Abstract
AbstractAgricultural extension requires close communication with farmers, and researchers must consider farmers’ perspectives on crop management. Farmers tend to take into account the canopy appearance when they decide on fertilizer application, and this is often neglected in crop management recommendations by researchers. Our objectives were to dissect the growth characteristics that farmers implicitly account for in nutrient management of tropical rice. Farmer participatory trials were conducted in irrigated and rainfed lowlands in the Philippines during the wet seasons of 2014, 2015, and 2016. Each year, 30 participating farmers made decisions on fertilizer management for plots with different seedling ages and planting densities. These treatments greatly changed the canopy appearance, and affected farmer decisions on nitrogen (N) management, particularly in the first year. We found that plant height and leaf greenness were the major determinants of their decisions in irrigated lowlands. Under rainfed conditions, the risk of drought made farmers focus on tillering rather than plant elongation and leaf color during early growth stages, and on canopy cover and plant elongation during later stages. Across years and water regimes, farmers applied 78% more N than researchers without generally increasing grain yield. Since crop diagnosis is a key for successful management by farmers, guidelines for efficient nutrient management should include numerical targets for the traits emphasized by farmers. That will help farmers better understand their crops, and the guidelines will be more user-friendly than providing only a fertilizer application prescription.
Highlights
In rice cultivation in tropical Asia and Africa, fertilizer costs amount to 30% of the total production cost (Pampolino et al, 2007)
Farmer decisions on fertilizer application under different planting treatments Fertilizer application regimes differed among the planting treatments under farmer management (FM) but were fixed for all treatments under researcher management (RM) in each water regime (Table 1)
The rates of N topdressing in the irrigated regime varied under FM, with values ranging from 41 to 161 kg N ha−1 at 21 days after transplanting (DAT) and from 17 to 49 kg N ha−1 at 35 DAT, with less variation in P2O5 and K2O
Summary
In rice cultivation in tropical Asia and Africa, fertilizer costs amount to 30% of the total production cost (Pampolino et al, 2007). Nitrogen (N), in fields to meet the requirements of rice is essential for high productivity (Tillman et al, 2002). To introduce intensive nutrient management during the Green Revolution (Pingali, 2012), most government agencies adopted blanket recommendations based on a single prescription with fixed fertilizer application rates for large areas (Dobermann and White, 1999). Farmers in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam became accustomed to applying This typically resulted in overuse of fertilizer without increasing yield beyond a certain point (Tillman et al, 2002)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
