Management and Nutritive Evaluation of Mucuna Pruriens and Lablab Purpureus-Maize Intercrops in the Sub-Humid Highlands of Northwestern Kenya
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MANAGEMENT AND NUTRITIVE EVALUATION OF MUCUNA PRURIENS AND LABLAB PURPUREUS-MAIZE INTERCROPS IN THE SUB-HUMID HIGHLANDS OF NORTHWESTERN KENYA By ELKANA M. NYAMBATI A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2002 Copyright 2002 by Elkana M. Nyambati This work is dedicated to my mother whose constant encouragement and enduring love was a source of inspiration and strength to pursue knowledge to this day. May God give her the strength and courage to overcome her long-term ill health. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Lynn E. Sollenberger, the chair of my supervisory committee, for his patient support and scientific guidance during the course of this study. I appreciate his interest and attention during the initial stage of the research project and his diligence in reviewing the dissertation. Special gratitude is also extended to my supervisory committee members, Drs. C.K. Hiebsch, W.E. Kunkle, D.M. Sylvia, K.J. Boote, and A.T. Adesogon, for their advice and for reviewing the dissertation. The Rockefeller Foundation provided the financial support for both my research work in Kenya and my studies at the University of Florida. I am particularly grateful to Dr. John Lynam of the Nairobi Office, for his advice and logistical arrangements that increased my interaction with other institutions that provided valuable support. Acknowledgments are extended to the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) and Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Programme (TSBF) for doing most of the soil and plant tissue chemical analysis. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. P. Smithson of ICRAF and Dr. C. Palm and Ms. C. Gachengo of TSBF and their staff for ensuring that the samples were handled and analyzed in a most efficient way. The support from NARC, Kitale center Director Dr. C. Mwendia and other staff is highly appreciated. I am particularly grateful to S. Rono and D. Shitandi, who supervised the field activities and data collection while I was here at UF. The contribution of other colleagues in KARI who made useful suggestions to the research project, notably Dr. iv F.N. Muyekho, Dr. E.A. Mukisira, and Mr. J. Ngeny, is greatly appreciated. The support from the Soil Management Project team, particularly that of Dr. J. Mureithi, the national coordinator, and Ms. T. Mwangi, the team leader, at Kitale is highly appreciated. The willing cooperation of the farmers, Jerita Nasambu, Teresa Simiyu, Jafred Situma, Silvester Baraza, Raphael Simiyu, Wilson Khauka, and Lona Kufwafwa, is highly appreciated. Without their keen interest in taking care of the experimental plots, the collection of the on-farm data would have not been possible. In addition the assistance of the frontline agricultural extension staff, Mr. Musuya, is highly appreciated. Lastly, but by no means least, I am grateful to my dear wife, Florence, and children Kelvin, Newton, and Nancy, for their love, encouragement, support, and particularly for their patience for the long period that I was away in Kenya conducting this research. v TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................6 Cereal-Legume Cropping Systems ................................................................................. 6 Rotations Involving Forage Legumes ...................................................................... 7 Intercropping and Adaptation Characteristics of Mucuna and Lablab .................... 9 Replenishing Soil Fertility ............................................................................................ 11 Effects of Mucuna and Lablab Green Manures on Soil and Crop ......................... 14 Introduction......................................................................................................14 Potential use of mucuna and lablab green manures.........................................15 Effect of Root and Shoot Stubble on Soil and Crop Responses ............................ 18 Manure Effects on Soil Fertility Improvement ...................................................... 22 Integrated Nutrient Management ........................................................................... 24 Residue Quality............................................................................................................. 27 Synchrony Between Mineralized N and N Uptake....................................................... 31 Mixed Crop-Livestock Farming ................................................................................... 34 Potential Use of Napiergrass Fodder ............................................................................ 36 Background Information (Botany, Origin, and Characteristics)............................ 36 Dry Matter Yield.................................................................................................... 37 Nutritive Value....................................................................................................... 37 Legume Supplementation ............................................................................................. 38 Forage Yield and Nutritive Value of Mucuna and Lablab ........................................... 40 Antinutritive Factors .............................................................................................. 42 Dry Matter Intake and Animal Performance.......................................................... 43 vi 3 NITROGEN CONTRIBUTION FROM RELAY-CROPPED MUCUNA AND LABLAB TO MAIZE IN NORTHWESTERN KENYA ............................................47 Introduction................................................................................................................... 47 Materials and Methods.................................................................................................. 50 Experimental Site................................................................................................... 50 Treatments and Cropping Systems ........................................................................ 51 Green Manure Defoliation Management and Sampling ........................................ 52 Soil Mineral N Sampling ....................................................................................... 53 Maize N Uptake Sampling..................................................................................... 54 Grain and Stover/Straw Dry Matter Yield of Maize and Beans ............................ 54 Chemical Analyses................................................................................................. 54 Statistical Analyses ................................................................................................ 55 Results and Discussion ................................................................................................. 55 Legume Residue Biomass...................................................................................... 55 Chemical Composition of Legume Biomass ......................................................... 58 Nutrient Mass Incorporated.................................................................................... 61 Soil Mineral N........................................................................................................ 64 Maize Yield and N Uptake..................................................................................... 67 Relationships Between Residue Quality Parameters and Soil Mineral N.............. 71 Apparent N Recovery............................................................................................. 74 Bean and Lablab Grain Yield................................................................................. 77 Maize Grain Yield.................................................................................................. 79 Conclusions................................................................................................................... 80 4 PRODUCTIVITY OF MAIZE-BEAN INTERCROP RELAY CROPPED WITH MUCUNA AND LABLAB GREEN MANURES........................................................82 Introduction................................................................................................................... 82 Materials and Methods.................................................................................................. 84 Experimental Site................................................................................................... 84 Experimental Treatments and Layout .................................................................... 85 Herbage Yield and Chemical Composition............................................................ 86 Grain and Stover/Straw Dry Matter Yield of Maize and Beans ............................ 87 Statistical