Participatory Evaluation of Residue Management Effects of Green Manure Legumes on Maize Yield in the Central Kenya Highlands
Date
2005Author
Mureithi, J G
Gachene, C K K
Wamuongo, J W
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
An on-farm study to evaluate three methods of applying legume residues in maize-based cropping systems in the central Kenya highlands was initiated in 1997 and conducted for three years. The legumes involved in the study were velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC) and crotalaria (Crotalaria ochroleuca G. Don), which were planted between maize (Zea mays L.) rows, two weeks after planting maize. The legumes were left growing in the field after maize harvest, until land preparation for the next maize crop. The legume forage was harvested and was either incorporated into the soil, left on the surface as mulch, or removed from the field before planting maize. The first cropping season when green manure legumes were establishing, maize grain yields were depressed by an average of 33% compared to the non legume control treatment. The legume treatments increased maize grain yields from a mean of 1.0 t ha−1 in the controls to a mean of 1.6 t ha−1 during the 1998 and 1999 long rains cropping seasons. Over the two cropping seasons, incorporation of legume residue into the soil gave a higher maize yield (2.1t ha−1) compared to leaving the legume biomass on the surface as mulch (1.4t ha−1). The effects of below-ground biomass on maize yields were minimal. The legume treatments did not significantly affect soil N, P, K, and organic carbon. During the study, farmers were able to identify characteristics of suitable green manure legumes and also identify possible niches for green manure legume technologies.
URI
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J064v25n04_06#.UaZIzJwkbfIhttp://hdl.handle.net/11295/26880
Citation
Journal of sustainable agriculture 2005, 25(4) 49-68Publisher
Department of soil science, University of Nairobi
Subject
Participatory evaluationResidue management
Green manure legumes
Maize Yield
Central kenya Highlands
Description
Journal article