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Inadequate rain is a major hindrance to soil moisture and crop root growth in arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya. A field study was conducted in Ganda, Vitengeni and Matuga locations within the coastal lowland region of Kenya from May, 2012 to April, 2015 to evaluate the effects of three leguminous cover crops on soil moisture retention and orange tree feeder root distribution. Treatments included mucuna (Mucuna pruriens), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), dolichos (Lablab purpureus) cover crops and unplowed fallow of natural vegetation as a control. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) and each treatment was replicated four times. Data collected were: soil particle size distribution, soil moisture content and orange dry root density. The data collected was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using procedures of R statistical analysis version 3.3.2. Mean separation was done using the least significant difference (LSD) value at 5% level of significance. Results indicated that mucuna, dolichos and cowpea cover crops significantly (P=.05) increased soil moisture content. The mucuna treated plots recorded an Original Research Article

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