Improving Maize Yield in the Guinea Savannah Zone of Ghana with Leguminous Cover Crops and PK Fertilization (original) (raw)
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Savanna Agricultural Research Institute Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 52, Tamale, Ghana
Ronald F. Kuhne
Institute of Agronomy and Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Göttingen, Grisebachstr. 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Paul L.G. Vlek
Centre for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Str. 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany
In the present study, Calopogonium mucunoides Des (calopo), Crotalaria juncea L (sunn hemp), C. retusa L. (devil bean) and Mucuna pruriens (L) DC (mucuna) supplied with 17 kg ha-1 of P and 33 kg ha-1 of K were assessed in 1996-1997 at three locations in Northern Ghana for their dry matter production and nutrient accumulation, mineralization, as well as their effect on the yield of a succeeding maize crop. The dry matter yield of cover crops across locations ranged from 5 to 15 t ha-1 with a corresponding total N accumulation of 115 to 306 kg ha-1. Cover crop residue amendments increased maize grain yield 2 to 4-fold above the 1-year weed fallow control. Calopo was the best cover crop in increasing maize yield. On the other hand, devil bean, which out-performed all the other cover crops in dry matter and N accumulation, did not increase maize yield commensurate with its dry matter and N yields due to high N immobilization. Small-scale farmers in Northern Ghana can improve their maize yields by growing cover crops in rotation with their maize.
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M. Fosu, Ronald F. Kuhne and Paul L.G. Vlek, 2004. Improving Maize Yield in the Guinea Savannah Zone of Ghana with Leguminous Cover Crops and PK Fertilization. Journal of Agronomy, 3: 115-121.
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ja.2004.115.121
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