ABSTRACT

Increasing areas of agricultural land in high rainfall areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where crop production used to be reliable, are affected by soil acidity. This review focuses on the extent, causes and effect of soil acidity on soil properties and crop yield and its management from the context of SSA. Studies showed that the detrimental effects of soil acidity can be mitigated through liming, integrated acid soil management and the use of acid-tolerant germplasms. Application of lime resulted in yield increments of 34–252% in wheat, barley and tef, 29–53% in faba bean and soybean, and 42–332% in potato in Ethiopia, 111–182% in maize in Kenya, and 45–103% in Mucuna in Nigeria under moderate to severe acid soil conditions. This was accompanied by a corresponding increase in soil pH up to 1.9 units and a decrease in exchangeable acidity and aluminum up to 2.1 cmol kg⁻¹. Use of acid-tolerant crop varieties such as maize expressing superior tolerance to Al toxicity resulted in a yield increase of 51% under low soil pH in Cameroon and Kenya. Overall, soil acidity covering ∼35% of SSA should be reclaimed with lime and integrated acid soil management interventions, which could significantly increase crop yield and enhance the resilience of the tropical agroecosystems. .

摘要

撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）的高降雨量地区的农业用地面积不断增加，那里的作物生产曾经是可靠的，现在受到土壤酸度的影响。本综述侧重于土壤酸度对土壤特性和作物产量的程度、原因和影响，以及 SSA 背景下的管理。研究表明，可以通过施石灰、综合酸性土壤管理和使用耐酸种质来减轻土壤酸度的不利影响。施用石灰使小麦、大麦和 Tef 的产量增加了 34-252%，蚕豆和大豆的产量增加了 29-53%，埃塞俄比亚的马铃薯产量增加了 42-332%，肯尼亚的玉米增加了 111-182%，以及 45在中度至重度酸性土壤条件下，尼日利亚 Mucuna 的 –103%。这伴随着土壤 pH 值相应增加到 1。^-1。在喀麦隆和肯尼亚，在低土壤 pH 值下，使用耐酸作物品种，例如对铝毒性表现出优异耐受性的玉米，产量增加了 51%。总体而言，覆盖约 35% SSA 的土壤酸度应通过石灰和综合酸性土壤管理干预措施进行回收，这可以显着提高作物产量并增强热带农业生态系统的恢复能力。.