Effect of Hill Placement of Nutrients on Millet Productivity and Characteristics of Sahelian Soils of Niger: Analysis of Yield Trend After Three Years of Cropping

Reports from implementation of the low-input mineral fertilizer microdosing technology have shown up to 120% yield increase. However on the acidic Sahelian soils (pH 4–5 (H2O)) with low carbon content (0.2%), the question is whether applying such small dose would not lead to nutrient mining over years, which ICRISAT set three studies of 3 years each to address. Experiments 1 (2003) and 2 (2008) involved three planting densities, two pearl millet varieties and four fertility management options with removal of crop residue in experiment 1. Experiment 3 (2010) involved the combinations of 4 rates of organic and mineral fertilizers and 10 millet varieties. Both organic and mineral inputs were hill-applied.