CROPPING SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION

Cropping system is not only interested in the types of crops grown, but also on how those
crops are distributed on the field at any given time and how this distribution changes
over time. In addition, the level of management and amount of resource inputs are
integral aspects of a cropping system. This unit would explain to you the various cropping
systems and the conditions that give rise to such cropping systems. The advantages and
disadvantages of each cropping system are also treated.

Definition of Cropping System

The term cropping system is used to describe the pattern in which crops are grown in a
given area over a period of time and includes the technical and managerial resources
that are utilized. In short, when we talk about the cropping system of a given area, we
are not only interested in how those crops are distributed on the field at any given time
but also how this distribution changes over time. In addition, the level of management
and amount of resource inputs are integral aspects of a cropping system.

Cropping systems are classified based on the following criteria

1. The distribution of crops in time, i.e. whether shifting cultivation, continuous

cropping, monoculture, or crop rotation is practised.
2. The distribution of the crops in space on the field, i.e. whether intercropping
or sole cropping is practised.
3. The level of management and resources utilized to produce the crop, i.e.
whether production is intensive or extensive.
4. The type of crop grown, i.e. whether orchard, arable cropping, pasturing,
forestry, etc. is practised.

Shifting Cultivation

In this system, the farm is not at a permanent location. Instead, a piece of land is cleared,
farmed for a few years and then abandoned in preference for a new site. While the new
site is being farmed, natural vegetation is allowed to grow on the old site. Eventually,
after several years of bush fallows, the farmer returns to the original location. The practice
of moving the home along with the farm is discontinued and in its place the practice of
making home stationary is common in tropical Africa.

Common features of shifting cultivation

• The farmer first selects a site which has been under bush fallow for several years.
• Clears the vegetation by burning.
• Crops are then grown on the field for one, two or three years, starting with crops
with high nutrients requirement and ending with crops that has low nutrients
requirement.
 • Low levels of technology, input and management.
• Most of the operations are carried out using simple hand tools and the labour
requirement are high while the yield are correspondingly low.
Factors necessitating shifting cultivation

1. Declining of soil fertility and increasing population.

2. Unusually high incidence of diseases and pests.

3. Social or religious customs may dictate the abandonment of site before its
fertility level has become marginal.

Disadvantages of shifting cultivation

1. It tends to discourage high level of inputs.

2. Because the farms stays in one location only for a short while, there is no incentive to
invest in permanent structures such as store sheds, irrigation and even certain pest
control soil erosion or soil conservation measure that may have a long-term benefits.

3. It requires a great deal of land to maintain the system.

4. Low efficiency in land utilization.

5. Low efficiency in labour utilization.

Continuous Cropping

In contrast to shifting cultivation, continuous cropping implies the cultivation of the same
piece of land year after year. Fallowing may occur, but it never occurs more than a
season or two. The absence of a protracted fallow periods means that other soil
management practices must be employed in order to maintain high soil fertility.

Agricultural practices for maintaining soil fertility under continuous cropping

• Application of fertilizers and other soil amendments in order to boost fertility.

• Judicious selection of the crops and crop combinations to be grown. Crop rotations
and carefully planned intercrop combination are indispensable.
• Introducing short term fallow periods in to the cropping cycle. A leguminous cover
crop can be planted on the fallow land so as to aid the fixation of nitrogen by
legumes during the fallow period and through increasing the soil organic matter
content when the fallow crop is ploughed under

Advantages of Continuous Cropping

• Land utilization under continuous cropping is extremely efficient. A very high

percentage of land is under crops at any given time.
 • It is possible and economically feasible, to erect permanent structures on the farm
site.

Crop Rotation

The practice of growing different kinds of crops, one at a time, in a definite sequence on
the same piece of land is referred to as crop rotation. In designing a good crop rotation,
the farmer must decide what crops to have in the rotation, in what sequence the crops
should occur, and for how many years or season each cycle of the rotation must run.

A good rotation that provides for maintenance or improvement of soil productivity

usually includes a legume crop to promote fixation of nitrogen, a grass or legume sod
crop for maintenance of humus, a cultivated or intertilled crop for weed control and
fertilizers. Perennial legumes and grasses may leave 2 to 3 tons of dry weight per acre of
roots residues in the soil when plowed down.

Factors that affect crop rotation

The choice of a rotation for a particular farm depends upon

the following:

1. Adaptation of the crops to a particular soil, climate, and economic

conditions.

2. Prevalence of weeds, plant diseases, and insect pests may also limit the kinds of
crops that can be grown in a locality.

3. Crops may be selected for rotation so as to spread labour throughout the

year.

Factors to consider in deciding the sequence of crops (principles of crop rotation)

1. The target crop (the main crop) should be planted immediately after the legumes or
fallow period. At this time the fertility of the soil is at its peak and the optimum
realizable yield of the target crop is possible. Crops which are known to have a high
demand for nutrients are also timed for the first season after the fallow.

2. Crops which are deep feeders should alternate with shallow feeders. In this way,
nutrient removal occurs uniformly from the various soil layers rather than occurring in
only one layer.

3. Crops that are botanically similar or are likely to be attacked by the same diseases
and pests should not normally follow each other in the rotation. Yams, for example,
 should not follow cowpeas in rotation if the root-knot nematode is prevalent, as the
nematodes left over from the cowpea crop will severely reduce yam yields. However,
if the nematode problem does not exist in the area, yam could conveniently follow
cowpeas.

4. The number of years for which each cycle of the rotation should run is determined by
the number of crops in the rotation, the length of their growing seasons and how
frequent the farmer can grow the target crop without running into problems of
disease and soil fertility. For example, the time interval between the harvesting of the
target crop and its being planted again on the same piece of land should be long
enough to prevent the carry- over of pathogens in crop residues from one cycle to
the next.

Types of Crop Rotation

In planning crop rotation, the farmer may decide to consider his entire field as one plot.
He then rotates the crops in sequence on the field. At any given time, there is only a crop
on the field, and that crop would not return again until the next cycle some years later.

Example of a 3-year crop rotation as practiced in Savanna zone of Nigeria

Table 2.1

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Winter (with Rice Vegetables Wheat
irrigation)
Summer (Rainy cotton Groundnut/maize Beans/millet
season)

This system, however, has certain disadvantages:

1. The growing of one crop means that the demand for labour occurs in peaks.
Labour demand is more evenly spread if many crops are grown simultaneously.

2. The risk of crop failure is ever present, and the risk is greater where only one
crop is grown.

3. Since each crop occurs on the farm only once every several years, specialized
facilities for the target crop, can only be utilized once in several years, a
situation which is definitely inefficient.

Most farmers who practice crop rotation find it more convenient to divide their field
into as many plots as there are years in the rotation. The farmer then starts with a
different crop on each plot and progress through the rotation. In this scheme, all the
crops are present on the farm at any given time. Example of such type of rotation is
given below.
Example of a 3-year crop rotation found in guinea savanna region of West Africa
 Table 2.2

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Plot A Cotton Guinea corn Groundnuts
Plot B Guinea corn Groundnuts Cotton
Plot C Groundnuts Cotton Guinea corn

Advantages of Crop Rotation

1) It is an effective means of controlling diseases and pests. The pathogens and pests of
a particular crop are more likely to die off when their host crop is followed by a
completely different non- host crop. Many insects are destructive to only one kind of
crop. The life cycle is broken when crops grown are unfavorable to the development
of the insect pest. Cotton root-knot can be reduced by the growth of immune crops
in the rotation

2) Crop rotation is the most effective practical method for controlling many farm weeds.
Some weeds are particularly adapted to cultivated crops, the absence of such host
crop in the field for many years due to rotation, effectively control the weeds. Rotation
may include smother crop as a means of controlling certain weeds.

3) The type of crop rotation where the field is divided into several plots, offers the farmer
some insurance against crop failure, and enables him to spread out his labour needs.

4) Crop rotation is an effective means of reducing erosion in comparison with continuous

cropping. Grass legumes mixtures in a rotation have been very effective in the
reduction of erosion.

Monoculture

This is the practice of incessantly cultivating the same type of crop on the same
piece of land year after year. For example sugar cane farming in Bachita, Nigeria

Disadvantages of monoculture

• In monoculture diseases and pests of the particular crop always have their
host present, and therefore have the opportunity to build up over the years.

• Monoculture encourage rapid depletion of soil nutrients and destruction of the

soil structures.

• The risk of crop failure is great and ever present.

Advantages of monoculture
 The main advantage of monoculture is that it permits maximum concentration of
production effort on a single target crop.

Intercropping
The practice of growing one crop variety in pure stands on a field is referred to as sole
cropping. In this practice, only one crop variety occupies the land at any one time. The
alternative practice of growing two o r m o r e c r o p s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y o n t h e s a m e
f i e l d i s c a l l e d intercropping. The various crops in the intercrop do not necessarily have
to be sown or harvested at the same time, the main requirement is that they are on the
field at the same time for a significant part of their growing periods.
Types of intercropping

1. Row intercropping: this is when the various crops are grown in separate rows.

2. Mixed cropping: this is when the various crops are grown intermingled more or
less at random with each other.

3. Relay inter-cropping: this is when a second crop variety is sown between the stands
of an existing sole crop just before the first crop is harvested. As such, both the first
and second crops spend most of their field lives as sole crop, and grow together on
the field for only a brief period.

Factors that determine the crops combination and spatial

arrangement

• Tillage practices: when ridges have been made, the spatial arrangement of the
various crops may be determined by particular needs of each crop. For example,
yam which requires a deep layer of tilled soil, is planted at the top of the mounds,
while rice because of its high moisture requirement, is planted in the lower ground
between the mounds. Other crops such as maize, pumpkins and melons are
planted at intermediate positions between the rice and the yams.

• The crop the farmer considers as target crop and which one is considered a
subsidiary influence the proportion of the crops.

• Nature of the crops themselves: a few strands of pumpkin or melon occupy a lot of
land and have high economic yield, whereas rice strands, for example, would have
to be much more numerous to be meaningful.

Evaluating yield from intercropping

The relative yield of each component crop in an intercropping situation is the yield of
that component in the intercropping situation divided by what that crop would have
yielded as a sole crop, covering the same area as the intercrop and managed at the
same level. Suppose, for example, that a field with a crop combination of maize and
cowpeas yields 1.5 tonnes/hectare of maize and 0.25 tonnes/ha. of cowpeas. If the
expected sole crop yield of maize is 2.0 t/ha and that of cowpeas is 0.5 t/ha. Then the
relative yield of maize is 1.5/2.0 = 0.75 and the relative yield of cowpeas is 0.25/0.50 =
0.50.

The sum of the relative yields of the various component crops in the intercrop is
sometimes called the relative yield total. A little reflection of how many times the land
area used for intercrop would be required to produce the same yields of the component
crops when they are grown as sole crops. The relative yield total is therefore more
conventionally referred to as land equivalent ratio (LER).

Mathematically:

LER = relative yield of crop A and relative yield of crop B + relative yield of crop n

In the maize/ cowpeas combination considered above the LER = 0.75 +

0.25 = 1.25. An LER greater than 1.0 implies that for that particular crop combination,
intercropping yielded more than growing the same number of stands of each crop as
sole crops. An LER of less than 1.0 implies that the intercropping was less beneficial than
sole cropping.

LER can also be calculated based on the monetary value of the yield obtained from the
various intercrop and sole crop situation and make comparisons on this basis.

Calculating LER by comparing the total energy value of the yield in kilo calories in various
situations and compared the values to determine which arrangement was most
beneficial.

Advantages of intercropping

• In a carefully planned intercropping the LER is usually greater than one. This means that
there is yield advantage in growing crops together than growing each one separately.
This advantage may rise from several sources.

• The crops may complement one another in their use of field time. The periods of their
peak demands for light, water, nutrients and other resources may differ, so that in
general there is a more efficient utilization of the resources available. For example,
during the two or three months that yam takes to sprout and establish adequately on
the field, a quick intercrop of maize or melon would beneficially utilize the field
resources during this period.

• The component crop may complement each other in their use of space. For example,
an intercrop of a deep-rooted crop can exploit various horizons of the soil.

• An intercrop may be able to utilize resources which the main crop may not be able to
utilize or which may even be disadvantageous to it.

• Certain crops may exert specific beneficial effect on others. For example, plantains
intercropped with young cocoa seedlings provide shade for the seedlings. Similarly, in
an intercrop of a legume with a cereal crop, the cereal would benefit from the
nitrogen fixed by the legumes.
• By having many crops growing simultaneously on the field the farmer is more or less
buffered against failure of one of the crop.

• Intercropping allows for a more uniform distribution of labour throughout the year.

• When one component of an intercrop combination fails, the other combinations are
able to utilize the resources that would have been available to the failed crop, and
so yield better than they would have done otherwise. In other words there is yield
stability.

• The spread of diseases and pests is less rapid than in sole cropping. This is probably
because the mean distances between the plants of the same component crops are
greater. In many instances, the other component crops are not susceptible to the
particular disease or pest afflicting one component and may act as physical barriers
to the spread of diseases and pest.

Disadvantages of intercropping

• Since many crops exist together on the field, it is not possible to tailor production
practices to the needs of any particular crop.

• Control of pests and diseases is particularly difficult because pesticides which have
been developed to control a disease on one particular component crop may have
deleterious effect on other crops in the combination.

• It is difficult to mechanize operations such as planting, weeding and harvesting.

Cropping Systems in Africa

Shifting cultivation and intercropping are the predominant practice among the peasant
farmers of Tropical Africa while the large-scale farmers of East and Southern Africa as
well as irrigated agriculture of the Nile valley in Egypt practice sole cropping with crop
rotation. In each of these cases continuous cropping is the rule rather than shifting
cultivation.

Plantation agriculture mainly practice sole cropping such as oil palm, cocoa, rubber,
coffee and tea. In some instance, they may be intercropped with food crops when the
plantation is still young. For arable cash crop such as tobacco and groundnuts, sole
cropping is the rule but the sole crop may be subjected to shifting cultivation, or to
continuous cropping with rotation.

CONCLUSION
Cropping systems is basically concerned with the distribution of crops in time and space
as well the resources expended in the production of crop and the types of crops that
are grown. Cropping system of a given area is influenced by climatic conditions,
resources available and level of management skills of the farmer. The principles of crop
rotation, advantages and disadvantages of various cropping systems were highlighted
in this unit.
SUMMARY

This unit treats the distribution of crops in time, i.e. whether shifting cultivation,
continuous cropping, monoculture, or crop rotation and the distribution of the crops in
space on the field, (i.e. whether intercropping or sole cropping) as well as the level of
management and resources utilized to produce the crop, (i.e. whether production is
intensive or extensive) and the type of crops grown, (i.e. whether orchard, arable
cropping, pasturing, or forestry). The advantages and disadvantages of each cropping
systems and the principles of the rotations were also discussed.
FERTILIZERS AND THEIR USES

Plant Nutrients-Their Roles in Plant Growth and Their Sources

For proper plant growth, a regular supply of plant nutrients especially the essential ones,
is necessary. Plants absorb a large number of elements from the soil, air and water during
their growth period, but not all of these are essential. Only 16 elements have been found
to be essential for all plants and four others have been found to be essential for some
plants.

Essential Elements for Plant Growth

For element to be so classified, it has to fulfill the following criteria:

1. A deficiency of the element makes it impossible for the plant to complete the
vegetative or reproductive stage of its life cycle.

2. The deficiency symptom of the element in question can be prevented

or corrected only by supplying that element.

3. The element must have a direct influence on the plant, and must be directly
involved in the nutrition of the plant, quite apart from its possible effect in
correcting some microbiological or chemical condition in the soil or culture
medium.

Essential elements like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur are
the elements of which proteins and hence protoplasm are composed. The other ten
elements which are essential for plants are potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron,
manganese, molybdenum, copper, boron, zinc, and chlorine. The four elements which
are essential only for some and not for all plants are sodium, cobalt, vanadium and silicon.

Sources of Nutrients

The following elements are derived:

a) from air; carbon (C) as CO2 (carbon dioxide);

b) from the water: hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) as H2O (water);
c) from the soil, fertilizer and animal manure: nitrogen (N) a considerable amount of
nitrogen is also fixed by leguminous plants through root nodule bacteria

Macro and Micronutrients

Macronutrients are needed by the plants in large amount, and large quantities have
to be applied if the soil is deficient in one or more of them. Within the group of
macronutrients, which are needed for plant growth in large amounts, the primary
nutrient such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. While calcium, magnesium
and sulphur are sometimes called secondary nutrients due to their secondary
importance in plant nutrition.
In contrast with macronutrients, micronutrients or trace elements are required in only
minute amounts for correct plant growth and have to be added in very small
quantities when they cannot be provided by the soil.

Functions of nutrients Nitrogen (N)

1. Nitrogen is the motor of plant growth. It makes up to 1 to 4 percent of dry matter of
the plant. It is taken up from the soil in the form of nitrate (NO3-) or ammonium (NH4+).
2. In the plant it combines with compounds produced by carbohydrate metabolism to
form amino acids and proteins.
3. Being the essential constituent of proteins, it is involved in all the major process of
plant development and yield formation.
4. A good supply of nitrogen for the plant is important also for the uptake of the other
nutrients
Phosphorus (P)

1. It constitutes 0.1 to 0.4 percent of dry matter of the plant.

2. It plays a key role in the transfer of energy.

3. It is essential for photosynthesis and other chemical-physiological process in the

plant.

4. It is indispensable for cell differentiation and for the development of the tissues,
which form the growing points of the plant

Potassium (K)

1. Potassium makes up 1 to 4 percent of the dry matter of the plant.

2. It activates more than 60 enzymes.

3. It plays a vital part in carbohydrate and protein synthesis.

4. Potassium improves the water regime of the plant and increases its tolerance to
drought, frost and salinity.

5. Plants well supplied with K are also less affected by diseases

Magnesium (Mg)

1. It is a central constituent of chlorophyll, the green pigment of the leaves which

functions as acceptor of the energy from the sun, thus, 15 to 20 percent of the
magnesium found in plant is contained in the leaves.

2. Mg is also involved in enzyme reactions related to the energy transfer of the

plant.
Sulphur (S)

1. It is an essential constituent of protein and also involved in the formation of

chlorophyll.
2. In most plants it makes up to 0.2 to 0.3 percent of dry matter.

Calcium (Ca)

• Calcium is essential for root growth

• It is a constituent of cell wall materials

Micronutrients or Trace Elements

These are iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo),
chlorine (Cl) and boron (B). They are part of the key substances in plant growth and
are comparable with vitamins in human nutrition. Being taken up in minute amounts,
their range of optimal supply is very small.

Addition of Plant Nutrients to the Soil

Plant nutrients can be supplied to the soil by adding the following:

▪ organic manure

▪ green manures and other crop residues

▪ concentrated organic manures

▪ commercial fertilizers

▪ soil amendments

Organic Fertilizers/Manures

Farm yard manure, compost, sludge, green manures and other bulky sources of
organic matter are known as bulky organic manures. These manures supply plant
nutrients in small quantities and organic matter in large quantities. These manures
have a direct effect on plant growth, on the humus content of the soil, so
improving its physical properties, and on microbial activities in the soil.

Farmyard manures

The term farmyard manure (FYM) refers to the refuse from all animals of the farm
although as a general rule the bulk of this is produced by cattle. The richest and
most concentrated manure is poultry manure which is particularly good for
vegetable production. Farm yard manure consists of two components- solids and
liquids in a ratio of approximately 3:1. The solid portion is made up straw that has
been used for bedding and dung. Dung is mostly undigested food and urine is a
fluid waste product. More than 50% of the organic matter in dung is in form of
complex products, often of lignin and protein, which are similar to humus. FYM
contain on the average 0.5%N, 0.25% P205, and 0.5% K20. Generally, 30% of N, 30%
of the P205 and 50% of the K205 in farm manure are available to plants.

Importance of Farmyard Manure

1. Farmyard manure is source of nutrient especially nitrogen, potash and some trace
elements.

2. It influences the physical properties of the soil.

3. Farmyard manure increases the humus content and consequently the water
holding capacity of the soil.

4. It improves the structure of the soil by making it more granular, better aerated and
better drained. The manure also tends to reduce soil compaction which is often
associated with continuous cultivation.

Compost

Compost is well-rotted vegetable matter which is prepared from farm and town refuse.
Compost is prepared in trenches of various sizes and shapes. The accumulated refuse is
well mixed and then spread in the trench in a layer of about 0.3 m. this layer is then well
moistened by sprinkling over it a slurry of cow dung and water, or earth and water.
Subsequent layers of the same thickness of mixed refuse are then spread on the heap
and moisten. After about three month it is now fully decomposed and should be taken
out of the trenches formed into conical heaps above ground and covered with earth.
After one or two months, the compost will be ready for use. The N, P and K contents of
farm compost are on the average 0.5%, 0.15%, 0.5%, respectively, while those of the
town compost are 1.4%, 1.0%, 1.4%, respectively.

Advantages of Composting Organic Matter

• The carbon: nitrogen ratio is improved because carbon dioxide is released to the
air by micro-organisms.

• Improve the structure of the soil by making the soil friable, crumbly and easier to
handle and work upon.

• The heat generated may kill weed seeds and other pathogenic organism.

• It is the cheapest source of organic manure.

Green manures
This is the practice of growing and Ploughing in green crops to increase the organic
matter content of the soil. Green manure crops are usually fast growing annual
legumes and grasses. They are usually incorporated in the soil when they are green
and succulent. Crops which grow rapidly even on poor soils and produce an
abundant mass of green leaves and tops can be used as a green manure crop.

Advantages of Green Manure

• It increases the organic matter content of the soil.

• It improves soil structure.
• Makes phosphorus and certain trace elements available to plants.
• Checks erosion and leaching.
• Helps to control weeds by acting as a smother crop.

In-organic/ Commercial fertilizers

What is a fertilizer? Any natural or manufactured material, which contains at least 5

percent of one or more of the three primary nutrients (N P K), can be called fertilizer.
Industrially manufactured fertilizers are called mineral fertilizers. Fertilizer may contain
one or more of the essential nutrients. Those that contain only one of the major
elements are described as single, simple or straight fertilizers. Those that contain two
or more of the major elements are classified as mixed or compound fertilizers.
Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are the main plant nutrients and these three
provide the basis for the major groups of fertilizers.

With the rapid increase in population and rise in standard of living there is increasing
demand for food and feed grains. To meet up with the food demand it is necessary
to intensify field crop production. Achieving and sustaining high crop yield of desired
quality is only possible through the use of commercial fertilizers.

Although there have been tremendous increases in fertilizer using in tropical Africa
over the years, utilisation is still on a very small scale relative to the total needs. There
is a wide gap between the national requirements for fertilizers and their actual use
by farmers.

Chemical Fertilizers

Nitrogenous Fertilizers

The nitrogen in many straight and compound fertilizers is in the ammonium (NH4 ions)
form, but this is quickly changed by the bacteria in the soil to the nitrate (NO3 ions) form.
Most crop plants such as cereals take up and respond to the NO3 ions faster than to the
NH4 ions, but some crops, such as rice, potatoes and grasses, are equally responsive to
both forms.

On the basis of the chemical form in which nitrogen is combined with other elements in
a fertilizer, nitrogenous fertilizers may be classified into four groups:

i. Nitrate Fertilizers

In these fertilizers, nitrogen is combined in nitrate (NO3) form with other elements. Such
fertilizers are sodium nitrate (NaNo3), having 16 percent N, calcium nitrate [Ca (NO3)2],
having 15.5% N, and potassium nitrate (KNO3), having 13.4% N and 44% K.

Nitrate fertilizers are quickly dissociated in the soil, releasing the nitrate ion for plant
absorption. As such they are readily absorbed and utilized by the plants. The great
mobility of the nitrate ions in the soil has the advantage that, even when applied to the
surface of the soil, the nitrogen quickly reaches the root zone. They are therefore very
often used as side and top dressings. However, there is also the increased danger of
leaching of these fertilizers.

All the nitrate fertilizers are basic in their residual effect on the soil and their continued use
may reduce soil acidity.

ii Ammonium Fertilizers

In these fertilizers, nitrogen is combined in ammonium (NH+4) form with other elements
examples of such fertilizers:

• Ammonium sulphate [(NH4)2SO4 ], having 20% N,

• Ammonium phosphate (NH4H2PO4) having 20% N and 20% P or 16% N and 20%
P;
• Ammonium chloride (NH4Cl), having 24-26% N,
• Anhydrous ammonia, having 82% N and
• Aqueous ammonia having 28% N.

When added to the soil, the ammonium ion is temporarily retained by the colloidal
fraction of the soil until it is nitrified. These fertilizers are much more resistant to loss by
leaching because the ammonium ions are readily adsorbed on the colloidal
complex of the soils. Most ammonium fertilizers have acidic residual effect on the soil.

Nitrate and Ammonium Fertilizers

These are fertilizers that contain nitrogen in both ammonium and nitrate forms.
Examples of such fertilizers:

1. Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), having 32.5% N,

2. Ammonium sulphate nitrate (ASN)[ (NH4)2SO4.NH4NO3], having 26% N,

3. Calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) [Ca (NH4NO3)2 ], having 25% N.

These fertilizers are readily soluble in water and suitable for use under variety of soils
and cropping conditions. The nitrate nitrogen of these fertilizers are readily available
to plants for rapid growth and the ammonium nitrogen resists leaching losses and
can be utilized by the plants at a later stage. These fertilizers are acidic in their
residual effect on the soils.

Amide fertilizers

These fertilizers are carbon compounds, and so are called organic fertilizers.
Important fertilizers in this group are:

• Urea [Ca(NH2)2], having 46% N and

• Calcium cyanamide (CaCN2), having 22% N

These fertilizers are readily soluble in water and easily decomposed by micro-
organisms in the soil. In the soil they are quickly changed into ammonical nitrogen
and then to nitrate form.

General recommendation on the use of nitrogen fertilizers

• For rice, it is recommended to use ammonia-forming fertilizers such as

ammonium sulphate, ammonium chloride and urea. In case these fertilizers are
not available, ammonium-nitrate fertilizers such as ammonium sulphate nitrate,
ammonium nitrate and calcium ammonium nitrate should be used. For the
rest of field crops, all nitrogenous fertilizers are equally effective.

• Continuous use of ammoniacal or ammonium-forming fertilizers on acidic soil

should be avoided as it tend to make the soil more acidic.

• All nitrate fertilizers are best suited for side and top dressing.

• Since they are easily leached, they should not be applied in large quantities in
light sandy soils or during heavy rains.

• The entire recommended dose of nitrogen should be applied in 2 or 3 splits.

a. Phosphorus fertilizers

Crop plants absorb phosphorus in the form of negatively charged ions such as or
H2PO4-

Phosphorus fertilizers can be classified into three groups depending on the form in which
phosphoric acid is combined with calcium.

Phosphorus fertilizers containing water-soluble phosphoric acid or monocalcium

phosphate [Ca (H2PO4)2]: such fertilizers are super phosphate, ordinary or single, having
16-18% P2O5; double super phosphate, having 32% P2O5; triple super phosphate, having
46-48% P2O5 and ammonium phosphate, having 20% N and 20% P2O5 or 16% N and 20%
P2O5.
These fertilizers are quickly absorbed by the plants, since plants absorb phosphorus as
H2PO4 ions. Water-soluble phosphoric acid is rapidly transformed in the soil into a water-
insoluble form. As such there is no danger of loss of nutrients by leaching.

This group of fertilizers should not be used in neutral or alkaline soils and not inacidic soils.
Under acidic condition, phosphoric acid is converted into monocalcium phosphate, and
there is less chances of the phosphate being fixed as iron or alluminium phosphate.

Fertilizers containing citric-acid, soluble phosphoric acid or dicalcium phosphate

[CaHPO4 ]; such fertilizers are basic slag, containing 14- 18% P2O5: dicalcium phosphate,
containing 34-39% P2O5 and rhenania phosphate, containing 25-76%. These fertilizers are
particularly suitable for acidic soils.

Fertilizers containing insoluble phosphoric [Ca3(PO4)2]: such phosphatic fertilizers are

rock phosphate, having 20-40% P2O5: raw bonemeal, having 20-25% P2O5 and 3-4%
N and steamed bone-meal, having 22% P2O5. These fertilizers are well suited for
strongly acidic soils or organic soils which require large quantities of phosphorus
fertilizers to raise the soil fertility.

Principles of effective utilization of phosphorus fertilizers

a) Granular fertilizers with a high degree of water-solubility are more

effective on acid and neutral soils than powdered fertilizers.
b) On acid and neutral soils, band application of powdered fertilizer with a
high degree of water solubility will give better results than mixing the fertilizers
with the soil.
c) Water soluble fertilizers give the greatest response when applied in band.
d) To get optimum response from addition of phosphorus fertilizers other nutrients
must be in adequate quantities.
e)

Potassium fertilizers

All potassium fertilizers consist essentially of potassium in combination with chloride,

sulphate, or nitrate. Almost all potassium fertilizers are water soluble. The following are
examples of potassium fertilizers:

• Potassium chloride [KCl] or muriate of potash, having 60-63% K2O

• Potassium sulphate [K2SO4 ], having 50 – 53 % K2O5 and 18% of sulphur
• Potassium-magnesium sulphate [K2SO4. MgSO4] having 22% K2O5
• Potassium nitrate [KNO3], having 13% nitrogen and 44% K2O5
• Potassium metaphosphate [KPO3] having 40% K2O and 60% P2O5

Principles of effective utilization of potassium fertilizer

 • All potassium fertilizers are equally available to plants because all of them are
readily soluble in water

• Potassium fertilizers containing sulphur, magnesium or sodium have some

additional agronomic importance on some soil because of the presence of other
elements.

• Potassium fertilizers containing chlorine or sulphur should be used with caution as

they may be injurious to some crops.

a. Compound fertilizers

Compound fertilizers supply two or three of the major plant nutrient elements (i.e.
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). They are produced by mixing the straight fertilizers
such as ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate and nitrate of potassium or by more
complex chemical processes. The chemical composition of compound fertilizers is usually
given as the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium expressed as elemental N, P2O5
and K2O respectively. A 15:20:10 compound fertilizer therefore contains 15% N, 20%
phosphorus P2O5 and 10% potassium expressed as K2O.

Advantages of compound fertilizers

• The mixture is usually dry, fine and well mixed and can be applied by hand as well
as through a fertilizer drill.
• The mixture usually contains all major plant nutrients.
• It saves the farmer time and labour.
• It does not form lumps or deteriorate in any way if it is not used immediately

Grades of compound fertilizer

Low grade mixtures are 6:12:6, 5:10:10, and 9:9:0 etc. and high grade mixtures
are15:15:15, 20:20:20. Using high grade fertilizers have some advantages like:

• Low cost per unit of plant nutrient

• Lower cost of transportation, labour, and storage
• Increased the speed of application in the field.

b. Slow release fertilizers

Slow or controlled release fertilizers contain a plant nutrient (usually nitrogen) in a

form, which- after application- delays its availability for plant uptake significantly
longer than a common fertilizer. This effect is obtained either by coating a common
(nitrogen or NPK) fertilizer with sulphur or with a semi-permeable polymer material or
by special chemical nitrogen compound formulations.

Advantages of slow release fertilizer

• labour saving, instead of several split application only one for the whole
 growing periods.
• reduces toxicity to seedlings even with high application rates

Disadvantages of slow release fertilizer

The cost per unit of nutrient is considerably high than that in common fertilizers.

c. Nitrification and urease inhibitors

Nitrification inhibitors are compounds which, when added to nitrogen fertilizers

(containing the nitrogen in form of ammonia (NH4 +) causes delay in the
transformation of the ammonium-ion (NH4+) held by the adsorption complex into
nitrite (NO2) and further to nitrate (NO3-) through the activities of soil bacteria, thus
preventing leaching of nitrate not taken up immediately by the crop.

Urease inhibitors are compounds that depresses the transformation of the amide-N
in urea into ammonium for about 10 to 12 days; thus preventing, or reducing,
evaporation losses of ammonia to the air when the weather stays dry or the urea
cannot be incorporated into the soil immediately after application.

Both nitrification and urease inhibitors are strongly mixed with the nitrogen fertilizers
before spreading and then spread together in the mixture

Calculating the rate of fertilizer to be applied

The amount of fertilizer to be applied per hectare on a given field is determined

by:

• the amount of nutrients needed by plant for optimum growth and

productivity
• The availability of nutrient in the soil (level of soil fertility)
• The moisture status of the soil
• The type of crops to be grown
• The types and grades of fertilizers available.

Usually, mineral fertilizers are delivered in 50-kg bags while the nutrient content (active
ingredients) is given in percentages e.g. N 15 P15 K15. Meaning that each 50kg bag
contained 15% N 15% P 15% K.

Steps to follow in calculating the rate of fertilizer to be applied

• Determine the quantity of active ingredients contained in each bag, this could
be done by dividing the percentage of each nutrient by two. Example N15 P15
K15 would contain active ingredients N 15/2= 7.5kg P15/2= 7.5kg K 15/2=7.5kg

If the recommendation is to apply N60-P60-K60 per hecter, the easiest option for the
farmer is to buy a multi nutrient (compound) fertilizer grade N15-P15-K15.
One 50-kg bag contains N7.5kg -P7.5kg-K7.5kg of active ingredients

To find the number of bags required to supply the recommended nutrients:

1 bag = 7.5kg x = 60kg find X

X = 60 divided by 7.5 = 8 bags of NPK.

• Example: how many bags of ammonium sulphate (AS) (with 21% N and 24% S)
are needed to supply 60 kg/ha of N?

21 divided by 2 gives 10.5. Thus, approximately six bags of AS would supply 60.5 kg of
active ingredients of N.
In addition, six bags of AS will supply 72 kg/ha of sulphur.
Thus eight bags of 50 kg of N15-P15-K15 are needed to apply the recommended
rate of 60 kg/ha N, 60 kg/ha P2O5 and 60 kg/ha K2O.

• When the recommendation per hectare isN60-P30-K30, with 50- kg bags of a

N15-P15-K15 grade the farmer would divide 30 by 7.5 = 4. Since each 50kg bag
contains 7.5 kg of active ingredients of NPK.

In this case he should apply only four 50-kg bags of NPK fertilizer per hectare, giving
half of the recommended rate of nitrogen and the full rate of phosphate and
potassium as basal dressing.
The remaining 30 kg/ha N should be applied in the form of a straight nitrogen fertilizer
as one or two top-dressings in line with good agricultural practices

Time and Method of Fertilizer Application

To achieve maximum benefit from fertilizers, it is most essential to apply them at the
right time and in the right place. The amount and timing of nutrient uptake depends
on various factors, such as crop variety, planting date, crop rotation, soil and
weather conditions. For good agricultural practices, the farmer chooses the timing
and the quantity in such away that as much as possible of the nutrients is used by
the plants. For optimum crop use efficiency and minimum potential for
environmental pollution, the farmer must apply the nutrients as near to the time the
crop needs them. This is particularly important for mobile nutrients such as nitrogen,
which can easily be leached out of the soil profile, if they are not taken up by the
plant roots.

Time of applying nitrogen fertilizers

Since nitrogen is required throughout the growth period and nitrogenous fertilizer are
lost through leaching, it is better not to apply too much nitrogen at one time. The split
application of nitrogen throughout the growing period will ensure greater efficiency
and plants would not suffer from nitrogen deficiency.

Phosphorus

This element is required in greater quantities during the early growth period and as
all phosphorus fertilizers become available to growing plant slowly, it is always
recommended that the entire quantity of phosphorus fertilizers be applied in single
doze before sowing or planting.

Potassium

This element is absorbed right up to the harvest stage but it becomes available
slowly. It is therefore always advisable to apply the entire quantity of potassium at
sowing time.

Methods of Fertilizer Application

The method of application of fertilizers (organic manure or mineral fertilizers) is an essential

component of good agricultural practices. A fast start and continued nutrition is essential
for sustained maximum profit. It is important to place some of the fertilizer where it will
intercept the roots of the young plant and to place the bulk of the nutrients deeper in
the soil.

Nitrogenous fertilizers are easily soluble in water and have mobility, so they can be
applied on the soil surface.

Phosphorus fertilizers moves slowly from the point of placement, it should be placed closer
to the plant roots. To reduce phosphate fixation, phosphorus fertilizers should be so
placed that they come into minimum contact with the soil particles and are close to the
plant roots.

Potassium fertilizer moves slowly in the soil, they should also be placed near the root
zone.

Based on these principles, the following methods are used to apply fertilizers.

Broadcasting

The fertilizer is spread over the entire soil surface to be fertilized with the objective of
distributing the whole quantity of fertilizer evenly and uniformly and incorporating it in the
plough layer. It is used mostly on dense crops not planted in rows or in dense rows and on
grassland. It is also used when fertilizer should be incorporated into the soil after
application to be effective (phosphate fertilizers), or to avoid evaporation losses of
nitrogen (urea, diammonium phosphate). Incorporation through tilling or Ploughing-in is
also recommended to increase the fertility level of the entire plough layer. Whether the
fertilizer is broadcast by hand or with fertilizer spreading equipment, the spreading should
be as uniform as possible.

Row or Band Placement

This refers to the application of fertilizers into the soil close to the seed or plant and is
employed when relatively small quantities of fertilizers are to be applied. When fertilizers
are placed along with, or close to the seed or plant in bands or pockets, the roots of the
young plants are assured of an adequate supply of nutrients and this promotes rapid
early growth. This method of placement also reduces the fixation of phophorus and
potassium.

When seeds or plants are sown close together in a row, the fertilizer is put in
continuous band on one or both sides of the row. This method of application is
referred to as row placement, and is used for potatoes, maize, tobacco, cotton,
sugarcane etc.

Where crops are cultivated by hand and planted in hills, the recommended grams
of fertilizer are placed in the row or planting hole, under, or beside the seed, and
covered with soil, this is known as hill placement. Great care has to be taken such
that no fertilizer is placed either too close to the seed or to the germinating plant to
avoid toxicity.

Top dressing

Top-dressing (broadcasting the fertilizer on standing crop) is mainly used for small
and large grain crops and for crops such as forage, wheat and barley.

Top dressing of additional nitrogen is done when:

• a single application of the total nitrogen needed at sowing might lead to

losses through leaching and run-off.
• or where crops show a special need for nitrogen at certain stages of growth.

Top dressing of potassium, which does not move in the soil to the same extent as
nitrogen, might be recommended on light soils, i.e. applying the total amount
divided into a basal dressing and top-dressing.

Phosphate hardly moves in the soil at all. Hence, it is usually applied before or at
sowing or planting time (basal application), preferably in combination with
potassium and part of the nitrogen.

Side dressing: this is also another form of top dressing where fertilizer is spread
between the rows or around the plants. Maize, cotton, sugarcane, trees and other
perennial crops are normally side-dressed.

Foliar application of fertilizer

Foliar application refers to the spraying of the leaves of growing plants with suitable
fertilizer solutions. It is used mainly to correct micronutrient deficiencies. To minimize
the risk of leaf scorch, the recommended concentration has to be respected and
spraying should preferably be done on cloudy days and in the early morning or late
afternoon.

Direct application into the soil

With the help of some special equipment, anhydrous ammonia (liquid fertilizer) and
nitrogen solutions can be applied directly into the soil. There is very little plant injury or
wastage of ammonium if the material is applied about 10cm below the seed, and the
soil is moist.

Application through irrigation water

Straight or mixed fertilizers which are easily soluble in water are allowed to dissolve in the
irrigation stream. The nutrients are thus carried into the soil in solution. The fertilizers most
commonly applied through irrigation water are nitrogenous fertilizers.

How to Determine Fertilizer Needs

To determine fertilizer needs for crops and soils in your locality you must know two things:

1. The status of nutrients in the soil

2. How much of each nutrient is needed to get the highest or most profitable
(optimum) yield?

There are several approaches to finding the answers to these questions

1. Fertilizer recommendation of crops.

2. Nutrient hunger signs on growing crops (deficiency symptoms).

3. Soil tests or analyses to determine the fertilizer nutrients and amount

needed.

4. Plant or plant tissue test in the field.

5. Fertilizer field trials

Hunger signs in plants (Nutrient Deficiency symptoms)

If plants do not get enough of a particular nutrient they need, the symptoms show in the
general appearance as well as in the colour of the plant. Very typical symptom are: the
nutrient deficient plants are stunted , the leaves have a pale green colour or a very dark
bluish green colour, yellowish or have reddish spotting or striping. At harvest, yield is
reduced, sometimes severely.

Nitrogen deficiency symptoms

1. stunted growth

2. Loss of green colour, yellow discoloration of leaves from tip backward, older
 leaves brown.

3. Lower leaves may die premature while the top of the plant remains
green

Phosphorus deficiency symptoms

1. Stunted growth.

2. Leaves turn dark bluish green, purpling and browning from tip backward.

3. Plants slow to ripen, remaining green.

4. Fruits may be misshapen; grain is poorly filled.

Potassium deficiency symptoms

1. Stunted growth.
2. Leaves show discolouration along outer margin from tip to base.
3. Outer edges of leaves yellow or reddish, becoming brownish or scorched and
dead; leaves wilted.
4. Lodging.
5. Tree leaves are yellowish, reddish, pinched, cupped or curved.
6. Fruit is small, may have lesions or injured sport, poor storage and keeping
quality.

Magnesium deficiency symptoms

Yellowish discolouration between green leaf veins, followed by blotching and

necrosis (death of tissue), starting at lower older leaves.

Sulphur deficiency symptoms

• Whole plant is yellowish (often mistaken as N deficiency).

• Yellowish of upper leaves, even on newest growth.
• Delayed crop maturity.

Calcium deficiency symptoms

1. Young leaves turn yellowish to black and curved or cupped (brown spot).
2. Plants appear to wilt.
3. Fruits may appear rotten.
4. Roots are malformed.
Boron deficiency symptoms

1. Leaves frequently misshapen and crinkled, thick and brittle, white,

irregular spots between veins.
2. Growing tips of buds die, with bushy growth near tips extension growth
inhibited with shortened internodes.
3. Water-soaked, necrotic spots or cavities in beet and other root crops and in
the pith of stems.
4. Fruit small and poorly formed, often with corky nodules and lesions.
5. Low seed production due to incomplete fertilization.

Zinc deficiency symptoms

1. Stunted growth of leaves.

2. Fruit trees with typical shortened bushy shoots.
3. Chlorotic stripes (white bleached bands) between the leaf veins in lower part
of leaf.
4. In some cases, leaves have an olive green or grayish green color (very similar
to P deficiency).

Iron deficiency symptom

Young leaves with typical chlorosis between green veins, along the entire length of
leaves (usually on calcareous soils).

Soil Amendments

Soil amendments are the substances used for correcting the acidity or alkalinity of
the soil. In high rainfall areas, there is considerable leaching of bases leading to the
formation of acidic soil, while in low land areas, saline and alkaline soils occur.

Soil reaction or soil pH

Soils vary considerably in degree of acidity or alkalinity or in reaction. The normal

range is expressed in pH values as given in table 3.1 that follows
Table 3.1 Normal soil reaction range with corresponding pH values

Range in soil reaction pH value

Extremely acidic Below 4.5
Very strongly acidic 4.5- 5.0
Strongly acidic 5.1-5.5
Medium acidic 5.6-6.0
Slightly acidic 6.1- 6.5
Neutral 6.6- 7.3
Mildly alkaline 7.4-7.8
Moderately alkaline 7.9-8.4
Strongly alkaline 8.5-9.0
Very strongly alkaline 9.1 and above

Liming of acidic soils

Liming as the term applies to agriculture is the addition of any calcium or calcium
and magnesium-containing compound to the soil for reducing acidity. For this
purpose, calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, calcium
magnesium carbonate and calcium silicate slags are used.

Methods of applying lime

Lime should be applied before ploughing or applied on ploughed land and then
disked or mixed into the soil. When large quantities of lime are required, it is advisable
to apply the required amount in two or three splits rather than in one heavy
application. On strongly acidic soils,

where 7-15 tonnes of lime are required per hectare, half the quantity should be applied
before ploughing and the remaining half applied and disked after ploughing. When the
lime required is below 4-5 tonnes per hectare, the entire amount should be applied and
disked in at one time, 8-10 days before sowing.

CONCLUSION

Fertilizers are applied to crops to supply the nutrients that are not present in sufficient
quantities in the soil. The purpose of an adequate fertilization programme is to supply,
year after year, the amount of nutrients that will result in sustained maximum net returns.
This means that fertilizers are to be used in the most efficient way. To achieve maximum
benefit from fertilizers, it is most essential to apply them at the right time and in the right
place. Various types of fertilizers, the methods of their application, deficiency symptoms,
and methods of calculating fertilizer needs have been discussed in this unit.

SUMMARY

The role of fertilizer in sustainable crop production cannot be overemphasized. This unit
examined the types of organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizers, the role of each essential
and non-essential elements in crop nutrition, method of determining fertilizer needs of
crop, methods of fertilizer application, symptoms of deficiency of various types of
fertilizers, method of calculating fertilizer needs of crops, principles of effective utilization
of fertilizers were discussed. Also, soil reaction as it relates soil pH and its correction were
treated in this unit.