PHOSPHORUS AND MILLET CROP RESIDUE APPLICATION AFFECT THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF MILLET LEAVES AND FODDER WEEDS FOR RUMINANTS IN AGROPASTORAL SYSTEMS OF THE SAHEL
A. Buerkert et al., PHOSPHORUS AND MILLET CROP RESIDUE APPLICATION AFFECT THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF MILLET LEAVES AND FODDER WEEDS FOR RUMINANTS IN AGROPASTORAL SYSTEMS OF THE SAHEL, Experimental Agriculture, 33(3), 1997, pp. 253-263
Low levels of phosphorus limit the yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum g
laucum) grown on acid sandy soils of the West African Sahel. The appli
cation of phosphorus and the recycling of millet residues produces lar
ge increases in the total dry matter and grain yields of millet but li
ttle is known about the effects of these amendments on the by-products
of millet fields which include weeds and millet leaves at harvest. Ph
osphorus applied at 13 kg ha(-1) as single superphosphate and millet r
esidues applied at 500 or 2000 kg ha(-1) as a mulch or as the ash from
2000 kg millet residues ha(-1) that had been burned, increased dry ma
tter yields of millet leaves and weeds leading to large increments in
the total in vitro metabolizable energy harvested per unit area. These
increases in dry matter production were only accompanied by minor dec
reases in the concentration of crude protein. The increased availabili
ty of millet by-products should be taken into account when evaluating
the effects of phosphorus and crop residue application on the economy
and sustainability of agro-pastoral farming systems in the West Africa
n Sahel.