To reduce the impact of rainfall variability on lowland rice yields, Burkina Faso state develops lowlands for small rice farmers. However, the high cost of these infrastructures makes impossible to duplicate them to s...To reduce the impact of rainfall variability on lowland rice yields, Burkina Faso state develops lowlands for small rice farmers. However, the high cost of these infrastructures makes impossible to duplicate them to satisfy the needs which are enormous. The Smart-Valley technology which is actually popularized in certain coastal countries of West Africa would therefore be a boon to increase the productivity of the Sudanese lowlands if it well regulates runoff. The object of this study was therefore to know if smart valley technology could increase soil moisture in order to mitigate the impact of drought’s pockets on rice cultivation in the Sudanese lowlands. The experiment takes place in three lowlands during the rainy seasons 2018 and 2019. The climatic data comes from the meteorological stations in the study areas as well as those installed on the sites. The infiltration measurements were carried out using the double Muntz ring. The soil moisture measurement device consisted of a smart valley area of 5 ha and an undeveloped area of 5 ha per site. Sixteen tubes were installed per lowland allowing the humidity to be measured at a depth of 10, 20, 30, 40 cm using a probe. Four rice varieties, Orylux6, FKR62N, FKR19 and FKR64 were tested on plots of 0.25 ha per variety in the smart valley and undeveloped parts. The results showed that the humidity level was 12% higher in the smart-valley plots throughout the cycle compared to the unmanaged area. In addition, humidity decreases rapidly in unmanaged plots as rain becomes increasingly scarce. Finally, the smart-valley development allowed an average increase in rice yields of 21% compared to the average yield of undeveloped plots.展开更多
Agriculture is one of the livelihood supports for the people of Upper East Region of Ghana. Soil evaluation research was conducted at Tono Irrigation Scheme to assess soil and land suitability for rice cultivation in ...Agriculture is one of the livelihood supports for the people of Upper East Region of Ghana. Soil evaluation research was conducted at Tono Irrigation Scheme to assess soil and land suitability for rice cultivation in the irrigable area of Tono Irrigation Scheme. </span><span style="font-family:"">A total of eleven (11) soil samples were collected and analysed for their chemical and physical properties. Based on field observation and criteria for soil suitability assessment</span><span style="font-family:"">,</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:"">the different soil types that were identified were classified at the series level based on their position, parent material and the observed physical characteristics.</span><span style="font-family:""> The results indicated that </span><span style="font-family:"">the</span><span style="font-family:""> pH of the soils was within the acceptable range for crop production;however, the overall fertility level of the soils was very low. Physically, the upland soils were well to moderately well-drained, consisting of coarse-grained sandy loams topsoil overlying similar sandy loams and sandy clay loams at depth. They included Leptosols and Lixisols. The soils of the Scheme under lowlands and valley bottom sites, however, included Eutric Gleysol, Calsic Vertisol, Eutric Fluvisol and Eutric Plinthosol, which were heavily textured and relatively poor drained, or medium-textured and moderately to imperfectly well-drained. They showed a low to a very low rate of water percolation losses, which is good for the current farming system of cropping rice within the lowlands and valley bottom sites of the Scheme.展开更多
Field surveys indicate lateral variation in peat humification levels （von Post） in dominantly occurring fibric,fibric to hemic,sapric and hemie to sapric peats across a gradient from the margin towards the centre of...Field surveys indicate lateral variation in peat humification levels （von Post） in dominantly occurring fibric,fibric to hemic,sapric and hemie to sapric peats across a gradient from the margin towards the centre of tropical lowland peat domes.Cement-peat stabilisation can be enhanced by adding mineral soil fillers （silt,clays and fine sands） obtained from Quaternary floodplain deposits and residual soil （weathered schist）.The unconfined compressive strength （UCS） of the stabilised cement-mineral soil fifler-peat mix increases with the increased addition of selected mineral soil filler.Lateral variation in the stabilised peat strength （UCS） in the top 0 to 0.5 m layer was found from the margin towards the centre of the tropical lowland peat dome.The variations in the UCS of stabilised tropical lowland peats along a gradient from the periphery towards the centre of the peat dome are most likely caused by a combination of factors due to variations in the mineral soil or ash content of the peat and horizontal zonation or lateral variation in the dominant species of the plant assemblages （due to successive vegetation zonation of the peat swamp forest from the periphery towards the centre of the tropical lowland peat dome）.展开更多
文摘To reduce the impact of rainfall variability on lowland rice yields, Burkina Faso state develops lowlands for small rice farmers. However, the high cost of these infrastructures makes impossible to duplicate them to satisfy the needs which are enormous. The Smart-Valley technology which is actually popularized in certain coastal countries of West Africa would therefore be a boon to increase the productivity of the Sudanese lowlands if it well regulates runoff. The object of this study was therefore to know if smart valley technology could increase soil moisture in order to mitigate the impact of drought’s pockets on rice cultivation in the Sudanese lowlands. The experiment takes place in three lowlands during the rainy seasons 2018 and 2019. The climatic data comes from the meteorological stations in the study areas as well as those installed on the sites. The infiltration measurements were carried out using the double Muntz ring. The soil moisture measurement device consisted of a smart valley area of 5 ha and an undeveloped area of 5 ha per site. Sixteen tubes were installed per lowland allowing the humidity to be measured at a depth of 10, 20, 30, 40 cm using a probe. Four rice varieties, Orylux6, FKR62N, FKR19 and FKR64 were tested on plots of 0.25 ha per variety in the smart valley and undeveloped parts. The results showed that the humidity level was 12% higher in the smart-valley plots throughout the cycle compared to the unmanaged area. In addition, humidity decreases rapidly in unmanaged plots as rain becomes increasingly scarce. Finally, the smart-valley development allowed an average increase in rice yields of 21% compared to the average yield of undeveloped plots.
文摘Agriculture is one of the livelihood supports for the people of Upper East Region of Ghana. Soil evaluation research was conducted at Tono Irrigation Scheme to assess soil and land suitability for rice cultivation in the irrigable area of Tono Irrigation Scheme. </span><span style="font-family:"">A total of eleven (11) soil samples were collected and analysed for their chemical and physical properties. Based on field observation and criteria for soil suitability assessment</span><span style="font-family:"">,</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:"">the different soil types that were identified were classified at the series level based on their position, parent material and the observed physical characteristics.</span><span style="font-family:""> The results indicated that </span><span style="font-family:"">the</span><span style="font-family:""> pH of the soils was within the acceptable range for crop production;however, the overall fertility level of the soils was very low. Physically, the upland soils were well to moderately well-drained, consisting of coarse-grained sandy loams topsoil overlying similar sandy loams and sandy clay loams at depth. They included Leptosols and Lixisols. The soils of the Scheme under lowlands and valley bottom sites, however, included Eutric Gleysol, Calsic Vertisol, Eutric Fluvisol and Eutric Plinthosol, which were heavily textured and relatively poor drained, or medium-textured and moderately to imperfectly well-drained. They showed a low to a very low rate of water percolation losses, which is good for the current farming system of cropping rice within the lowlands and valley bottom sites of the Scheme.
基金the IPPP grant PV018-2011A for financial support from the University of Malaya
文摘Field surveys indicate lateral variation in peat humification levels （von Post） in dominantly occurring fibric,fibric to hemic,sapric and hemie to sapric peats across a gradient from the margin towards the centre of tropical lowland peat domes.Cement-peat stabilisation can be enhanced by adding mineral soil fillers （silt,clays and fine sands） obtained from Quaternary floodplain deposits and residual soil （weathered schist）.The unconfined compressive strength （UCS） of the stabilised cement-mineral soil fifler-peat mix increases with the increased addition of selected mineral soil filler.Lateral variation in the stabilised peat strength （UCS） in the top 0 to 0.5 m layer was found from the margin towards the centre of the tropical lowland peat dome.The variations in the UCS of stabilised tropical lowland peats along a gradient from the periphery towards the centre of the peat dome are most likely caused by a combination of factors due to variations in the mineral soil or ash content of the peat and horizontal zonation or lateral variation in the dominant species of the plant assemblages （due to successive vegetation zonation of the peat swamp forest from the periphery towards the centre of the tropical lowland peat dome）.
