Abstract
Soil health is important for sustainable crop production. Frequent soil cultivation has a negative impact on soil health, resulting in loss of soil macrofauna. Conservation agriculture can be practiced to improve soil health by improving the abundance of soil macrofauna. Three leguminous cover crops were tested for soil macrofauna abundance Vigna unguiculata, (cowpea) Lablab purpureus L. (dolichos lablab) and Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC (velvet bean). The experiment was done in two contrasting experimental sites of KwaZulu-Natal (Ukulinga and Bergville) in a randomised complete block design replicated three times. Bare plot and herbicide treatments served as controls. Natural fallow was used to make a comparison to all the other treatments. Cowpea (39 species) had the highest soil macrofauna abundance in Bergville. Lablab (57 species) had the highest soil macrofauna in Ukulinga. Cowpea (0.75 species) and lablab (0.61 species) improved soil macrofauna diversity respectively in Bergville. Natural fallow (0.46 species) had the lowest soil macrofauna diversity in Bergville. Lablab (0.56 species) and velvet bean (0.74 species) had high soil macrofauna species diversity in Ukulinga. Bare plot (0.3 species) had the lowest soil macrofauna species diversity respectively. It can be concluded that cowpea and lablab can be recommended for improving soil macrofauna abundance in conservation agriculture.
Highlights
Soil macrofauna play an essential role in soil physical, chemical and biological properties, which condition the soil quality and productivity of agro-ecosystem (Blanchart et al, 2007)
Soil macrofauna are responsible for maintenance of soil physical properties, short term recycling of nutrients and increased water infiltration and retention
This study has shown that cover crops have significant effect on soil macrofauna abundance, species richness and diversity
Summary
Soil macrofauna play an essential role in soil physical, chemical and biological properties, which condition the soil quality and productivity of agro-ecosystem (Blanchart et al, 2007). Sustainable crop productivity in agro-ecosystem relies on soil macrofauna abundance and biodiversity (Lavelle et al, 2006). Soil macrofauna community encompass a wide range of organisms performing various functions such as soil physical and chemical properties (Lavelle et al, 1997). Soil macrofauna plays a major role in soil fertility by enhancing, mixing, macro porosity, and mineralization of organic matter. These processes help to improve soil structure, gaseous exchange, infiltration and water retention and soil chemical properties. In addition soil macrofauna abundance and biodiversity act to prevent pest outbreaks in agro-ecosystems by balancing the predator and herbivore ratio (Tillman et al, 2004)
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