Mung bean cover crop improved soil organic carbon and maize yield in a semiarid area

Abstract

This study aimed to know the potential use of mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilzeck) as a cover crop and its effect on soil organic carbon and maize yield were studied. Six cover crop treatments; 250,000, 375,000 and 500,000 plants/ha combined with desiccation times at 28 and 35 days after sowing (DAS) and one control treatment (without cover crop), were tested in a semi-arid area of North Lombok. Maize at a density of 98,000 plants/ha was planted two weeks following the desiccation time. The treatments were arranged in a Randomized Block Design with three replications. The results revealed that the higher cover crop population density with later desiccation time, produced higher above ground biomass, being the highest at 8.3 Mg/ha and the lowest at 2.6 Mg/ha. The highest cover crop biomass improved soil organic carbon by 60%, nitrogen, phosphorous and potash concentrations in plant tissue by 54%, 54% and 63%, respectively, compared to the one in the control treatment. Maize yield also increased by 24% at the highest cover crop density desiccated at 35 DAS. The use of mung bean as a cover crop sounds promising and further studies are needed to explore more of its potential benefits.