Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Intercropping banana and shorter annual crops in small holder systems is inevitable despite shade being a limitation. Current production is also limited to the wet seasons. Strategies to exploit the spaces under banana shade and drier seasons are crucial for optimal production of these systems. We d...

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Autores principales: Blomme, Guy, Ntamwira, Jules Bagula, Ocimati, Walter
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/118443
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author Blomme, Guy
Ntamwira, Jules Bagula
Ocimati, Walter
author_browse Blomme, Guy
Ntamwira, Jules Bagula
Ocimati, Walter
author_facet Blomme, Guy
Ntamwira, Jules Bagula
Ocimati, Walter
author_sort Blomme, Guy
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Intercropping banana and shorter annual crops in small holder systems is inevitable despite shade being a limitation. Current production is also limited to the wet seasons. Strategies to exploit the spaces under banana shade and drier seasons are crucial for optimal production of these systems. We determined the performance of two legume cover crops, Mucuna pruriens and Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum), a grain legume, under different banana shade levels and over the wet and dry seasons in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Banana and legume monocrops served as controls. Shade reduced weed biomass and legume root nodu-lation, biomass, and grain yields. Chickpea root nodulation had a lower sensitivity to shade (3–9% reduction) compared with mucuna (30–60%) and crotalaria (31–71%). Legume biomass yield declines varied from 37–83%, 56–93%, and 80–98% for mucuna, crotalaria, and chickpea, respectively. Higher nodulation occurred in the rainy compared with the dry season. Biomass yield declines, albeit low occurred in the dry season for mucuna (15%) and crotalaria (30%). In contrast, chickpea biomass and grain yields increased by 394% and 4487%, respectively, in the dry season. A higher banana vegetative growth occurred in the intercropped plots. Land equivalent ratios of 1.15–1.34 under dense shading for mucuna and crotalaria and 1.10–1.62 for chickpea occurred irrespective of the seasons. These findings suggest that these cover crops and chickpea could be exploited to enhance biomass (for fodder, mulch, or manure) and grain yields under banana shade and over the drier seasons.
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spelling CGSpace1184432025-11-11T19:06:33Z Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Blomme, Guy Ntamwira, Jules Bagula Ocimati, Walter cover plants dry season intercropping land equivalent ratio legumes root nodulation plantas de cobertura estación seca cultivo intercalado Intercropping banana and shorter annual crops in small holder systems is inevitable despite shade being a limitation. Current production is also limited to the wet seasons. Strategies to exploit the spaces under banana shade and drier seasons are crucial for optimal production of these systems. We determined the performance of two legume cover crops, Mucuna pruriens and Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum), a grain legume, under different banana shade levels and over the wet and dry seasons in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Banana and legume monocrops served as controls. Shade reduced weed biomass and legume root nodu-lation, biomass, and grain yields. Chickpea root nodulation had a lower sensitivity to shade (3–9% reduction) compared with mucuna (30–60%) and crotalaria (31–71%). Legume biomass yield declines varied from 37–83%, 56–93%, and 80–98% for mucuna, crotalaria, and chickpea, respectively. Higher nodulation occurred in the rainy compared with the dry season. Biomass yield declines, albeit low occurred in the dry season for mucuna (15%) and crotalaria (30%). In contrast, chickpea biomass and grain yields increased by 394% and 4487%, respectively, in the dry season. A higher banana vegetative growth occurred in the intercropped plots. Land equivalent ratios of 1.15–1.34 under dense shading for mucuna and crotalaria and 1.10–1.62 for chickpea occurred irrespective of the seasons. These findings suggest that these cover crops and chickpea could be exploited to enhance biomass (for fodder, mulch, or manure) and grain yields under banana shade and over the drier seasons. 2022-12 2022-03-23T11:17:15Z 2022-03-23T11:17:15Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/118443 en Open Access application/pdf Wiley Blomme, G.; Ntamwira, J.; Ocimati, W. (2022) Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Legume Science, Online first paper (18 March 2022). ISSN: 2639-6181
spellingShingle cover plants
dry season
intercropping
land equivalent ratio
legumes
root nodulation
plantas de cobertura
estación seca
cultivo intercalado
Blomme, Guy
Ntamwira, Jules Bagula
Ocimati, Walter
Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
title Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
title_full Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
title_fullStr Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
title_full_unstemmed Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
title_short Mucuna pruriens, Crotalaria juncea, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have the potential for improving productivity of banana-based systems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
title_sort mucuna pruriens crotalaria juncea and chickpea cicer arietinum have the potential for improving productivity of banana based systems in eastern democratic republic of congo
topic cover plants
dry season
intercropping
land equivalent ratio
legumes
root nodulation
plantas de cobertura
estación seca
cultivo intercalado
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/118443
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