Browsing by Author "Tenywa, Moses Makooma"

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    Critical soil organic carbon range for optimal crop response to mineral fertiliser nitrogen on a ferralsol
    (Experimental Agriculture, 2016) Musinguzi, Patrick; Ebanyat, Peter; Tenywa, John Stephen; Basamba, Twaha Ali; Tenywa, Moses Makooma; Mubiru, Drake N.
    Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is a major indicator of soil fertility in the tropics and underlies variability in crop response to mineral fertilizers. Critical SOC concentrations that interact positively with N fertilizer for optimal crop yield are less understood. A study was conducted on a Ferralsol in sub-humid Uganda to explore the critical range of SOC concentrations and associated fractions for optimal maize (Zea mays L.) yield response to applied mineral N fertiliser. Maize grain yield response to N rates applied at 0, 25, 50 and 100 kg N ha−1 in 30 fields of low fertility (SOC < 1.2%), medium fertility (SOC = 1.2–1.7%) and high fertility (SOC > 1.7%) was assessed. Soil was physically fractionated into sand-sized (63–2000 µm), silt-sized (2–63 µm) and clay-sized (<2 µm) particles and SOC content determined. Low fertility fields (<1.2% SOC) resulted in the lowest response to N application. Fields with >1.2% SOC registered the highest agronomic efficiency (AE) and grain yield. Non-linear regression models predicted critical SOC for optimal yields to be 2.204% at the 50 kg N ha−1 rate. Overall, models predicted 1.9–2.2% SOC as the critical concentration range for high yields. The critical range of SOC concentrations corresponded to 3.5–5.0 g kg−1 sand-sized C and 9–11 g kg−1 for clay-sized C.
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    Soil Organic Carbon Thresholds and Nitrogen Management in Tropical Agroecosystems: Concepts and Prospects
    (concepts and prospects., 2013) Musinguzi, Patrick; Tenywa, John Stephen; Ebanyat, Peter; Tenywa, Moses Makooma; Mubiru, Drake N.; Basamba, Twaha Ali; Leip, Adrian
    Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a potential soil fertility indicator for regulating nitrogen application in tropical farming systems. However, there are limited studies that have discussed SOC thresholds above or below which crop production could be diminished, or at which no or high response to nitrogen (N) application can be realized. This review explores the drivers of SOC concentration relevant for the establishment of thresholds. We further evaluate existing SOC thresholds for provoking no yield response or significant response to added N fertilizer. Key drivers for SOC concentration relevant in establishing thresholds are mainly climate, topography, texture, and land use management. Soil organic carbon threshold for sustaining soil quality is widely suggested to be about 2% below which deterioration may occur. For added N fertilizer management, specific SOC thresholds seem quite complex and are only valid after assuming other factors are non-limiting. In some soils, SOC levels as low as 0.5% result in fertilizer responses and soils as high as 2% SOC also respond to small N doses. Minimum SOC thresholds can be identified for a given soil type, but maximum thresholds depend on crop N requirements, crop N use efficiency and amount of N applied. However, there seem to exist critical total SOC ranges that could be targeted for optimal indigenous N supply and integrative soil functional benefits. These can be targeted as minimum levels in soil fertility restoration. In all, it is still difficult to establish a single minimum or maximum SOC threshold value that can be universally or regionally accepted
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    Soil organic fractions in cultivated and uncultivated Ferralsols in Uganda
    (Geoderma Regional, 2015) Musinguzi, Patrick; Tenywa, John Stephen; Ebanyat, Peter; Basamba, Twaha Ali; Tenywa, Moses Makooma; Mubiru, Drake N.; Zinn, Yuri L.
    Ferralsols are chemically poor soils, with management challenges associated with soil fertility heterogeneity and nitrogen limitations. Proper assessment of soil organic matter fractions can be instrumental in understanding the causes of limited nitrogen supply, and thus addressing soil fertility heterogeneity. A study was conducted in cultivated and uncultivated Ferralsols, in order to assay soil organic carbon (SOC), its particle-size fractions and their influence on soil fertility heterogeneity across small farms in central Uganda. Soil samples were taken from the 0–15 and 15–30 cm depths from 30 cultivated fields classified as of low fertility, medium fertility and high fertility, and from two nearby sites in a native shrubland as references. Soil samples were physically fractionated into sand (2000–63 μm), silt (63–2 μm) and clay (< 2 μm). Total SOC and N were analyzed in bulk samples and each size fraction, and the Carbon Management Index (CMI), a widely used indicator of soil quality, was calculated for each field. The CMI in cultivated soils was far below the 100% in reference soils, reaching 34.7, 40.3 and 87% in low, medium and high fertility fields, respectively. SOC and N concentrations decreased in particle-size separates in the order clay > silt > sand. The SOC pool and N in the clay-sized fraction were correlated to soil fertility indicators. More N was stored in the silt + clay size fractions, a generally more stable pool, than in the more labile sand-sized pool. The SOC pool in sand size fractions was far below in low and medium fertility soils than in a reference uncultivated soil. Thus, the sand-sized pool emerged as the most likely cause of limited N supply in cultivated low-input Ferralsols in Uganda.