Application of phosphorus fertilizer and rhizobium inoculation improves grain and haulm nutritional values of selected grain legumes in the mixed crop-livestock production system of Ethiopia

Grain legumes are the second largest cultivated crops in Ethiopia next to cereals in terms of total production volume yield and area coverage. A similar scenario is reported for annual crop residue production from grain legumes. But both grain and haulm production from grain legumes are below their potential and need to be improved through different approach like developing new varieties and adhering to better agronomic practices to exploit the genetic potential of the plants.

Light and nutrient capture by common bean and maize in the Northern Highlands of Tanzania

 Beans and maize are important food and cash crops for farmers in the Northern highlands of Tanzania. They are often intercropped to achieve efficient land use, to avoid risk and to improve soil fertility. Farmers commonly alternate the rows of maize and beans one-by-one – or moja-moja in Swahili. The practice of planting maize and beans in a two-by-two (mbili-mbili in Swahili) alternating rows design has been introduced relatively recently (Figure 1). These cropping designs are referred to as moja and mbili cropping designs (Figure 2).

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