Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan Africa
Closing the nutrient-based potato yield gap in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains a major challenge due to low fertilizer use, degraded soils, and rising temperatures that exacerbate nutrient losses. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons to investigate the causes of the potato nutr...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/835 |
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| author | Jabulani Ntuli Nomali Ziphorah Ngobese Lucky Sithole Sandile Hadebe |
| author_facet | Jabulani Ntuli Nomali Ziphorah Ngobese Lucky Sithole Sandile Hadebe |
| author_sort | Jabulani Ntuli |
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| description | Closing the nutrient-based potato yield gap in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains a major challenge due to low fertilizer use, degraded soils, and rising temperatures that exacerbate nutrient losses. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons to investigate the causes of the potato nutrient-based yield gap and develop an integrated nutrient management (INM) strategy aimed at narrowing this gap. Integrated nutrient management factors included three fertilizer application rates [no fertilizer (control), 50%, and 100% of recommended fertilizer application rates], two soil cover levels (grass mulch applied and absent), and four potato cultivars (Mondial, Sababa, Panamera, and Tyson). The study identified a substantial yield gap of 42–45 t/ha, largely driven by insufficient fertilizer application and poor nutrient retention. Integrating full recommended fertilizer rate, mulching, and Panamera closed up to 84% of this gap, achieving a yield of 43 t/ha. Notably, reduced fertilizer application combined with mulching and Panamera maintained high yields (35–41 t/ha), indicating that resource-efficient practices can sustain productivity. These findings underscore the importance of coupling judicious fertilizer use with nutrient loss-mitigating and nutrient uptake-enhancing strategies. Further research is needed to address the residual yield gap and assess the economic feasibility of INM adoption under potato farming conditions in SSA. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b0201b01da69460d8b200aa69c2d9ab9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj-art-b0201b01da69460d8b200aa69c2d9ab92025-08-20T03:58:26ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-07-0111783510.3390/horticulturae11070835Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan AfricaJabulani Ntuli0Nomali Ziphorah Ngobese1Lucky Sithole2Sandile Hadebe3Department of Plant Production, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, University of Limpopo, Private Bag Box X1106, Sovenga 0727, South AfricaUnit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South AfricaDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, Pietermaritzburg 3245, South AfricaDepartment of Plant Production, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, University of Limpopo, Private Bag Box X1106, Sovenga 0727, South AfricaClosing the nutrient-based potato yield gap in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains a major challenge due to low fertilizer use, degraded soils, and rising temperatures that exacerbate nutrient losses. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons to investigate the causes of the potato nutrient-based yield gap and develop an integrated nutrient management (INM) strategy aimed at narrowing this gap. Integrated nutrient management factors included three fertilizer application rates [no fertilizer (control), 50%, and 100% of recommended fertilizer application rates], two soil cover levels (grass mulch applied and absent), and four potato cultivars (Mondial, Sababa, Panamera, and Tyson). The study identified a substantial yield gap of 42–45 t/ha, largely driven by insufficient fertilizer application and poor nutrient retention. Integrating full recommended fertilizer rate, mulching, and Panamera closed up to 84% of this gap, achieving a yield of 43 t/ha. Notably, reduced fertilizer application combined with mulching and Panamera maintained high yields (35–41 t/ha), indicating that resource-efficient practices can sustain productivity. These findings underscore the importance of coupling judicious fertilizer use with nutrient loss-mitigating and nutrient uptake-enhancing strategies. Further research is needed to address the residual yield gap and assess the economic feasibility of INM adoption under potato farming conditions in SSA.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/835soil fertilityconservation agricultureinorganic fertilizer applicationmulchingpotato cultivarsustainable agriculture |
| spellingShingle | Jabulani Ntuli Nomali Ziphorah Ngobese Lucky Sithole Sandile Hadebe Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan Africa Horticulturae soil fertility conservation agriculture inorganic fertilizer application mulching potato cultivar sustainable agriculture |
| title | Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| title_full | Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| title_fullStr | Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| title_short | Disentangling and Closing the Nutrient-Based Potato Yield Gap Using Integrated Nutrient Management Under Temperate Environments of Sub-Saharan Africa |
| title_sort | disentangling and closing the nutrient based potato yield gap using integrated nutrient management under temperate environments of sub saharan africa |
| topic | soil fertility conservation agriculture inorganic fertilizer application mulching potato cultivar sustainable agriculture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/835 |
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