Soil and crop spatial variability in a contour hedgerow farming system on acid upland soils
1992
Agus, F. | Cassel, D.K. | Garrity, D.P. (International Rice Research Inst., Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines))
To sustain agricultural production in a sloping acid upland environment the contour hedgerow farming system has been developed. The system had been shown to effectively reduce soil erosion. One limitation of the system is that it causes the growth suppression of the annual crop in the alleyway in the first few rows adjacent to the hedgerow. An experiment was designed in Claveria, Misamis Oriental [Philippines] province to evaluate soil and crop spatial variability as affected by hedgerows of trees, grasses, or combinations of both. Crop performance as a function of row number from the upper to the lower part of an alley was best described with a quadratic response curve. The crop suppression on the upper zone of the alley appears to be influenced by low soil fertility, as a result of soil removal during the gradual terrace development process, while on the lower zone of the alley it is caused by the hedgerow-crop competition for light, available nutrients (e.g. K), and/or water. The study will continue to investigate the factors influencing the crop performance in order to further elucidate the complex interactions influencing competition, and develop management practices to alleviate it
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