Table 6.
History and characteristics of plots used in the rotation trial.
| Plot history before rotation trial (2009) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cropa before soybean (% of plots) | Dowa (n = 16) | Mchinji (n = 19) | Salima (n = 17) | Mean |
| Cereals | 81 | 84 | 71 | 79 |
| Legumes | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Other cash crops | 6 | 0 | 24 | 10 |
| Fallow | 13 | 11 | 6 | 10 |
| Crop before maize (% of plots) | Dowa (n = 6) | Mchinji (n = 16) | Salima (n = 16) | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cereals | 83 | 25 | 50 | 53 |
| Legumes | 17 | 44 | 25 | 29 |
| Other cash crops | 0 | 31 | 25 | 19 |
| Fallow | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Plot characteristics trial season 1 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| External inputs in maize plotsb | Dowa (n = 11) | Mchinji (n = 18) | Salima (n = 17) | Mean |
| NPS and Urea (%) | 27 | 83 | 47 | 57 |
| Animal manure (%) | 9 | 6 | 12 | 9 |
| External inputs in soybean plots | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dowa (n = 15) | Mchinji (n = 17) | Salima (n = 15) | Mean | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yields in soybean plots (t ha−1) | 1.13 | 0.76 | 0.33 | 0.74 |
| Soybean dry biomass at R5.5 (t ha−1) | 2.49 | 1.94 | 1.00 | 1.83 |
| Use of maize residues after harvest | Dowa (n = 8) | Mchinji (n = 18) | Salima (n = 17) | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make compost manure (%) | 13 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Incorporate into the soil (%) | 50 | 67 | 53 | 58 |
| Burn (%) | 38 | 28 | 41 | 35 |
| Use of soybean residues after harvest | Dowa (n = 11) | Mchinji (n = 17) | Salima (n = 17) | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make compost manure (%) | 91 | 94 | 6 | 60 |
| Incorporate into the soil (%) | 0 | 0 | 53 | 20 |
| Burn (%) | 9 | 6 | 41 | 20 |
a
Cereals are maize (53) and in Salima sorghum (5); Legumes include groundnuts (8) and soybean (6); Cash crops include in Mchinji tobacco (5), in Salima cotton (8) and in Dowa sweet potatoes (1).
b
Percentage of farmers applying these inputs. NPS (23:21 + 4S) and urea (46:0:0) were commonly applied at 125 kg ha−1 each.