A shrub that persists in the toughest of growing conditions could be used to boost the growth of crops in the drought-prone, food-insecure areas of West Africa.
Growing these shrubs side-by-side with the food crops like millet increased the latter's production by more than 900 percent, according to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science.
Richard Dick, a soil scientist now at Ohio State, traveled through rural Senegal in West Africa when he noticed low-lying shrubs that seemed to be doing fine despite arid conditions that had wiped out most other vegetation in farmers’ fields.
A newly published study shows that those same shrubs, when planted adjacent to millet, share the precious water they draw in and boost production of one of the primary grains that provide nutrition to West Africans.
“People in this part of Africa rely on locally grown crops to survive. Finding ways to increase food production, especially during times of severe drought, is critical,” said Dick, a professor of soil microbial ecology at Ohio State.
The new study has found that certain woody shrubs, notably the Guiera, after the Latin name Guiera senegalensis, can effectively share their water with millet plants below the surface of the soil. Millet, a grain crop, along with sorghum, is an essential food source in Senegal.
Dick and his research team have developed an innovative crop management system that they call the “optimized shrub system” that takes advantage of these readily available shrubs.
Along with a dramatic increase in yields, this system improves soil quality, boosts nutrients in the crops and reduces the time to harvest by about 15 days, which is important in an area plagued by low rainfall.
Source: tunisiesoir.com