Dual benefits of polyacrylamide and other soil amendments: Mitigation of
soil nutrient depletion and improvement of use-efficiency in midland
agro-ecology, Ethiopia
Abstract
Mitigating soil nutrient depletion and increasing utilization efficiency
is a prerequisite of sustainable agriculture. Therefore, a field
experiment was carried out for 2 years in the midland agroecology of
Ethiopia, to identify soil amendment types that can improved soil
nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) balances at the same time maximize
utilization efficiency and profitability under teff cultivation. Using
RCBD with three replications, the soil amendments applied on the
degraded acidic farmland plots were polyacrylamide (PAM = 40 kg ha−1),
biochar (B = 8 t ha−1), lime (L = 4 t ha−1), gypsum (G = 5 t ha−1),
PAM+B, PAM+L, PAM+G, and a control. N and P inflows from (atmospheric
deposition, biological fixation, and fertilizers), and outflows by
(water erosion, leaching, gaseous emissions, and harvested products)
were monitored in the 24 plots via NUTrient MONitoring model. Results
showed that all of the applied soil amendments improved nutrient
balances (by 8–134%) compared with the control. Of the measured
outflows, harvested products (43–60%) and water erosion (14–31%)
were the major contributors to N depletion, followed by leaching
(15–23%) and gaseous emissions (11–13%). Among the applied soil
amendments, PAM+L appreciably reduced P loss from water erosion by 61%
and N losses from erosion, leaching, and emissions by 55%, 10%, and
3%, respectively, and increased N use efficiency by 31% compared to
control plot. Moreover, PAM+L provided a net benefit much higher
compared with others. Thus, application of PAM+L would be an effective
strategy to combat nutrient depletion and foster crop production in
dryland agriculture.