| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
a MacArthur Agro-Ecology Res. Cent., 300 Buck Island Ranch Rd., Lake Placid, FL 33852
b Kenya Forestry Res. Inst., P.O. Box 20412, Nairobi, Kenya
c Dep. of Agric. Sci., Imperial College at Wye, Univ. of London, Wye, Kent, TN25 5AH, UK
* Corresponding author (sgathumbi{at}archbold-station.org)
The rotation of crops with planted, N2-fixing legumes is a promising agroforestry innovation for replenishing soil fertility in the tropics. We postulated that woody and herbaceous legumes with different growth and rooting patterns could be mixed to optimize above- and belowground resource capture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of species interactions on resource utilization by legumes grown in mixtures on a Kandiudalfic Eutrudox in western Kenya. Four woody legume shrubs—pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], sesbania [Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.], crotalaria (Crotalaria grahamiana Wight and Arn.), and tephrosia (Tephrosia vogelii Hook F.)—grown in monoculture and mixed stands were evaluated for light interception, soil N and water uptake, and biomass production. Siratro [Macroptilium atropurpureum (DC.) Urb.] and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) were undersown in woody legume stands. Total aboveground biomass production ranged from 9 to 13 Mg ha-1 for monoculture and 8 to 15 Mg ha-1 for mixtures of woody legumes. Total N in woody-legume stands ranged from 100 to 178 kg N ha-1. Biomass and plant N were not significantly different among woody-legume treatments. However, undersowing siratro as a supplement increased stand productivity and recycled biomass N. Species complementarity in topsoil and subsoil utilization of mineral N was observed in crotalaria + sesbania and pigeonpea + tephrosia mixed stands. Dense soil cover created by siratro led to better conservation of soil water. Results indicated that the tested mixtures provide a better risk management strategy through compensatory growth potential. Greatest opportunities for intensifying resource utilization appear to exist through undersowing a creeping legume with an open-canopy woody legume.
Abbreviations: LAI, leaf area index • PAR, photosynthetically active radiation
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. K. Ndufa, S. M. Gathumbi, H. W. Kamiri, K. E. Giller, and G. Cadisch Do Mixed-Species Legume Fallows Provide Long-Term Maize Yield Benefit Compared with Monoculture Legume Fallows? Agron. J., November 1, 2009; 101(6): 1352 - 1362. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Sharma, M. K. Aneja, J. Mayer, J. C. Munch, and M. Schloter Diversity of Transcripts of Nitrite Reductase Genes (nirK and nirS) in Rhizospheres of Grain Legumes Appl. Envir. Microbiol., April 1, 2005; 71(4): 2001 - 2007. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. M. Gathumbi, G. Cadisch, R. J. Buresh, and K. E. Giller Subsoil Nitrogen Capture in Mixed Legume Stands as Assessed by Deep Nitrogen-15 Placement Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2003; 67(2): 573 - 582. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. H. Graham and C. P. Vance Legumes: Importance and Constraints to Greater Use Plant Physiology, March 1, 2003; 131(3): 872 - 877. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| The SCI Journals | Crop Science | Vadose Zone Journal | |||
| Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education |
Soil Science Society of America Journal | ||||
| Journal of Plant Registrations | Journal of Environmental Quality |
The Plant Genome | |||
