Sustainable Soil Loss Management in Tropical Uplands: Impact on Maize-Chili Cropping Systems

Khalid Hussain,Irshad Bibi,Thomas Hilger,Ayesha Ilyas

doi:10.3390/su13116477

Khalid Hussain, Irshad Bibi + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116477

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Abstract

Intensive land use with inappropriate land management is directly degrading South Asian uplands. A field trial was carried out on the uplands of Western Thailand with a 25% slope to examine the effect of land use management on soil loss for sustainable crop production during two consecutive years (2010–2011). Various cropping systems with soil conservation practices were compared to maize sole cropping (MSC). Results revealed that soil loss was at a minimum in the intercropping system of maize-chili-hedgerows with minimum tillage and fertilization that was 50% to 61% and 60% to 81% less than MSC and the bare soil plot during both years, respectively. Yield advantage was at its maximum, as indicated by the highest land equivalent ratios of 1.28 and 1.21 during 2010 and 2011, respectively, in maize-chili-hedgerows-intercropping with minimum tillage and fertilization. The highest economic returns (5925 and 1058 euros ha−1 during 2010 and 2011, respectively) were also obtained from maize-chili-hedgerows-intercropping with minimum tillage and fertilization. Chili fresh fruit yield was maximum in the chili alone plot during both years due to the greater area under cultivation compared with intercropping. Maize-chili-hedgerows with minimum tillage and fertilization reduced soil loss and increased land productivity and net returns, indicating its promising features for sustainable crop production on uplands.

Highlights

Published: 7 June 2021A large proportion of agricultural land in the world is already affected by soil erosion [1], whereas around 10 million hectares of land are destroyed every year due to soil erosion, directly impacting world food production [2].The land area of Thailand is 514,000 km2 : 41% for agriculture, 31% for forest and 28%unclassified
Inclusion within maize-chili-intercropping with fertilizer application (T4) reduced soil loss by 61% and 53% compared with the bare soil plot and the farmers’ practice (maize alone (T1)), respectively
Hedgerows’ inclusion within maize-chili intercropping without fertilizer application (T6) reduced soil loss by 50% and 39% compared with the bare soil plot and the farmers’ practice (maize alone (T1)), respectively

Summary

Introduction

Published: 7 June 2021A large proportion of agricultural land (around 2 billion ha) in the world is already affected by soil erosion [1], whereas around 10 million hectares of land are destroyed every year due to soil erosion, directly impacting world food production [2].The land area of Thailand is 514,000 km2 : 41% for agriculture, 31% for forest and 28%unclassified. Soil loss is mainly caused by improper farming methods, low soil cover, extensive tillage and mono-cropping systems, whereas rainfall intensity, slope gradient, soil stability, crop management and conservation practices are considered to be the main factors that directly affect soil erosion [4,5,6,7,8] in Thailand and other parts of Asia. These Thai hillsides have moderate to steep (10–30%) slopes and are dominated by natural bamboo forests

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