Abstract
Traditional upland rice-based cropping systems in West Africa rely on periods of fallow to restore soil fertility and prevent the buildup of insect pests and weeds. Demographic growth and increased demand for land are forcing many farmers to intensify their rice production systems. Declining fallow length and increasing number of crops before leaving the land to extended fallow significantly reduce yield. Promising cropping system options include the use of site-specific, weed-suppressing, multipurpose cover legumes as short-duration fallows. Poor adoption of legume technology and the near complete absence of research on fallow management in the extremely diverse upland rice-based systems of West Africa require a multiscale approach for generating and extrapolating fallow technology. Constraints to rice production and the yield gaps related to intensification were determined in 190 farmers’ fields in three agroecological zones (farm level). Nitrogen accumulation and weed suppression were evaluated in 54 legume accessions grown for 6 mo during the dry season, under a range of hydrological and soil conditions (plot level). To increase benefits from improved fallow technology, the timing of legume establishment in relation to rice and the effect of removing, burning, mulching, or incorporating fallow residues before the rice crop on crop and weed growth were determined. Farmers’ reaction to improved legume fallows was evaluated in group interviews. Best-bet technologies for given rice-based systems are being evaluated at the village level throughout the region in the framework of a regional research network (Rice Cropping Systems Task Force). Legume fallows appear to offer the potential to sustain rice yields under intensified cropping. Absolute effects varied as a function of site, legume species, and management practice. Weed control and multiple-use options are important determinants of potential legume technology adoption. Preferences for various legume phenotypes and management practices depend on farmers’ resources and the production system.
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Becker, M., Johnson, D. (1999). The role of legume fallows in intensified upland rice-based systems of West Africa. In: Balasubramanian, V., Ladha, J.K., Denning, G.L. (eds) Resource Management in Rice Systems: Nutrients. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 81. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5078-1_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5078-1_7
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