedgerow systems on sloping Oxisols. Agroforestry Systems 42, 107–120 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006020319918
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006020319918