Alley cropping of maize with calliandra and leucaena in the subhumid highlands of Kenya Part 1. Soil-fertility changes and maize yield
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Date
1999-06-01
Authors
Mugwe, J. N.
Mugendi, D.N.
Nair, P. K.
O’neill, M. K.
Woomer, P. L.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Abstract
Although N-rich leaf biomass of multipurpose trees is known to be a good source of
N to crops, integrating such trees into crop production systems is a major challenge in the development of viable agroforestry systems. An approach to integrating calliandra (Calliandra
calothyrsus Meissner) and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit), two promising
agroforestry tree species, into maize (Zea mays L.) production system was investigated in the
subhumid highlands of central Kenya during four maize-growing seasons from 1994 to 1996.
The experiment consisted of maize plots to which tree prunings obtained from hedgerows grown
either in situ (alley cropping) or ex situ (biomass transfer from outside) were applied. When
alley-cropped with leucaena, maize produced significantly higher yields compared to maize
monoculture (both non-fertilized and fertilized) treatments, but when alley-cropped with calliandra, the yield of maize was less than that of the monocropped unfertilized control. Application of ex situ grown calliandra and leucaena prunings with or without fertilizer resulted in higher maize grain yield than in the nonfertilized and fertilized treatments. Yields of calliandra alleycropped maize were 11% to 51% lower than those of nonalley-cropped treatments receiving
calliandra prunings from ex situ grown trees; the decrease was 2% to 17% with leucaena, indicating that calliandra hedges were more competitive than leucaena hedges. The alley-cropped
prunings-removed treatments produced the lowest maize yields. The study showed that, in the
subhumid tropical highlands of Kenya, inclusion of calliandra hedges on cropland adversely
affected maize yields. On the other hand, alley cropping with leucaena was advantageous
Description
10.1023/A:1006288301044
Keywords
biomass transfer, competition, crop yield, prunings