Journal of Integrative Agriculture ›› 2014, Vol. 13 ›› Issue (11): 2546-2557.DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(14)60840-6

• 论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

Do Land Characteristics Affect Farmers’ Soil Fertility Management?

 Tan Shu-hao   

  1. School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, P.R.China
  • 收稿日期:2013-10-28 出版日期:2014-11-06 发布日期:2014-11-14
  • 通讯作者: TAN Shu-hao, Fax: +86-10-62511064, E-mail: shuhaotan@ruc.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:

    This work was partly funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71273268). The author thanks the surveyed households for their great supports, and the anonymous reviewers for their critical but constructive comments.

Do Land Characteristics Affect Farmers’ Soil Fertility Management?

 Tan Shu-hao   

  1. School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, P.R.China
  • Received:2013-10-28 Online:2014-11-06 Published:2014-11-14
  • Contact: TAN Shu-hao, Fax: +86-10-62511064, E-mail: shuhaotan@ruc.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    This work was partly funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71273268). The author thanks the surveyed households for their great supports, and the anonymous reviewers for their critical but constructive comments.

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摘要： Soil fertility management (SFM) has important implications for sustaining agricultural development and food self-sufficiency. Better understanding the determinants of farmers’ SFM can be a great help to the adoption of effective SFM practices. Based on a dataset of 315 plots collected from a typical rice growing area of South China, this study applied statistical method and econometric models to examine the impacts of land characteristics on farmers’ SFM practices at plot scale. Main results showed that in general land characteristics affected SFM behaviors. Securer land tenure arrangements facilitated effective practices of SFM through more diversified and more soil-friendly cropping pattern choices. Plot size significantly reduced the intensities of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer application. Given other factors, 1 ha increase in plot size might reduce 3.0 kg ha-1 P2O5 and 1.8 kg ha-1 K2O. Plots far from the homestead were paid less attention in terms of both chemical fertilizers and manure applications. Besides, plots with better quality were put more efforts on management by applying more nitrogen and manure, and by planting green manure crops. Significant differences existed in SFM practices between the surveyed villages with different socio-economic conditions. The findings are expected to provide important references to the policy-making incentive for improving soil quality and crop productivity.

关键词: land characteristics , soil fertility management , farm household , rice cropping , South China

Abstract: Soil fertility management (SFM) has important implications for sustaining agricultural development and food self-sufficiency. Better understanding the determinants of farmers’ SFM can be a great help to the adoption of effective SFM practices. Based on a dataset of 315 plots collected from a typical rice growing area of South China, this study applied statistical method and econometric models to examine the impacts of land characteristics on farmers’ SFM practices at plot scale. Main results showed that in general land characteristics affected SFM behaviors. Securer land tenure arrangements facilitated effective practices of SFM through more diversified and more soil-friendly cropping pattern choices. Plot size significantly reduced the intensities of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer application. Given other factors, 1 ha increase in plot size might reduce 3.0 kg ha-1 P2O5 and 1.8 kg ha-1 K2O. Plots far from the homestead were paid less attention in terms of both chemical fertilizers and manure applications. Besides, plots with better quality were put more efforts on management by applying more nitrogen and manure, and by planting green manure crops. Significant differences existed in SFM practices between the surveyed villages with different socio-economic conditions. The findings are expected to provide important references to the policy-making incentive for improving soil quality and crop productivity.

Key words: land characteristics , soil fertility management , farm household , rice cropping , South China