abstract
Provision of permanent soil cover using crop residues in conservation agriculture (CA) is constrained by
livestock grazing and termite consumption in smallholder farming systems of sub Saharan Africa. This
study evaluated the effects of surface applied maize (Zea mays L.) crop residues on termite prevalence,
crop damage due to termite attack and maize yield over two seasons, 2008/9 and 2009/10. Treatments
with residue application rates of 0, 2, 4 and 6 t ha1 under CA and a conventional mouldboard ploughing
(CMP) control were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replicates on three farm
sites in Kadoma, Zimbabwe. Maize residues increased (P < 0.05) termite numbers compared to CMP
treatment. Crop lodging at harvest increased (P < 0.05) from 30 to 34% in CMP to 42e48% in CA systems.
However, no significant difference was found in crop lodging with increasing residue rates within CA
treatments. Significantly higher crop yields were observed under CA (P < 0.05) ranging from 2900 -
3348 kg ha1 in 2008/9 season compared to CMP with 2117 kg ha1
. Nevertheless, increasing residue
cover in CA did not necessarily increase maize crop yield. Thus, increasing crop residue application rates
under CA increased termite prevalence while crop lodging was influenced more by soil tillage system
than by crop residue application rates.
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