Abstract
A trial was conducted where sorghum and cowpea were intercropped at three sites with different natural concentrations of soil phosphorus (1.0, 7.0 and 26.3 mg kg–1 Olsen-P) and with biannual cropping. There was a total of five field treatments, namely goat manure applied at rates of 0, 5 and 10 t ha–1 annually for 6 years and at 5 and 10 t ha–1 annually for 4 years followed by 2 years without manure. Continuous manuring at 10 t ha–1 created the same amount of soil N as 5 t ha–1 manure so the residual effects were the same for 5 and 10 t ha–1 manure and the effects were the same at all sites. In the season studied, between 1.8 and 4.1% of the native soil N was mineralized and taken up by the crops. Eleven percentage of the manure residual N (applied between 2 and 6 years previously and remaining in the soil) was taken up and this fraction was the same in all soils. Recently applied manure N contributed significantly to crop N in the most nutrient-deficient soil. On the soils with Olsen-P ≥ 7 mg kg–1, cowpeas obtained a significant extra 32 kg N ha–1, attributed to biological N fixation (BNF). If Olsen-P was < 6 mg kg–1, BNF was negligible.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the directors of KARI Embu Regional Research Centre and the National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL), Nairobi, for provision of field and laboratory facilities, and PI Mutwiri, P Njoroge and J Odhiambo for maintaining the field experiments and technical assistance. This publication is an output of research funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK Government, but the DFID accepts no responsibility for any information provided or views expressed.
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Kihanda, F., Warren, G. (2011). Effect of Manure Application on Soil Nitrogen Availability to Intercropped Sorghum and Cowpea at Three Sites in Eastern Kenya. In: Bationo, A., Waswa, B., Okeyo, J., Maina, F., Kihara, J. (eds) Innovations as Key to the Green Revolution in Africa. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2543-2_28
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