Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya

Deteriorating soil fertility, low unreliable rainfall and soil moisture stress has resulted to low crop yields among farmers of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), necessitating a search for more sustainable production practices. Zai technology has the ability to promote soil moisture retention and enhances s...

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Autores principales:	Mercy Cheruto Kebenei, Monicah Mucheru-Muna, Felista Muriu-Ng'ang'a, Charles Kimani Ndung'u
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	Zai technology sorghum integrated nutrient management soil fertility cattle manure mineral fertilizer Nutrition. Foods and food supply TX341-641 Food processing and manufacture TP368-456
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5638e59c69e54db9aee3b32e28c3b224
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5638e59c69e54db9aee3b32e28c3b2242021-11-05T14:49:53ZZai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya2571-581X10.3389/fsufs.2021.714212https://doaj.org/article/5638e59c69e54db9aee3b32e28c3b2242021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.714212/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2571-581XDeteriorating soil fertility, low unreliable rainfall and soil moisture stress has resulted to low crop yields among farmers of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), necessitating a search for more sustainable production practices. Zai technology has the ability to promote soil moisture retention and enhances soil fertility. A four-seasons field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of Zai technology combined with cattle manure and inorganic fertilizer on selected soil properties and sorghum yields in Kabati, Kitui County. The experiment was set up in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with eight treatments replicated thrice with sorghum Gadam as the test crop. Soil sampling was done at the beginning of the first season and at the end of the fourth season at a dept of 0–15 cm across each plot for laboratory analyses. From the results, the increase in electrical conductivity was significant at p < 0.05 in all the treatments after four cropping seasons. Total organic carbon significantly increased in Zai with cattle manure (p = 0.045), conventional with no input (p = 0.038) and conventional with cattle manure (p = 0.045). Available phosphorous significantly (p < 0.05) increased in treatments under Zai technology while total nitrogen significantly (p < 0.05) reduced after the four cropping seasons. There was a significant (p < 0.05) interactive effect of the tested factors on soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, and available phosphorous at the end of the experiment. Moreover, there was significant (p < 0.05) interactive effects on grain yields (SR18 and SR19 seasons) and stover yields (SR18, LR19, and SR19 seasons), with higher yields being recorded in treatments under Zai technology. This study demonstrates the importance of Zai technology in increasing crop yield by trapping water and enhancing its retention and infiltration into the soil for uptake by plants. This study concluded that positive impacts on important soil properties and crop yield could be realized when Zai technology is utilized alongside either sole inorganics or a combination of organic and inorganic amendments and this could be used as a strategy to improve crop production in eastern Kenya and other similar areas.Mercy Cheruto KebeneiMonicah Mucheru-MunaFelista Muriu-Ng'ang'aCharles Kimani Ndung'uFrontiers Media S.A.articleZai technologysorghumintegrated nutrient managementsoil fertilitycattle manuremineral fertilizerNutrition. Foods and food supplyTX341-641Food processing and manufactureTP368-456ENFrontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Vol 5 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Zai technology sorghum integrated nutrient management soil fertility cattle manure mineral fertilizer Nutrition. Foods and food supply TX341-641 Food processing and manufacture TP368-456
spellingShingle	Zai technology sorghum integrated nutrient management soil fertility cattle manure mineral fertilizer Nutrition. Foods and food supply TX341-641 Food processing and manufacture TP368-456 Mercy Cheruto Kebenei Monicah Mucheru-Muna Felista Muriu-Ng'ang'a Charles Kimani Ndung'u Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya
description	Deteriorating soil fertility, low unreliable rainfall and soil moisture stress has resulted to low crop yields among farmers of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), necessitating a search for more sustainable production practices. Zai technology has the ability to promote soil moisture retention and enhances soil fertility. A four-seasons field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of Zai technology combined with cattle manure and inorganic fertilizer on selected soil properties and sorghum yields in Kabati, Kitui County. The experiment was set up in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with eight treatments replicated thrice with sorghum Gadam as the test crop. Soil sampling was done at the beginning of the first season and at the end of the fourth season at a dept of 0–15 cm across each plot for laboratory analyses. From the results, the increase in electrical conductivity was significant at p < 0.05 in all the treatments after four cropping seasons. Total organic carbon significantly increased in Zai with cattle manure (p = 0.045), conventional with no input (p = 0.038) and conventional with cattle manure (p = 0.045). Available phosphorous significantly (p < 0.05) increased in treatments under Zai technology while total nitrogen significantly (p < 0.05) reduced after the four cropping seasons. There was a significant (p < 0.05) interactive effect of the tested factors on soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, and available phosphorous at the end of the experiment. Moreover, there was significant (p < 0.05) interactive effects on grain yields (SR18 and SR19 seasons) and stover yields (SR18, LR19, and SR19 seasons), with higher yields being recorded in treatments under Zai technology. This study demonstrates the importance of Zai technology in increasing crop yield by trapping water and enhancing its retention and infiltration into the soil for uptake by plants. This study concluded that positive impacts on important soil properties and crop yield could be realized when Zai technology is utilized alongside either sole inorganics or a combination of organic and inorganic amendments and this could be used as a strategy to improve crop production in eastern Kenya and other similar areas.
format	article
author	Mercy Cheruto Kebenei Monicah Mucheru-Muna Felista Muriu-Ng'ang'a Charles Kimani Ndung'u
author_facet	Mercy Cheruto Kebenei Monicah Mucheru-Muna Felista Muriu-Ng'ang'a Charles Kimani Ndung'u
author_sort	Mercy Cheruto Kebenei
title	Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya
title_short	Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya
title_full	Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya
title_fullStr	Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya
title_full_unstemmed	Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya
title_sort	zai technology and integrated nutrient management for improved soil fertility and increased sorghum yields in kitui county, kenya
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/5638e59c69e54db9aee3b32e28c3b224
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Zai Technology and Integrated Nutrient Management for Improved Soil Fertility and Increased Sorghum Yields in Kitui County, Kenya

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