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Science 21 May 1982:
Vol. 216. no. 4548, pp. 821 - 827
DOI: 10.1126/science.216.4548.821
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Articles

Amazon Basin Soils: Management for Continuous Crop Production

Pedro A. Sanchez 1, Dale E. Bandy 1, J. Hugo Villachica 1, and John J. Nicholaides 1

1 Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27650

Technology has been developed which permits continuous production of annual crops in some of the acid, infertile soils of the Amazon Basin. Studies in Yurimaguas, Peru, show that three grain crops can be produced annually with appropriate fertilizer inputs. Twenty-one crops have been harvested during the past 8frac12 years in the same field, with an average annual production of 7.8 tons of grain per hectare. Soil properties are improving with continuous cultivation. The technology has been validated by local farmers, who normally practice shifting cultivation. Economic interpretations indicate large increases in annual family farm income and a high return on the investment of chemical inputs. Other promising land use alternatives include low-input crop production systems, paddy rice production in fertile alluvial soils, and pastures or agroforestry in rolling areas. Stable, continuous food crop production is an attractive alternative to shifting cultivation in humid tropical regions experiencing severe demographic pressures. For each hectare of land managed in a highly productive manner, there may be less need for clearing additional tropical forests to meet food demands.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Low-Input Cropping for Acid Soils of the Humid Tropics.
P. A. Sanchez, P. A. SANCHEZ, and J. R. BENITES (1987)
Science 238, 1521-1527
   Abstract »    PDF »
Managing the Soils of Sub-Saharan Africa.
R. Lal and R. LAL (1987)
Science 236, 1069-1076
   Abstract »    PDF »
A New Agricultural Frontier.
P. H. ABELSON and J. W. ROWE (1987)
Science 235, 1450-1451
   PDF »
Conservation in South America: Problems, Consequences, and Solutions.
M. A. Mares and M. A. MARES (1986)
Science 233, 734-739
   Abstract »    PDF »
Amazon Basin: A System in Equilibrium.
E. Salati, E. Salati, and P. B. Vose (1984)
Science 225, 129-138
   Abstract »    PDF »


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