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Nutrient mining in East African banana fields

Tuesday, 07 August 2012

A study suggests that the unreplenished removal of soil nutrients by growing bananas could account for the diminishing yields observed during the study period. Measuring the organic and mineral content of soils, the researchers found low levels of important minerals. The little fertility left was mainly from topsoil organic matter. The study was conducted in four agro-ecological regions of Rwanda and south-western Uganda between 2007 and 2011.