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African Crop Science Journal
African Crop Science Society
ISSN: 1021-9730
EISSN: 1021-9730
Vol. 3, No. 1, 1995, pp. 67-72
Bioline Code: cs95009
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge

African Crop Science Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1995, pp. 67-72

 en Sustainable Crop Production on Aeolian Sandy Semi-Arid Soils in South Africa
Bennie, A.T.P.; Hoffman, J.E. & Coetzee, M.J.

Abstract

Large areas of the soils under rainfed crop production in the semi-arid climate regions Southern Africa are of Aeolian origin with a sandy texture. These soils are prone to wind erosion, soil compaction and drought, which hamper sustainable crop production. Field experiments were conducted over three years in which 3 tillage practices were combined with 3 cropping practices. The tillage practices were: i) conventional mouldboard ploughing, ii) stubble mulch tillage, both in combination with deep ripping and controlled traffic, and iii) no-tillage with chemical weed control. Every tillage practice was combined with three cropping practices viz. i) continuous maize, ii) wheat with a 5-month fallow, and iii) maize and wheat in rotation allowing a 10-month fallow. It was found that continuously grown maize and wheat with conventional tillage gave the highest rainfall use efficiency. Conventionally grown maize and wheat in rotation with a longer fallow gave the highest yields, whereas no-tillage with continuous maize and wheat gave the lowest yields. The yields on stubble mulching were lower than those on conventional tillage.

Keywords
Maize, tillage practice, soil texture, rainfall use efficiency, wheat yields

 
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