Calcium-Magnesium Ca/Mg Ratios and Their Agronomic Implications for the Optimization of Phosphate Fertilization in Rainfed Rice Farming on Acidic Ferralsol in the Forest Zone of Ivory Coast

This study is a contribution to improving rice productivity on acidic plateau soils of the tropical rainforest zone. It is based on taking into account the cationic balances of the soil in order to optimize the phosphorus (P) nutrition of rice on these acidic soils, where this nutrient constitutes a limiting factor for agricultural production. Three (3) pot trials were conducted in Adiopodoumé in the forested south of Côte d’Ivoire. The interactive effects of calcium carbonate (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg Ca ha−1) and magnesium sulfate (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg Mg ha−1) were evaluated on the response of NERICA 5 rice at doses 0, 25, 50 and 75 kg P ha−1 of natural phosphate from Togo, applied only once at the start of the experiment. Additional fertilizers of nitrogen (N) (100 kg N ha−1) and potassium (K) (50 kg KCl ha−1) were added to each of the tests in a split-plot device. The test results revealed a paddy production potential of approximately 3 to 5 t⋅ha−1 for NERICA 5 on an acidic soil, under the effect of the interaction of P, Ca and Mg. The quadratic response of rice yield to the doses of these fertilizers would be more dependent on their balance, itself influenced by Ca nutrition. For the sustainability and maintenance of rice production in agro-ecology studied, it was recommended doses of 38 kg Ca ha−1, 34 kg Mg ha−1 in a Ca/Mg ratio (1/1) with intakes of 41 kg P ha−1, overall in a ratio 1/1/1 (P/Ca/Mg) more favorable to the availability of free iron considered a guiding element of mineral nutrition. Thus, these promising results should be confirmed in a real environment for better management of the fertilization of rice cultivated on acidic plateau soils in Côte d’Ivoire.

Effects of Calcium and Magnesium on Phosphorus Availability in Ferralsols and Rice Production in Forest Zones of Côte d’Ivoire

Phosphorus bioavailability has long been a recurring problem in tropical acid soils. A pot experiment was carried out during three (3) successive rice production cycles at Adiopodoumé to evaluate the response of the NERICA 5 rice accession to various doses of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. The experiment was conducted using a randomized split-plot design. The interactive effects of calcium carbonate (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg·Ca·ha-1) and magnesium sulfate (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg·Mg·ha-1) and Togo natural phosphate (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg·P·ha-1) were determined at each production cycle. The results showed that single-dose natural phosphate supplementation for three cropping cycles resulted in an average enrichment of around 2 mg·P·kg-1 after each trial following its continuous dissolution, with an increase in DSP (33.31% to 70.52%). The study revealed one strategy for managing and enhancing native P with cations and another for exogenous P: there would be a synergy of Ca/Mg on native P, whereas an antagonism would characterize the two parameters in phosphate fertilization.

Spatio-temporal reconstruction of air temperature maps and their application to estimate rice growing season heat accumulation using multi-temporal MODIS data

The accumulation of thermal time usually represents the local heat resources to drive crop growth.Maps of temperature-based agro-meteorological indices are commonly generated by the spatial interpolation of data collected from meteorological stations with coarse geographic continuity.To solve the critical problems of estimating air temperature(T a) and filling in missing pixels due to cloudy and low-quality images in growing degree days(GDDs) calculation from remotely sensed data,a novel spatio-temporal algorithm for T a estimation from Terra and Aqua moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS) data was proposed.This is a preliminary study to calculate heat accumulation,expressed in accumulative growing degree days(AGDDs) above 10 ℃,from reconstructed T a based on MODIS land surface temperature(LST) data.The verification results of maximum T a,minimum T a,GDD,and AGDD from MODIS-derived data to meteorological calculation were all satisfied with high correlations over 0.01 significant levels.Overall,MODIS-derived AGDD was slightly underestimated with almost 10% relative error.However,the feasibility of employing AGDD anomaly maps to characterize the 2001-2010 spatio-temporal variability of heat accumulation and estimating the 2011 heat accumulation distribution using only MODIS data was finally demonstrated in the current paper.Our study may supply a novel way to calculate AGDD in heat-related study concerning crop growth monitoring,agricultural climatic regionalization,and agro-meteorological disaster detection at the regional scale.

Impact of Agricultural Inputs on Groundwater Pollution in Off-Season Rice Farming in the Pic of Sindou Perimeter in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso, an 80% agricultural country, today copes the massive use of agricultural inputs to boost productivity. However, these pesticides are sources of pollution of water resources. This is how, the objective of this work was to take stock of the inputs used on the Pic of Sindou rice perimeter and to characterize the vulnerability of the aquifer to these products. The study took place from February to September 2019, where two hundred farmers of the perimeter were investigated on the type and quantity of fertilizers and pesticides used in off-season rice farming activities. The DRASTIC method was used to map the vulnerability of the groundwater resource to these pollutants. Producers use NPK and Urea at 90% and 10% to the organic manure as fertilizers, and herbicides and insecticides with the actives ingredient are Glyphosate, Dimethoate and 2.4 D amine salt. The vulnerability to agricultural pollution of the aquifer remains low, but the risk of contamination from pesticides remains possible.

A New Extension of Geological Work: To Grow Rice in the Desert

For thousands of years,a large number of peripheral rivers have been flowing into deserts,the water from which then will infiltrate underground or evaporate into the air.When desert sand engulfs and humans retreat,precious freshwater resources lie dormant all the year round,making almost no contribution to human progress.