International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VII, July 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Josephine Barasa1, Julius Ochuodho1, Syphyline Kebeney1, Augustine Wafula Barasa2
1University of Eldoret, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Department of Soil Science
2University of Eldoret, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
Abstract: Declining crops yield in the smallholder farmers cropping systems of sub-Saharan African (SSA) present the need to develop more sustainable production systems. Depletion of essential plant nutrients from the soils have been cited as the main contributing factors due to continues cultivation of cereal crops without application of organic/ inorganic fertilizers. Field experiments to evaluate effect of phosphorus (P) fertilizers, organic and integration of legumes in sorghum cropping systems on soil, available nitrogen (N) and P, were conducted in Busia County of Kenya during the short (SRS) and long rain seasons (LRS) of 2016 and LRS of 2017 respectively. The experiments comprised either soybean, common bean groundnut or sesame grown with sorghum. The design was a split plot in a randomized complete block design. Main plots were fertilizer inputs; Mavuno, FYM or their combination. Subplots comprised of the legume intercrops mentioned above. Application of Mavuno, FYM or their combination resulted in significantly higher legume, sesame crop yields above the control in the second season. Legume crops due to their N-fixation, litter fall and mineralization made availability of P and N. possible. Application of Mavuno, FYM or their combination gave comparable results with respect to the intercrop yields. Since FYM and (Mavuno+FYM) is cheaper than Mavuno, growing either soybean, common bean groundnut or sesame intercropping system with sorghum with application of the above is recommended for improved legume grain yields and soil fertility improvement.
Keywords: organic/inorganic inputs, legume cropping system, biomass decomposition, grain yields
I.INTRODUCTION
In Kenya, challenges of food security, poverty and income inequalities remain a major concern for the Government despite policies on self-sufficiency in food being emphasized (Ombaka et al, 2014; Lokuruka, 2020).Continuous monocropping of maize without crop diversification on small pieces of the land with little or no provision for soil fertility maintenance contribute to the rapid depletion of soil nutrients in general and nitrogen in particular (Girijesh et al., 2017; Grote, · 2021).
Attaining optimum crop yields in smallholder farms of Western Kenya remains a predicament with most farmers recording low annual harvests (Mwaura, 2021). This situation further translates into food insecurity and poverty especially in a country like Kenya where majority (> 70 %)of its