Abstract
Increasing within-season dry spells in Southern Africa in recent years have generated growing interest in conservation agriculture (CA) to secure crop yields, especially under rainfed systems. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency on nutrient-depleted sandy soils. Five treatments, namely (conventional tillage (control), conventional tillage + mulch (partial CA1), reduced tillage only (partial CA2), reduced tillage + mulching (partial CA3) and reduced tillage + mulching + intercropping (full CA)) were evaluated over two consecutive cropping seasons (2015/16 and 2016/17) on-farm in the village of Chidora in Hwedza District, southeast Zimbabwe. All mulched treatments had 15–32% more soil water content over the two growing seasons compared to the control. The higher soil water content under the mulched treatments significantly improved finger millet growth and development during both seasons as evidenced by the lower number of days to emergence (3 days less), greater shoot biomass, higher number of productive tillers and higher number of fingers produced. The full CA treatment achieved the best finger millet grain yield of 1.07 and 1.29 t ha−1 during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons, respectively. Full CA, partial CA3 and partial CA1 increased finger millet grain yield by 70%, 14% and 17% during the 2015/16 cropping season compared to the control. During the 2016/17 cropping season, a similar trend in finger millet grain yield was observed. Full CA was also among the most efficient methods in terms of water utilization (WUE), especially during the 2015/16 season. We concluded that CA, particularly when practiced in full, was more effective at offsetting the water limitations imposed by intra-seasonal dry spells on finger millet and significantly improved productivity.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
All mulched treatments had 15–32% more soil water content than the control over two seasons.
- Taxon
- finger millet
Eleusine coracanae0 - Treatment
- mulched treatmentse1
- Outcome
- soil water contente1
- Direction
- moree1
- Value
- 15–32%e1
- Comparator
- controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e1“All mulched treatments had 15–32% more soil water content over the two growing seasons compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher soil water under mulch was associated with 3 days fewer days to emergence of finger millet.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- higher soil water content under the mulched treatmentse5
- Outcome
- number of days to emergencee5
- Direction
- lowere5
- Value
- 3 days lesse5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e5“The higher soil water content under the mulched treatments significantly improved finger millet growth and development during both seasons as evidenced by the lower number of days to emergence (3 days less), greater shoot biomass, higher number of productive tillers and higher number of fingers produced”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher soil water under mulch was associated with greater finger millet shoot biomass.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- higher soil water content under the mulched treatmentse5
- Outcome
- shoot biomasse5
- Direction
- greatere5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e5“The higher soil water content under the mulched treatments significantly improved finger millet growth and development during both seasons as evidenced by the lower number of days to emergence (3 days less), greater shoot biomass, higher number of productive tillers and higher number of fingers produced”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher soil water under mulch was associated with more productive tillers of finger millet.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- higher soil water content under the mulched treatmentse5
- Outcome
- productive tillerse5
- Direction
- highere5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e5“The higher soil water content under the mulched treatments significantly improved finger millet growth and development during both seasons as evidenced by the lower number of days to emergence (3 days less), greater shoot biomass, higher number of productive tillers and higher number of fingers produced”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher soil water under mulch was associated with more fingers produced per finger millet plant.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- higher soil water content under the mulched treatmentse5
- Outcome
- number of fingers producede5
- Direction
- highere5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e5“The higher soil water content under the mulched treatments significantly improved finger millet growth and development during both seasons as evidenced by the lower number of days to emergence (3 days less), greater shoot biomass, higher number of productive tillers and higher number of fingers produced”
Claim · model-written summary
Full CA gave the best finger millet grain yield, 1.07 and 1.29 t ha−1 in the two seasons.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- full CAe2
- Outcome
- best finger millet grain yielde2
- Direction
- beste2
- Value
- 1.07 and 1.29 t ha−1e2
- Qualifier
- 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasonse2
- Setting
- on-farm in the village of Chidora in Hwedza District, southeast Zimbabwee7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e2“The full CA treatment achieved the best finger millet grain yield of 1.07 and 1.29 t ha−1 during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons”
e7“on-farm in the village of Chidora in Hwedza District, southeast Zimbabwe”
Claim · model-written summary
Full CA increased finger millet grain yield by 70% over the control in 2015/16.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- Full CAe3
- Outcome
- finger millet grain yielde3
- Direction
- increasede3
- Value
- 70%e3
- Qualifier
- during the 2015/16 cropping seasone3
- Comparator
- controle3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e3“Full CA, partial CA3 and partial CA1 increased finger millet grain yield by 70%, 14% and 17% during the 2015/16 cropping season compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Partial CA3 increased finger millet grain yield by 14% over the control in 2015/16.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- partial CA3e3
- Outcome
- finger millet grain yielde3
- Direction
- increasede3
- Value
- 14%e3
- Qualifier
- during the 2015/16 cropping seasone3
- Comparator
- controle3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e3“Full CA, partial CA3 and partial CA1 increased finger millet grain yield by 70%, 14% and 17% during the 2015/16 cropping season compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Partial CA1 increased finger millet grain yield by 17% over the control in 2015/16.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- partial CA1e3
- Outcome
- finger millet grain yielde3
- Direction
- increasede3
- Value
- 17%e3
- Qualifier
- during the 2015/16 cropping seasone3
- Comparator
- controle3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e3“Full CA, partial CA3 and partial CA1 increased finger millet grain yield by 70%, 14% and 17% during the 2015/16 cropping season compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Finger millet grain yield in 2016/17 followed a similar trend to 2015/16.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Outcome
- finger millet grain yielde4
- Qualifier
- a similar trende4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e4“During the 2016/17 cropping season, a similar trend in finger millet grain yield was observed”
Claim · model-written summary
Full CA was among the most water-use-efficient methods, especially in 2015/16.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- Full CAe6
- Outcome
- water utilization (WUE)e6
- Direction
- most efficiente6
- Qualifier
- especially during the 2015/16 seasone6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e6“Full CA was also among the most efficient methods in terms of water utilization (WUE), especially during the 2015/16 season”
Claim · model-written summary
Conservation agriculture, particularly when practised in full, significantly improved finger millet productivity by offsetting intra-seasonal dry spells.
- Taxon
- finger milletEleusine coracanae0
- Treatment
- CA, particularly when practiced in fulle7
- Outcome
- productivitye7
- Direction
- improvede7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the effects of CA on finger millet’s (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) growth, yield and water use efficiency”
e7“CA, particularly when practiced in full, was more effective at offsetting the water limitations imposed by intra-seasonal dry spells on finger millet and significantly improved productivity”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · soil: physics · Eleusine coracana (finger millet)Results agree
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tillage · physiology: water · Eleusine coracana (finger millet)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
tillage · yield · Eleusine coracana (finger millet)Results agree
11 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
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8 papers more in this group
See all 12 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.