Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35108304›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Spatial approach for diagnosis of yield-limiting nutrients in smallholder agroecosystem landscape using population-based farm survey data.

Stephen M Ichami, George N Karuku, Andrew M Sila, Fredrick O Ayuke, Keith D Shepherd

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Stephen M IchamiFaculty of Agriculture, Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Kabete, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0003-4041-1042
George N KarukuFaculty of Agriculture, Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Kabete, Nairobi, Kenya.
Andrew M SilaWorld Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya.
Fredrick O AyukeFaculty of Agriculture, Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Kabete, Nairobi, Kenya.
Keith D ShepherdWorld Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya.
University of Nairobi · KEWorld Agroforestry Centre · KE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adept use of fertilizers is critical if sustainable development goal two of zero hunger and agroecosystem resilience are to be achieved for African smallholder agroecosystems. These heterogeneous systems are characterized by poor soil health mainly attributed to soil nutrient depletion. However, conventional methods do not take into account spatial patterns across geographies within agroecosystems, which poses great challenges for targeted interventions of nutrient management. This study aimed to develop a novel population-based farm survey approach for diagnosing soil nutrient deficiencies. The approach embraces principles of land health surveillance of problem definition and rigorous sampling scheme. The advent of rapid soil testing techniques, like infrared spectroscopy, offers opportune avenues for high-density soil and plant characterization. A farm survey was conducted on 64 maize fields, to collect data on soil and plant tissue nutrient concentration and grain yield (GY) for maize crops, using hierarchical and purposive sampling. Correlations between soil test values with GY and biomass were established. The relationship between GY, soil NPK, and the tissue nutrient concentrations was evaluated to guide the setting up of localized critical soil test values. Diagnosis Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) indices for total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), and total potassium (K) were used to rank and map the prevalence of nutrient limitations. A positive correlation existed between plant tissue nutrient concentration with GY with R2 values of 0.089, 0.033, and 0.001 for NPK, respectively. Soil test cut-off values were 0.01%, 12 mg kg-1, 4.5 cmolc kg-1 for NPK, respectively, which varied slightly from established soil critical values for soil nutrient diagnostics. N and K were the most limiting nutrients for maize production in 67% of sampled fields. The study demonstrates that a population-based farm survey of crop fields can be a useful tool in nutrient diagnostics and setting priorities for site-specific fertilizer recommendations. A larger-scale application of the approach is warranted.

Indexed as

EcosystemBiomassEdible GrainFarmsNitrogenNutrientsPhosphorusPlant LeavesPotassiumSoilSpectrophotometry, InfraredZea maysNitrogenNutrientsPhosphorusPotassiumSoil

Identifiers

PMID35108304
PMCPMC8809601
OpenAlexW4210584849

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.