Productivity and profitability of maize-legume cropping systems under conservation agriculture among smallholder farmers in Malawi

Abstract

A study was conducted from 2014 to 2017 in Malawi to elucidate the short-term effects of maizelegume intercropping and rotation systems under conservation agriculture (CA) and conventional tillage (CT) on crop productivity and profitability. Twelve farmers hosted on-farm trials per district, in three districts, with each farmer having six plots. The design of the study was randomised complete block design arranged in a split plot fashion with tillage as main plot and cropping systems as subplots, with each farmer acting as a replicate. CA had 1400 and 3200 kg ha −1 more maize grain yield in the second and third seasons, respectively compared with CT. In the first two seasons, CT had 310, 180 and 270 kg ha −1 more cowpea, soybean and pigeon pea grain yields in Salima, Mzimba and Mangochi districts, respectively, compared with CA. Similarly, CA had 1100 and 950 kg ha −1 more groundnut grain yields than CT in Salima and Mzimba districts in the second and third seasons, respectively. Over the three-year study period, partial land equivalent ratio for maize ranged from 0.78 to 1.24. Largest net returns were achieved by intercropping maize with pigeon pea in Mangochi and rotating maize and groundnut in Mzimba and Salima districts.

Intercropped Maize and Cowpea Increased the Land Equivalent Ratio and Enhanced Crop Access to More Nitrogen and Phosphorus Compared to Cultivation as Sole Crops

“…Maize (Zea mays L.)-legume intercrops can also provide protein-rich food in low-input agricultural systems, bringing overall benefits to soil fertility conservation, pest management, and animal feed [16,17]. In Malawi, a three-year study was carried out to compare the performance of maize-legume intercropping under conservation agriculture and conventional tillage on twelve farms [18]. Legume production varied with species and farm, but maize production was higher in the second (by 1.4 t ha −1 ) and third (by 3.2 t ha −1 ) growing seasons in conservation agriculture compared to conventional cultivation.…”

“…Estimating the land equivalent ratio (LER) in intercrops also leads to an understanding of the interactions affecting yields. LER is defined as the relative land area required as sole crops to produce the same yields as intercropping [20] and has been successively used in many studies, providing valuable information for the management of intercrops [14,18,[22][23][24].…”

Potential of reduced agricultural lime application rates to increase yield and profitability of maize through microdosing in central Malawi - A short note

“…In a similar GM analysis Kabambe et al (2018) also reported that GM of maize was positive for yields and prices of 4,000 kg ha -1 and US$0.27 kg -1 respectively. Recently, Ngwira et al (2020) reported GMs of US$1000-1800 from on-farm maize trails in Malawi.…”

Weeds Spectrum, Productivity and Land-Use Efficiency in Maize-Gram Intercropping Systems under Semi-Arid Environment

“…Similarly, green gram (Vigna radiata L.) and black gram (Vigna mungo L.) may impart sustainability to maize-legume intercropping system by enhancing land use efficacy attained through higher utilization efficiency of farm applied inputs. However, optimization of intercropping system may potentially reduce the degree of inter and intra species competition and boost the added benefits offered by cereal-legume intercropping systems [9][10][11][12][13], which continues to remain an unexplored aspect under irrigated conditions of semi-arid environment. This is of the utmost importance as numerous types of species-specific mechanisms alter the physiological response of intercrops and directly determine the extent of added advantage offered by intercropping system.…”