Management of maize-legume conservation agriculture systems rather than varietal choice fosters human nutrition in Malawi

IF 5.6 1区农林科学 Q1 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Security Pub Date : 2024-08-23 DOI:10.1007/s12571-024-01479-4

Tarirai Muoni, Blessing Mhlanga, Ingrid Öborn, Christian Thierfelder

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Abstract

Malawi smallholder farmers are facing climate-induced challenges that have increased food and nutrition insecurity in the country, thus sustainable intensification practices has been widely recommended. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of cropping systems with improved varieties on total system productivity and nutrition under different environments. The study involved on-farm experiments in ten communities in Central and Southern Malawi, incrementally established from 2005/2006 to 2018/2019 cropping seasons. Each community had six demonstration plots with three main treatments: conventional ploughing (CP): sole maize grown on seasonally constructed ridges and furrows; no-tillage (NT): sole maize grown on retained ridges with minimum soil disturbance and residue retained; and Conservation agriculture (CA): maize intercropped either cowpea, pigeon pea or groundnut on retained ridges as in NT. Our results show that total system nutrition was higher in CA treatments than NT and CP. The yields of maize were at least 800 kg ha⁻¹ higher in CA and NT than CP despite the variety that was grown. Legume yields were also higher under CA and NT than CP. High protein yield was observed in CA systems (at least 100 kg ha⁻¹ higher than CP) where maize and legume intercrops were rotated with grain legumes. Our results show nutrients and energy gains in CA and NT systems that can be invested in practices that increases the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change. Conservation agriculture and NT systems have more influence on productivity of smallholder farms, despite the genotypes used (hybrids or OPVs).

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在马拉维，玉米-豆类保护性农业系统的管理而非品种选择促进了人类营养的提高

马拉维的小农正面临着由气候引起的挑战，这些挑战加剧了该国的粮食和营养不安全状况，因此，可持续集约化做法得到了广泛推荐。这项研究的目的是评估在不同环境下采用改良品种的耕作制度对整个系统的生产率和营养的影响。研究涉及马拉维中部和南部十个社区的农场试验，从 2005/2006 年到 2018/2019 年种植季节逐步建立。每个社区有六个示范田，主要有三种处理方法：传统耕作（CP）：在季节性修建的田埂和沟渠上单种玉米；免耕（NT）：在保留田埂上单种玉米，尽量减少对土壤的扰动并保留残留物；保护性农业（CA）：在保留田埂上玉米间作豇豆、鸽子豆或落花生，与免耕处理相同。我们的研究结果表明，在保护性耕作处理中，系统总营养高于非保护性耕作和保护性耕作。尽管种植的玉米品种不同，但在 CA 和 NT 条件下，玉米产量比 CP 条件下至少高出 800 公斤/公顷。豆科植物的产量在 CA 和 NT 中也高于 CP。在玉米和豆科植物间作与谷物豆科植物轮作的 CA 系统中，蛋白质产量很高（比 CP 每公顷至少高出 100 千克）。我们的研究结果表明，在保护性耕作和非保护性耕作体系中获得的养分和能量收益可用于提高小农对气候变化的适应能力。尽管使用了不同的基因型（杂交种或 OPV），但保护性耕作和非保护性耕作对小农农场的生产力影响更大。

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来源期刊

Food Security FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY-

CiteScore

14.00

自引率

6.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Food Security is a wide audience, interdisciplinary, international journal dedicated to the procurement, access (economic and physical), and quality of food, in all its dimensions. Scales range from the individual to communities, and to the world food system. We strive to publish high-quality scientific articles, where quality includes, but is not limited to, the quality and clarity of text, and the validity of methods and approaches. Food Security is the initiative of a distinguished international group of scientists from different disciplines who hold a deep concern for the challenge of global food security, together with a vision of the power of shared knowledge as a means of meeting that challenge. To address the challenge of global food security, the journal seeks to address the constraints - physical, biological and socio-economic - which not only limit food production but also the ability of people to access a healthy diet. From this perspective, the journal covers the following areas: Global food needs: the mismatch between population and the ability to provide adequate nutrition Global food potential and global food production Natural constraints to satisfying global food needs: § Climate, climate variability, and climate change § Desertification and flooding § Natural disasters § Soils, soil quality and threats to soils, edaphic and other abiotic constraints to production § Biotic constraints to production, pathogens, pests, and weeds in their effects on sustainable production The sociological contexts of food production, access, quality, and consumption. Nutrition, food quality and food safety. Socio-political factors that impinge on the ability to satisfy global food needs: § Land, agricultural and food policy § International relations and trade § Access to food § Financial policy § Wars and ethnic unrest Research policies and priorities to ensure food security in its various dimensions.