Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), farmers intercrop common beans with maize but apply inorganic or organic fertilisers targeting only maize. Effects of this practice on bush bean yield have not been fully evaluated with respect to input use and compatibility when intercropped with maize. An on-farm trial...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ndengu, Gift, Mponela, Powell, Tamene, Lulseged D., Chataika, Barthlomew, Chirwa, Rowland, Sileshi, Gudeta G.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Cambridge University Press 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/120482
_version_ 1855517144702255104
author Ndengu, Gift
Mponela, Powell
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Chataika, Barthlomew
Chirwa, Rowland
Sileshi, Gudeta G.
author_browse Chataika, Barthlomew
Chirwa, Rowland
Mponela, Powell
Ndengu, Gift
Sileshi, Gudeta G.
Tamene, Lulseged D.
author_facet Ndengu, Gift
Mponela, Powell
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Chataika, Barthlomew
Chirwa, Rowland
Sileshi, Gudeta G.
author_sort Ndengu, Gift
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), farmers intercrop common beans with maize but apply inorganic or organic fertilisers targeting only maize. Effects of this practice on bush bean yield have not been fully evaluated with respect to input use and compatibility when intercropped with maize. An on-farm trial managed by smallholder community members was conducted to assess the influence of various soil fertility management options and cropping systems on the yield of two bush bean genotypes (SER45 and SER83) in two agro-ecological zones of Malawi. The farmer-managed trials were laid out in split-plot design, with the bean genotypes as main plots and a combination of the soil fertility management options (i.e., no input, manure, fertiliser and fertiliser + manure) and cropping systems (i.e., sole crop and intercrop) as subplots. The trials were affected by terminal drought and dry spells, but results show that manure and fertiliser application enhanced the resilience of the drought-tolerant bean genotypes. The genotype SER45 was responsive to manure application in the sole crop, giving a 44.4% yield increase over no-manure application. In sole cropping with fertiliser plus manure, bean yields improved by 40.1% for SER45 and 78.3% for SER83 relative to the no-input control. Although sole cropping had higher bean yields, the treatment with manure and fertiliser had a higher land equivalence ratio for intercrop of 1.54 for SER45 and 1.32 for SER83 over sole cropping. These results show that, under smallholder farmer management, the climate adaptability of bush bean genotypes could be enhanced by the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilisers in maize–bean intercrop. The combined application also enhances whole-farm productivity of the common maize–bean intercrop practice than monocrop, hence is of benefit to most low-input smallholder farmers of SSA.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace120482
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher Cambridge University Press
publisherStr Cambridge University Press
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1204822025-11-11T17:42:49Z Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping Ndengu, Gift Mponela, Powell Tamene, Lulseged D. Chataika, Barthlomew Chirwa, Rowland Sileshi, Gudeta G. cropping systems genotypes drought tolerance organic fertilizers inorganic fertilizers sistemas de cultivo genotipos tolerancia a la sequia In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), farmers intercrop common beans with maize but apply inorganic or organic fertilisers targeting only maize. Effects of this practice on bush bean yield have not been fully evaluated with respect to input use and compatibility when intercropped with maize. An on-farm trial managed by smallholder community members was conducted to assess the influence of various soil fertility management options and cropping systems on the yield of two bush bean genotypes (SER45 and SER83) in two agro-ecological zones of Malawi. The farmer-managed trials were laid out in split-plot design, with the bean genotypes as main plots and a combination of the soil fertility management options (i.e., no input, manure, fertiliser and fertiliser + manure) and cropping systems (i.e., sole crop and intercrop) as subplots. The trials were affected by terminal drought and dry spells, but results show that manure and fertiliser application enhanced the resilience of the drought-tolerant bean genotypes. The genotype SER45 was responsive to manure application in the sole crop, giving a 44.4% yield increase over no-manure application. In sole cropping with fertiliser plus manure, bean yields improved by 40.1% for SER45 and 78.3% for SER83 relative to the no-input control. Although sole cropping had higher bean yields, the treatment with manure and fertiliser had a higher land equivalence ratio for intercrop of 1.54 for SER45 and 1.32 for SER83 over sole cropping. These results show that, under smallholder farmer management, the climate adaptability of bush bean genotypes could be enhanced by the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilisers in maize–bean intercrop. The combined application also enhances whole-farm productivity of the common maize–bean intercrop practice than monocrop, hence is of benefit to most low-input smallholder farmers of SSA. 2022 2022-08-09T08:51:50Z 2022-08-09T08:51:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/120482 en Open Access application/pdf Cambridge University Press Ndengu, G.; Mponela, P.; Desta, L.T.; Chataika, B.; Chirwa, R.; Sileshi, G.G. (2022) Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping. Experimental Agriculture 58: e29. 12 p. ISSN: 0014-4797
spellingShingle cropping systems
genotypes
drought tolerance
organic fertilizers
inorganic fertilizers
sistemas de cultivo
genotipos
tolerancia a la sequia
Ndengu, Gift
Mponela, Powell
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Chataika, Barthlomew
Chirwa, Rowland
Sileshi, Gudeta G.
Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping
title Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping
title_full Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping
title_fullStr Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping
title_full_unstemmed Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping
title_short Effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize–bush bean intercropping
title_sort effect of combining organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on maize bush bean intercropping
topic cropping systems
genotypes
drought tolerance
organic fertilizers
inorganic fertilizers
sistemas de cultivo
genotipos
tolerancia a la sequia
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/120482
work_keys_str_mv AT ndengugift effectofcombiningorganicmanureandinorganicfertilisersonmaizebushbeanintercropping
AT mponelapowell effectofcombiningorganicmanureandinorganicfertilisersonmaizebushbeanintercropping
AT tamenelulsegedd effectofcombiningorganicmanureandinorganicfertilisersonmaizebushbeanintercropping
AT chataikabarthlomew effectofcombiningorganicmanureandinorganicfertilisersonmaizebushbeanintercropping
AT chirwarowland effectofcombiningorganicmanureandinorganicfertilisersonmaizebushbeanintercropping
AT sileshigudetag effectofcombiningorganicmanureandinorganicfertilisersonmaizebushbeanintercropping