Monitoring and Modelling Analysis of Maize ( Zea mays L.) Yield Gap in Smallholder Farming in Ghana

Eric Owusu Danquah, Yacob Beletse, Richard Stirzaker, Christie Smith (), Stephen Yeboah, Patricia Oteng-Darko, Felix Frimpong and Stella Ama Ennin
Additional contact information
Eric Owusu Danquah: CSIR Crops Research Institute, Box 3785 Kumasi, Ghana
Yacob Beletse: CSIRO Agriculture and Food, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
Richard Stirzaker: CSIRO Agriculture and Food, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
Stephen Yeboah: CSIR Crops Research Institute, Box 3785 Kumasi, Ghana
Patricia Oteng-Darko: CSIR Crops Research Institute, Box 3785 Kumasi, Ghana
Felix Frimpong: CSIR Crops Research Institute, Box 3785 Kumasi, Ghana
Stella Ama Ennin: CSIR Crops Research Institute, Box 3785 Kumasi, Ghana

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: Modelling and multiple linear regression were used to explore the reason for low maize yield in the Atebubu-Amantin and West Mamprusi Districts of Ghana, West Africa. The study evaluated maize yields on twenty farms against measures of soil fertility, agronomic attributes and soil water availability. Correlations between yield, soil fertility, rain, crop density, and weed biomass, were low, and no single factor could explain the low yields. A 50-year virtual experiment was then set up using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) to explore the interactions between climate, crop management (sowing date and nitrogen fertilization) and rooting depth on grain yield and nitrate (NO 3 -N) dynamics. The analysis showed that a lack of optimal sowing dates that synchronize radiation, rainfall events and nitrogen (N) management with critical growth stages explained the low farm yields.

Keywords: soil water; radiation interception; smallholder farmers; leaching; APSIM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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