permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Research Shows Legume Trees Can Fertilize and Stabilize Maize Fields,
Generate Higher Yields
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121015090050.htm
Science News
... from universities, journals, and other research organizations

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2012) — Inserting rows of "fertilizer trees"
into maize fields, known as agroforestry, can help farmers across
sub-Saharan Africa cope with the impacts of drought and degraded
soils, according to a 12-year-long study by researchers at the World
Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).

"The study, "Can Integration of Legume Trees Increase Yield Stability
in Rainfed Maize Cropping Systems in Southern Africa?", by Gudeta
Sileshi, Legesse Kassa Debusho and Festus Akinnifesi, was published in
this month's issue of Agronomy Journal of the Soil Science Society of
America.

Three coordinated experiments, begun in 1991 in Malawi and Zambia,
found that farms that mix nitrogen-fixing trees and maize have
consistent and relatively high yields year after year. In Malawi, the
highest average maize yield was found in fields that combined both
fertilizer trees and inorganic fertilizers, but applied at just half
the standard recommended amounts."