Abstract
Field experiment was conducted at the Institute for Agricultural Research Farm at Samaru, Nigeria in 2008 and 2009 rainy seasons to investigate the residual nitrogen contributions by four legume crops (soyabean, cowpea, lablab, and groundnut) to the growth and development of succeeding maize given four levels of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha−1). In 2008, the treatments consisted of four legumes, maize and a fallow period. The six treatments were laid out using randomized complete block design replicated four times. In 2009, maize crop was planted on the previous crops’ plots and fallow. The experimental design used was split-plot with previous legumes, maize, or fallow as main plots, and the four nitrogen fertilizer treatments as subplots. Results obtained showed that nitrogen availability in the top soils of the previous legumes and fallow compared with that of maize plot was increased by 250, 200, 170, 107 and 157% after lablab, groundnut, cowpea, soyabean and fallow, respectively. Maize grown on previous lablab plot significantly recorded higher growth characters compared with maize following other legumes and fallow. Growth of maize was highest with the application of lower rates of nitrogen after lablab and groundnut compared with maize after maize.
Highlights
Legumes play a wide role in contributing to food security, income generation, and maintenance of environment for millions of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa [1]
Experiments were conducted for two years (2008 and 2009) at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Samaru, Nigeria located at latitude 11◦10 N and longitude 7◦38 E 686 meters above sea level in the northern Guinea savanna agro ecological zone to evaluate the residual nitrogen contribution from four grain legumes to the growth and development of the succeeding maize crop
Lablab, and groundnut were planted at 30 cm intrarow spacing while, soyabean was drilled at 5 cm, and maize was planted at 25 cm intra row spacing
Summary
Legumes play a wide role in contributing to food security, income generation, and maintenance of environment for millions of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. In 2008, the experiment consisted of four different types of legumes (soyabean, cowpea, groundnut, and lablab), a fallow period and maize plots to which to which four levels of nitrogen in the form of urea (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha−1) were applied as treatments.
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