Influence of legumes as green manures in the corn production

초록

The research aimed to assess the impact of green manure (GM) on enhancing soil quality and crop development from a precision agricultural perspective. Conducted in an experimental field in Mozambique, a randomized complete block design with five treatments and four replications was employed. The treatments included four varieties of legumes (Vigna unguiculata, Phaseolus lunatus, Crotalaria juncea, and Mucuna aterrima) and a control without green manures (GM). The biomass productivity of the legumes, plant height, stem diameter, leaf area index, and productivity of corn were analyzed. The collected data underwent normality testing and variance analysis. Chemical analysis of the soil revealed an increase in nutrient levels in the variables examined. Vigna unguiculata exhibited the highest nutrient levels (3.69% organic matter), followed by Mucuna aterrima (3.54% organic matter). Vigna unguiculata demonstrated superior biomass productivity, yielding 5.77 kg/m2 (57.7 tons/ha) of fresh mass and 1.83 kg/m2 (18.3 tons/ha) of dry mass. Mucuna aterrima followed with 4.38 kg/m2 (43.8 ton/ha) of fresh mass and 1.51 kg/m2 (15.1 ton/ha) of dry mass. Crotalaria juncea exhibited 2.59 kg/m2 (25.9 ton/ha) and 1.14 kg/m2 (11.4 ton/ha), while Phaseolus lunatus had the lowest results with 2.25 kg/m2 (22.5 ton/ha) of fresh mass and 0.67 kg/m2 (6.7 ton/ha) of dry mass. Green manures improved soil quality, and the corn crop used as an indicator exhibited significant responses to applying green manures across all analyzed growth and development parameters.

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