Podcaster 10

 

N2Africa Podcaster 10

October  2011


Title Summary Newsletter item #
Introduction

N2Africa has a strong focus on agronomic management to improve crop yields. We start from the premise that successful nitrogen fixation and yield of legumes in the field depends on the interaction:

(GL×GR)×E×M

1
N2Africa develops best-fit agronomic practices for grain legumes in Africa

The agronomy activities of N2Africa are implemented under Objective 2 of the project (Select multi-purpose legumes (food, fodder, stakes, and soil fertility management) for enhanced biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and integrate these into farming systems). In this article you can reaasdd about the agronomy work to date.

More....

1
Soybeans responds to rhizobium inoculation in DR Congo

In South Kivu of DR Congo, on-farm trials have been ongoing for three seasons to ascertain the response of soyabean to rhizobium inoculation and phosphorus fertilizers.

 

2
Adaptive research to understand bean production niches in Western Kenya

Western Kenya is densely-populated (on average 750 person/ km2) and the area of farm land available is less than 0.1 ha per capita. The area suffers from poor crop productivity due to poor soil fertility arising from continual cultivation without inputs.

 

2
Agronomy trials in Zimbabwe: results achieved and the way forward

The agronomy trials in the 2010-2011 season in Zimbabwe did not run quite as anticipated, but nevertheless yielded interesting results. The results led to a change in planning and responsibility for the next season, as well as additional research activities.

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Inoculation and staking systems of climbing bean in Kenya
Climbing bean is one of the legumes under study in Kenya. In contrast to bush beans commonly grown by farmers, climbing beans are higher yielding, have a longer growing period and require support.

 

4
Lessons learned and way forward in N2Africa’s agronomy work

The results of the agronomy trials so far have provided a wealth of information, some of which presented in this podcaster. However, the agronomy team has also faced a number of challenges and results were not always as anticipated. The problems faced so far provided important lessons for the agronomy team leading to changes in the N2Africa research strategy. In this article we share the the main lessons we have learned and the way we are adapting our approach.

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The Podcaster is published six times per year – we look forward to receiving news and contributions – particularly from partners. Please send in contributions well in time. Contact address for this newsletter is: N2Africa.office@wur.nl

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