Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-9nwgx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-15T09:57:27.875Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Studies on Maize (Zea mays) at Bunda, Malawi. III. Yield in Rotations with Pasture Legumes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

D. MacColl
D. MacColl
Affiliation:
University of Malawi, Bunda College, PO Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Yields of maize were increased when they followed successfully established pasture legumes in two rotation experiments. The largest increases were obtained after silverleaf and were equivalent in one experiment to the effects of about 30 kg N ha−1 a−1 over four years and in the other experiment to those of 40 kg N ha−1 a−1 over three years. The largest beneficial effect of some of the legumes was on the first crop of maize but in others did not occur until the third or fourth crop. The possible reasons for the different patterns of residual effect are discussed in relation to the nature of the legume residues, the quality of the seedbed following the legumes, and rainfall

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , July 1990 , pp. 263 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Gates, D. M. (1962). Energy Exchange in the Biosphere. New York, USA: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Isom, W. H. & Worker, G. F. (1979). Crop management in semi-arid environments. In Agriculture in Semi-Arid Environments. Ecology Studies 34, 200–223 (Eds Hall, A. E., Cannell, G. H. and Lawton, H. W.). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowole, M. W. (1985). Soils of Bunda College of Agriculture Estate. Soil Survey Unit, Department of Agricultural Research, Lilongwe. File Number D5/2/12.Google Scholar
MacColl, D. (1989a). Studies on maize (Zea mays) at Bunda, Malawi. I. Yield in relation to rainfall. Experimental Agriculture 25: 357–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacColl, D. (1989b). Studies on maize (Zea mays) at Bunda, Malawi. II. Yield in short rotations with legumes. Experimental Agriculture 25: 367–374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mandala, D. L. (1983). Establishment and early growth of cook stylo Styhsanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw. alone and in association with Rhodes grass, Chloris gayana Kunth. with and without a cover crop. Final year degree project report, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, Lilongwe.Google Scholar
McCown, R. L., Haaland, G. & Haan, C. (1979). The interaction between cultivation and livestock production in semi-arid Africa. In Agriculture in Semi-Arid Environments. Ecology Studies 34, 297–332 (Eds Hall, A. E., Cannell, G. H. and Lawton, H. W.). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nnadi, L. A. & Haque, I. (1986). Forage legume-cereal systems: Improvement of soil fertility and agricultural production with special reference to sub-Saharan Africa. In Potentials of Forage Legumes in Farming Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa, 330–362 (Eds Haque, I., Jutzi, S. and Neate, P. J. H.). Proceedings of a workshop held at ILCA 16–19 09 1985. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILCA.Google Scholar
Simwela, W. W. M. (1983). Establishment and early growth of Desmodium uncinatum (Jacq.) DC. alone and in association with Rhodes grass, Chloris gayana Kunth. with and without a cover crop. Final year degree project report, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, Lilongwe.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G. W. (1956). Statistical Methods. Ames, USA: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Tuley, P. (1968). Stylosanthes gracilis. Herbage Abstracts 38: 87–94.Google Scholar