Articles | Volume 6, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-1063-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-1063-2015
Research article
 | 
17 Sep 2015
Research article |  | 17 Sep 2015

Precision of farmer-based fertility ratings and soil organic carbon for crop production on a Ferralsol

P. Musinguzi, P. Ebanyat, J. S. Tenywa, T. A. Basamba, M. M. Tenywa, and D. Mubiru

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Cited articles

African Agriculture Status Report: Focus on Staple Food Crops, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Nairobi, Kenya, 44–46, 2013.
Anderson, J. and Ingram, J.: Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility: a Handbook of Methods, CAB International, Wallingford, UK, 221 pp., 1993.
Andrews, S. S., Karlen, D. L., and Cambardella, C. A.: The soil management assessment framework, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 68, 1945–1962, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2004.1945, 2004.
Araya, A., Stroosnijder, L., Girmay, G., and Keesstra, S. D.: Crop coefficient, yield response to water stress and water productivity of teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.), Agr. Water Manage., 98, 775–783. 2011.
Barua, S. K. and Haque, S. M. S.: Soil characteristics and carbon sequestration potentials of vegetation in degraded hills of Chittagong, Bangladesh, Land Degrad. Dev., 24, 63–71, https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.1107, 2013.
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Short summary
This study showed that resource-poor smallholder farmers can ably rate fields for soil fertility as poor or good but had difficulties in identifying medium-fertility fields. Rating with SOC improved precision to rate medium-fertility fields. SOC and clay content explained the highest yield variances in heterogeneous smallholder farms. A combination of SOC and farmers' field experiences can be affordable approaches to guide fertility management and fertilizer application.