cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao L.) are over 50 years old, and the cocoa industry is now facing prob... more cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao L.) are over 50 years old, and the cocoa industry is now facing problems of aging trees and depleted soils because of continuous cropping with little or no added inputs (Hanak Freud et al., 2000). This is particularly true for Ghana, the second largest cocoa producing country in the world, where cocoa production is mainly due to the expansion of existing farms or creation of new farms in areas where tracts of forest still remain rather than to an increase in yield per unit area (Gockowski, 2007). When no fertilizer is used to replace the nutrients removed from the field through harvesting of pods, cocoa nutrition can only rely on the stock of available mineral nutrients in the soil and on decomposition and mineralization of forest biomass, resulting in the inexorable depletion of soil fertility under the cocoa trees (Afrifa et al., 2006). Only low yields can be obtained due to the low nutrient content of the soils. In 1994, the Ghana Cocoa Board estimate...
Au Ghana, le cacao est cultivé dans l'ensemble de la ceinture forestière. Cette zone, qui cou... more Au Ghana, le cacao est cultivé dans l'ensemble de la ceinture forestière. Cette zone, qui couvre le sud du pays d'est en ouest, présente une grande diversité de sols. La capacité des sols à accueillir une production cacaoyère est variable et, de ce fait, il est nécessaire de formuler des recommandations pour l'apport d'engrais afin d'adapter les différents types de sol à la production cacaoyère. Les besoins en termes d'apports d'engrais pour les différents sols ont été estimés en utilisant la méthode de Diagnostic des sols mise au point par Jadin et Snoeck (1985), et validée par Snoek et al. (2006) pour les conditions de sol au Ghana. Le logiciel calcule les quantités d'engrais nécessaires pour atteindre les rapports optimums entre les principaux nutriments du sol (N, P, K, Ca, Mg), en prenant en compte les coefficients d'utilisation, d'immobilisation ou de migration des différents engrais dans les sols. Des échantillons du sol ont été prélevé...
Cocoa production on degraded soils in Ghana is less sustainable and less competitive because of i... more Cocoa production on degraded soils in Ghana is less sustainable and less competitive because of increasing plant nutrient depletion and consequent degradation of soil resource base. The need for supplementary plant nutrients has led to current introduction of recommended cocoa fertilizers like Asaase Wura (N:P:K 0:22:18 + 9CaO + 7S + 6 MgO), Cocofeed (N:P:K 0:30:20), Potassium Rich Sidalco Liquid fertilizers (N:P:K 6:0:20 + 1 MgO + trace elements) and Balanced Sidalco Liquid fertilizer (N:P:K 10:10:10 + 1MgO + trace elements)for farmers. For an effective and efficient intervention to the existing problem, there is the need to monitor the levels of degradation of cocoa soils in the different ecological zones and cropping systems. A study was therefore conducted by sampling and analyzing eight hundred soils from four great soil groups covering different areas of the Ghana cocoa belt - Acrisols (75%), Lixisols (10%), Ferralsols (9%) and Nitisol (3%), within four cocoa regions; Eastern,...
In recent times, there has been increasing interest in the importance of agricultural soils as gl... more In recent times, there has been increasing interest in the importance of agricultural soils as global carbon sinks, and the opportunity of enhancing the resilience of degraded agroecosystems – particularly in savan-nah regions of the world. However, this opportunity is largely a function of land use and/or land manage-ment choices, which differ between and within regions. In the present study, we investigated the role of agri-culture land use and farm management practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in the savannah re-gions of northern Ghana. We evaluated selected land use types by using an integrated approach, involving on-farm interviews, community transect walks, land use monitoring, and soil sampling. Our results in-dicated that, at the landscape level, community land use and resource needs are important determinants of SOC storage in farmlands. We determined low SOC accumulation across the investigated landscape; how-ever, the relatively high SOC stock in protected lan...
Ferruginous nodules sorb significant amounts of available soil and fertiliser phosphate. The effe... more Ferruginous nodules sorb significant amounts of available soil and fertiliser phosphate. The effect of this sorption on phosphorus availability of an agricultural soil was tested by sequential extraction and by exhaustive cropping with millet (Pennisetum typhoides) in a greenhouse trial following fertilisation of the original soil containing 70% nodules and of prepared samples containing various mixes of separated soil fines
cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao L.) are over 50 years old, and the cocoa industry is now facing prob... more cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao L.) are over 50 years old, and the cocoa industry is now facing problems of aging trees and depleted soils because of continuous cropping with little or no added inputs (Hanak Freud et al., 2000). This is particularly true for Ghana, the second largest cocoa producing country in the world, where cocoa production is mainly due to the expansion of existing farms or creation of new farms in areas where tracts of forest still remain rather than to an increase in yield per unit area (Gockowski, 2007). When no fertilizer is used to replace the nutrients removed from the field through harvesting of pods, cocoa nutrition can only rely on the stock of available mineral nutrients in the soil and on decomposition and mineralization of forest biomass, resulting in the inexorable depletion of soil fertility under the cocoa trees (Afrifa et al., 2006). Only low yields can be obtained due to the low nutrient content of the soils. In 1994, the Ghana Cocoa Board estimate...
Au Ghana, le cacao est cultivé dans l'ensemble de la ceinture forestière. Cette zone, qui cou... more Au Ghana, le cacao est cultivé dans l'ensemble de la ceinture forestière. Cette zone, qui couvre le sud du pays d'est en ouest, présente une grande diversité de sols. La capacité des sols à accueillir une production cacaoyère est variable et, de ce fait, il est nécessaire de formuler des recommandations pour l'apport d'engrais afin d'adapter les différents types de sol à la production cacaoyère. Les besoins en termes d'apports d'engrais pour les différents sols ont été estimés en utilisant la méthode de Diagnostic des sols mise au point par Jadin et Snoeck (1985), et validée par Snoek et al. (2006) pour les conditions de sol au Ghana. Le logiciel calcule les quantités d'engrais nécessaires pour atteindre les rapports optimums entre les principaux nutriments du sol (N, P, K, Ca, Mg), en prenant en compte les coefficients d'utilisation, d'immobilisation ou de migration des différents engrais dans les sols. Des échantillons du sol ont été prélevé...
Cocoa production on degraded soils in Ghana is less sustainable and less competitive because of i... more Cocoa production on degraded soils in Ghana is less sustainable and less competitive because of increasing plant nutrient depletion and consequent degradation of soil resource base. The need for supplementary plant nutrients has led to current introduction of recommended cocoa fertilizers like Asaase Wura (N:P:K 0:22:18 + 9CaO + 7S + 6 MgO), Cocofeed (N:P:K 0:30:20), Potassium Rich Sidalco Liquid fertilizers (N:P:K 6:0:20 + 1 MgO + trace elements) and Balanced Sidalco Liquid fertilizer (N:P:K 10:10:10 + 1MgO + trace elements)for farmers. For an effective and efficient intervention to the existing problem, there is the need to monitor the levels of degradation of cocoa soils in the different ecological zones and cropping systems. A study was therefore conducted by sampling and analyzing eight hundred soils from four great soil groups covering different areas of the Ghana cocoa belt - Acrisols (75%), Lixisols (10%), Ferralsols (9%) and Nitisol (3%), within four cocoa regions; Eastern,...
In recent times, there has been increasing interest in the importance of agricultural soils as gl... more In recent times, there has been increasing interest in the importance of agricultural soils as global carbon sinks, and the opportunity of enhancing the resilience of degraded agroecosystems – particularly in savan-nah regions of the world. However, this opportunity is largely a function of land use and/or land manage-ment choices, which differ between and within regions. In the present study, we investigated the role of agri-culture land use and farm management practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in the savannah re-gions of northern Ghana. We evaluated selected land use types by using an integrated approach, involving on-farm interviews, community transect walks, land use monitoring, and soil sampling. Our results in-dicated that, at the landscape level, community land use and resource needs are important determinants of SOC storage in farmlands. We determined low SOC accumulation across the investigated landscape; how-ever, the relatively high SOC stock in protected lan...
Ferruginous nodules sorb significant amounts of available soil and fertiliser phosphate. The effe... more Ferruginous nodules sorb significant amounts of available soil and fertiliser phosphate. The effect of this sorption on phosphorus availability of an agricultural soil was tested by sequential extraction and by exhaustive cropping with millet (Pennisetum typhoides) in a greenhouse trial following fertilisation of the original soil containing 70% nodules and of prepared samples containing various mixes of separated soil fines
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Papers by Mark Abekoe