Neal S. Eash

RISK AND MAIZE-BASED CROPPING SYSTEMS FOR SMALLHOLDER MALAWI FARMERS USING CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGIES

SUMMARY Agricultural production in southern Africa is constrained by numerous factors, including low soil fertility, frequent droughts and flooding, limited access to fertilizers and the use of unsustainable management techniques that increase soil erosion rates. Conservation agriculture (CA) is based on the principles of minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop rotations. CA systems have been proposed to alleviate the negative externalities associated with conventional crop management systems. This study was conducted to examine the riskiness of economic returns of CA technologies based on maize grain yield evaluated in 12 target communities in Malawi from 2005–2011. On average, maize grain yields on both CA treatments exceeded the conventional control treatment by 22.1–23.6%, with differences more distinct in low altitude areas with low rainfall and frequent seasonal dry spells. Stochastic dominance analysis suggest that CA technologies would be preferred by risk-averse farmers, with corresponding differences in risk premiums (compared to conventional maize production systems) ranging between US

Multivariate analysis of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy spectra of soil samples.

40 and US

Conservation agriculture practices and participation in Manica and Tete Maize Markets, Mozambique

105. However, these rankings are sensitive to the agroecological zones where the experiments were conducted. The risk premiums associated with the CA technologies in low elevation regions are unambiguous. Riskaverse farmers in higher elevations may need substantial incentives to adopt some CA technologies.

On the Relevance of \(\ln (z_{0} /z_{0T})= kB^{-1}\)

Abstract Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a rapid quantitative analytical technique that can be used to determine the elemental composition of numerous sample matrices, and it has been successfully applied in many types of samples. However, for chemically and physically complex soil samples, its quantitative analytical ability is controversial. Multivariate analytical techniques have great potential for analyzing the complex LIBS spectra. To demonstrate the feasibility of LIBS as an alternative technique to quantitatively analyze soil samples, the univariate and the partial least square (PLS) techniques are used to analyze the LIBS spectra of 12 soil samples and to build calibration models predicting Cu and Zn concentrations. The results show that PLS can significantly improve the analytical results compared with the univariate technique. The normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) and r2 of the univariate models are 16.60% and 0.71 in calibration and 18.80% and 0.62 in prediction for Cu and 18.97% and 0.62 in calibration and 22.81% and 0.45 in prediction for Zn. For the PLS models using the spectral range 300 to 350 nm, the NRMSE and r2 are 1.94% and 0.99 for both Cu and Zn in calibration and 7.90% and 0.94 for Cu and 8.14% and 0.94 for Zn in prediction, respectively. Compared with the univariate technique, PLS improves the NRMSE 87.53% and 87.78% in calibration and 44.47% and 53.44% in prediction for Cu and Zn, respectively. The results indicate that PLS can improve the quantitative analytical ability of LIBS for soil sample analysis.

Maize-based conservation agriculture systems in Malawi: Long-term trends in productivity

This paper analyses the marketing of maize and use of conservation agriculture practices (CAPs) by smallholder farmers in Mozambique. Specifically the factors associated with the likelihood households participate in maize markets as a vendor or buyer, and the subsequent quantity of maize transacted are examined. Of particular interest is the relationship between the adoption of CAPs practices and the likelihood a household sold or purchased maize and the quantity of maize exchanged. Use of CAPs may enhance the food security of smallholder farmers in this region. Households using CAPs were more likely to sell maize but less likely to purchase maize for household consumption. However, the overall quantity of maize transacted by CAPs adopters was not different from other households. Market transactions were more evenly distributed throughout the year for CAPs adopters as compared to other households whose transactions were concentrated during times when food was scarce.

Long term tillage, cover crop, and fertilization effects on microbial community structure, activity: Implications for soil quality

The assumption that the roughness Reynolds number

Conservation agriculture and drought-tolerant germplasm: Reaping the benefits of climate-smart agriculture technologies in central Mozambique

( Re_{*})

Bowen Ratio Energy Balance Measurement of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Fluxes of No-Till and Conventional Tillage Agriculture in Lesotho

(Re∗) can be used as a basis for quantifying the boundary-layer property