Abstract
Interactions betweenGliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud., the crops maize and upland rice, and soil conditions were investigated in an alley cropping experiment on aFerralic Cambisol/Plinthic Lixisol in the rainforest area of the Côte d'Ivoire. Conventional and mulched sole cropping treatments were included for comparison. Hedgerow integration significantly reduced N and Mg losses from the soil. These effects were neither observed in the mulched sole cropping treatment nor reduced by hedgerow root barriers, suggesting that they were not direct consequences of the input of hedgerow biomass into the soil. Crop yields were increased in the central part of the alleys as compared to sole cropping, but the effect was offset by the loss of cropped surface which was occupied by the hedgerows and by yield depressions at the tree-crop interface.Gliricidia mulch increased foliar nutrient concentrations of maize; however, unlike mineral fertilizer the mulch had no influence on the imbalance between low P and high K levels in maize leaves. Nutrient accumulation in the dry season vegetation tended to be higher in alley cropping than in sole cropping. Weeds were particularly efficient in accumulating those nutrients which were relatively low in the hedgerow biomass. Necessary improvements to the cropping system are discussed. The optimum composition of fertilizers in mulching systems deserves attention.
Résumé
Les interactions entreGliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud., les cultures vivrières maïs et riz pluvial et le sol dans un dispositif de culture en couloirs ont été analysées sur sol ferralitique (Ferralic Cambisol/Plinthic Lixisol) en zone forestière de la Côte d'Ivoire. La culture pure, sans et avec l'apport de mulch, a été mise en comparaison. La présence des haies réduit les pertes en azote et en magnésium. Ces effets ne sont pas constatés sur des parcelles de culture pure recevant un mulch provenant des émondes de haies, et ne sont pas diminués par une barrière de racines entre les haies et les cultures. Ils ne sont donc pas la simple conséquence de l'apport au sol de biomasse des haies. Le rendement des cultures est amélioré dans la partie centrale des couloirs cultivées en comparaison avec la culture pure, mais cet effet est annihilé par la réduction de la surface cultivée et l'effet dépressif constaté au voisinage des haies. L'apport d'un mulch deGliricidia améliore l'état nutritionnel du maïs, jugé par le diagnostic foliaire. Cependant, en absence de fertilisation minérale, le mulch n'a pas d'influence sur le déséquilibre nutritionnel P/K du maïs en défaveur de la nutrition phosphorique. Les accumulations de nutriments au cours de la saison sèche ont tendance à être plus importantes sur les parcelles cultivées en couloirs par rapport à celles en culture pure. Les adventices sont particulièrement performantes pour accumuler des éléments peu présents dans la biomasse des haies. Des améliorations necessaires du système de culture sont discutées. La meilleure composition des engrais dans des systèmes de mulch mérite attention.
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Schroth, G., Oliver, R., Balle, P. et al. Alley cropping withGliricidia sepium on a high base status soil following forest clearing: effects on soil conditions, plant nutrition and crop yields. Agroforest Syst 32, 261–276 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00711714
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00711714