ISRN Agronomy

Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 213729, 5 pages

doi:10.5402/2012/213729

Research Article

Residual Nitrogen Contributions from Grain Legumes to the Growth and Development of Succeeding Maize Crop

M. A. Adeleke¹ and I. M. Haruna²

¹Nigerian Medicinal Plants Development Company, Abuja, Nigeria

²Department of Agronomy, Nasarawa State University, P.M.B. 1022, Keffi, Nigeria

Received 8 April 2012; Accepted 26 June 2012

Academic Editors: N. Bellaloui and E. Ober

Copyright © 2012 M. A. Adeleke and I. M. Haruna. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract.

Field experiment was conducted at the Institute for Agricultural Research Farm at Samaru, Nigeria in 2008 and 2009 rainy seasons to investigate the residual nitrogen contributions by four legume crops (soyabean, cowpea, lablab, and groundnut) to the growth and development of succeeding maize given four levels of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha⁻¹). In 2008, the treatments consisted of four legumes, maize and a fallow period. The six treatments were laid out using randomized complete block design replicated four times. In 2009, maize crop was planted on the previous crops’ plots and fallow. The experimental design used was split-plot with previous legumes, maize, or fallow as main plots, and the four nitrogen fertilizer treatments as subplots. Results obtained showed that nitrogen availability in the top soils of the previous legumes and fallow compared with that of maize plot was increased by 250, 200, 170, 107 and 157% after lablab, groundnut, cowpea, soyabean and fallow, respectively. Maize grown on previous lablab plot significantly recorded higher growth characters compared with maize following other legumes and fallow. Growth of maize was highest with the application of lower rates of nitrogen after lablab and groundnut compared with maize after maize.

1. Introduction

Legumes play a wide role in contributing to food security, income generation, and maintenance of environment for millions of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. In most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, legumes are usually intercropped with cereals and improve land productivity through soil amelioration. In crop rotation, legumes contribute to a diversification of cropping systems and as N₂-fixing plant, it can reduce the mineral N fertilizer demand. Nitrogen is the most important nutrient element required for crop production especially for cereals, which have been reported to dominate cultivated land in the world [2]. For maximum maize grain yield to be realized in the northern Guinea Savanah of Nigeria, addition of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ of inorganic fertilizer is required [3].

Although inorganic fertilizer is a convenient source of nitrogen for crop growth, its use is ultimately governed and regulated by economic and environmental considerations. In Nigeria, government inconsistent policies on fertilizer subsidiary had led to the problem of high price of fertilizer which was beyond what a peasant farmer could afford. It also led to adulteration. When subsidy was finally replaced, farmers were faced with the problems of hoarding which culminated in nonavailability of fertilizer at the right time [4]. The environmental problems associated with excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer is now a contentious issue. Recent studies have shown that application of inorganic N depletes soil organic carbon and N.

If agricultural production must be intensified, ways of making maximum use of the remaining agricultural land must be pursued without land degradation and pollution, which are often the result of intensive cultivation and fertilizer application. Grain legumes cause significant and positive yield effects on subsequent nonlegume crop when compared with rotations with nonlegumes [5]. In addition to these beneficial factors, other benefits such as improving soil structure, breaking pest and disease cycles and phytotoxic and allelopathic effects of crop residues are also derived. Crop rotation involving legumes was reported to have reduced the rate of applied nitrogen fertilizer in succeeding maize crop [6]. Previous researches in the Nigeria guinea savanna focused attention mainly on effects of forage legumes on cereal crop yields [7, 8]. This study therefore seeks to investigate the residual nitrogen contribution of edible grain legumes namely; cowpea, soyabean, and groundnuts together with pasture legume, lablab niger to soil nitrogen content and the growth of succeeding maize crop.

2. Materials and Methods

Experiments were conducted for two years (2008 and 2009) at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Samaru, Nigeria located at latitude and longitude 686 meters above sea level in the northern Guinea savanna agro ecological zone to evaluate the residual nitrogen contribution from four grain legumes to the growth and development of the succeeding maize crop. Samaru has a well drained leached ferruginous tropical sandy loam soil and a mean annual rainfall of 1100 mm distributed between May and October. In 2008, the experiment consisted of four different types of legumes (soyabean, cowpea, groundnut, and lablab), a fallow period and maize plots to which to which four levels of nitrogen in the form of urea (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha⁻¹) were applied as treatments. The twenty-four treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated four times.

Composite soil sample was taken to a depth of 30 cm and analyzed for their physical and chemical properties before ridging. The gross plot size was 27 m² (4.5 m × 6 m) while the net plot size was 15 m² (3 m × 5 m). The experimental area was disc-ploughed and harrowed twice to a fine tilt. This was then followed by ridging at 75 cm apart (between rows) and the field marked into plots and replications. The plots were separated by 1.0 m unplanted boarder while replications were separated by 2.0 m unplanted boarder. Seeds of cowpea, lablab, and groundnut were planted at 30 cm intrarow spacing while, soyabean was drilled at 5 cm, and maize was planted at 25 cm intra row spacing. After harvesting all the legumes and the maize, soil samples from each plot were collected and again analyzed for their physicochemical properties using standard procedures.

In 2009, maize was planted on plots of the previous legumes; fallow and maize plots after ridging. Each former legume, fallow, and maize plots were divided into subplots to which four nitrogen (N) levels (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha⁻¹) in the form of urea were applied. The experimental design used was split—plot with legumes and fallow allocated to the main plot while nitrogen was allocated to the sub-plots. The treatments were replicated four times. Maize seeds were sown on plots consisting of six ridges, 75 cm apart and 6 m long. Two to three seeds of maize were sown 25 cm apart (intrarow spacing) and later thinned to one plant at two weeks after sowing (WAS).

All plots received a basal application of 22 kg P ha⁻¹ as single super phosphate (SSP), 33.3 kg K ha⁻¹ as muriate of potash (MOP). Half of each of the four nitrogen treatments was applied at two weeks after sowing, while the remaining half was applied at 6WAS. Manual hoe weeding was done at 3, 6 and 9 WAS to keep the experimental plots weed free.

Ten randomly selected plants samples from each plot were used to determine the treatment effects on parameters such as plant height, leaf area index and total dry matter per plant 8 and 10 weeks after sowing. Fodder yield was taken at harvest. The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance using the “F” test to estimate the significance in the effects of the treatments as described by Snedecor and Cochran [9]. Comparisons of treatment means were done using least significant difference.

3. Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the nutrient status of the soil before and after the first experiment respectively. The result showed increased in the total nitrogen, after cropping any of the four legumes (soyabean, cowpea, lablab, and groundnut) and when the land was left fallow. For instance, previous lablab plots had the highest total nitrogen of 0.49% followed by groundnut, cowpea, soyabean, and fallow plots with 0.42%, 0.38, 0.29 and 0.26%, respectively. This represented increases of 250%, 200%, 171%, and 107% in the soil total nitrogen after cropping lablab groundnut, cowpea, soyabean, and when the land was left fallow respectively compared to the total nitrogen content of the soil before experiment in 2008. The total nitrogen content of the maize plots after experiment in 2008 decreased probably because maize is a high nitrogen demanding crop and might have used up almost all the applied N. The significant increase in the total nitrogen of the experimental plots to which legumes were grown could be attributed to the ability of legume to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil through symbiotic N fixation. The variation in the amount of nitrogen fixed by various legumes could be attributed to the amount of plant biomass produced by the various legumes because the higher the biomass produced, the higher the amount of N fixed. The higher Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) which plots that were previously cropped to legumes had compared with the previous maize plot and fallow plots could be attributed to the leaf litter droppings, which more or less serve as mulch and later decomposed to add nutrient to the soil. It could also be attributed to less removal of inorganic N from the soil by the legumes, compared to the cereal—a phenomenon referred to as “N sparing” effect [10, 11]. Lablab added the highest soil nitrogen and CEC compared with other legumes. This could be attributed to its higher rate of growth compared with the other legumes, which made the plots where it was being cropped to be bushy. The leaf litter droppings, which decomposed was another factor. This is in conformity with the findings of Vasconcellous [12].

Table 1: Physicochemical properties of soil of experimental site before planting and after harvesting in 2008 at Samaru.

Before planting in 2008
After harvesting in 2008

Soil characteristics

pH ratio 1: 2.5

Soil samples
Textural class
H₂O
0.01 m CaCl₂
Total N (%)
CEC

Particle size (%)

    Sand
52
M₀
Loam
5.00
4.45
0.13
3.40

    Silt
40
M₁
Loam
5.00
4.50
0.13
4.30

    Clay
08
M₂
Loam
4.80
4.50
0.12
4.10

    Textural Class
Loam
M₃
Loam
4.70
4.50
0.12
4.40

Chemical composition

    pH in water
5.10
Soybean plot
Loam
5.00
4.40
0.29
4.80

    Organic carbon (%)
0.50
Cowpea plot
Loam
5.00
4.80
0.38
5.20

    Total nitrogen (%)
0.14
Lablab plot
Loam
5.20
4.40
0.49
6.80

    Available phosphorus (%)
2.44
g. nut plot
Loam
4.80
4.40
0.42
6.40

fallow plot
Loam
5.00
4.70
0.26
4.10

Exchangeable bases

    Ca
0.60

    Mg
0.08

    K
0.21

    Na
0.36

    H + Al
0.40

    CEC
3.20

Key

Mo: Maize plot without nitrogen fertilizer.

M₁: Maize plot with 40 kg N ha⁻¹.

M₂: Maize plot with 80 kg N ha⁻¹.

M₃: Maize plot with 120 kg N ha⁻¹.

The effect of the previous crops, fallow, and nitrogen levels on the height of the succeeding maize crop at 8 and 12 WAS are shown in Table 2. At 8 and 12 WAS the tallest maize plants were obtained from the previous lablab plots followed by those from groundnut plots. The height of maize on previous maize and soyabean plots, fallow and cowpea plots, were statistically at par at both 8 and 12 WAS. The height of maize plant responded to nitrogen application up to 80 kg N ha⁻¹ above which no discernible increase was observed at both 8 and 12 WAS.

Table 2: Effect of previous legume crops on the height (cm) of succeeding maize crop using different N-fertilizer levels at Samaru, Zaria Nigeria during 1988 cropping season.

Treatment
Weeks after sowing

8
12

Previous legume crop (P)

    Soyabean
83.91c
175.76c

    Cowpea
88.40c
118.97e

    Lablab
121.11a
215.63a

    Groundnut
104.02b
190.51b

Previous maize
82.81c
173.32cd

Fallow
92.92bc
182.13bc

Nitrogen (N kg ha⁻¹)

    0
64.81d
148.47d

    40
85.30c
190.26c

    80
114.11b
200.00b

    120
118.01a
207.48a

Interaction (P × N)
NS
*

Means followed by the same letter(s) within the same treatment group and week are not statistically different at 5% level of significance.

NS: Not significant.

*: Significant at 5% level of significance.

Significant interaction occurred between previous crops, fallow and nitrogen fertilizer on maize height at 12WAS. The results obtained showed that the tallest maize plants were produced with the application of 80 kg N ha⁻¹ on the previous lablab plots while the shortest maize plant was produced on the previous maize plots to which no N was applied (Table 3).

Table 3: Interaction between previous crop and nitrogen fertilizer on the height (cm) of succeeding maize crop at 12 WAS at Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria during 2008 cropping season.

Fertilizer rates (kg N ha⁻¹)

0
40
80
120

Previous Legume crops

    Soyabean
137.7i
185.5e
188.6e
193.3d

    Cowpea
148.9h
187.2e
193.4d
198.4d

    Lablab
176.2ef
212.8c
239.7ab
243.8a

    Groundnut
152.2h
195.5d
202.5cd
211.8c

Previous maize
135.5i
175.8fg
189.7de
194.3d

Fallow
142.3hi
186.7e
196.2d
203.3c

Means followed by the same letter(s) are not statistically different at 5% level of significance.

Leaf area per plant of maize as influenced by previous crops, fallow, and nitrogen application showed that the highest leaf area of maize were obtained from the previous lablab plot and the application of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ at both 8 and 12 WAS compared with other previous crops, fallow, and other levels of applied nitrogen (Table 4).

Table 4: Effect of previous legume crop and nitrogen fertilizer on leaf area (cm²) per plant of succeeding maize crop at Samaru during 2008 cropping season.

Treatments
Weeks after sowing

8
12

Previous Crops (P)

    Soyabean
529.8b
677.2d

    Cowpea
521.3b
686.2d

    Lablab
668.8a
894.5a

    Groundnut
563.1b
757.6bc

Previous maize
533.1b
687.9d

Fallow
548.0b
787.4b

Nitrogen (kg N ha⁻¹)

    0
248.3c
450.1d

    40
555.7b
774.3c

    80
646.9a
850.0b

    120
691.9a
919.5a

Means followed by the same letter(s) within the same treatment group and same week are not statistically different at 5% level of significance (P ≤ 0.05).

Treatment effects on total dry matter per plant are shown in Table 5. At both 8 and 12 WAS, the previous lablab plots and application of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ significantly increased the TDM per plant of the succeeding maize crop compared with the other previous legumes, previous maize, fallow plots, and other levels of applied nitrogen.

Table 5: Effect of previous legume crops and nitrogen fertilizer levels on dry weight of succeeding maize crop at Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria during 1998 cropping season.

Treatments
Weeks after sowing

8
12

Previous Crops (P)

    Soyabean
52.21b
164.53e

    Cowpea
49.52b
181.41cd

    Lablab
65.85a
246.72a

    Groundnut
52.41b
197.99b

Previous maize
36.80d
154.99e

Fallow
49.03bc
185.91bc

SE±
3.89
4.95

Nitrogen (kg N ha⁻¹)

    0
36.82d
127.29d

    40
44.55c
182.44c

    80
56.93b
216.10b

    120
65.62a
228.54a

Interaction (P × N)
NS
*

Means followed by the same letter(s) within the same treatment group and same week are not statistically different using DMRT (P = 0.05).

Interaction between previous crops, fallow, and nitrogen fertilizer rate on the TDM per plant of succeeding maize crop at 8 and 12 WAS showed that the previous lablab plots and the application of 80 kg N ha⁻¹ significantly increased the TDM per plant of maize compared to other previous plots, 0 and 40 kg N ha⁻¹. Increasing N application from 80 kg N ha⁻¹ to 120 kg N ha⁻¹ shows no significant increase in TDM (Table 6).

Table 6: Interaction between previous crops and nitrogen fertilizer rates (kgN/ha) on dry weight of succeeding maize crop at 8 and 12 WAS at Samaru, Zaria during, Nigeria 1998 cropping season.

Treatments
Fertilizer rates (kg N ha⁻¹)

Previous crops
0
40
80
120

8 weeks after sowing

Soyabean
43.8d
44.4d
56.0c
64.7b

Cowpea
35.2e
44.6d
55.4c
63.1b

Lablab
46.3d
58.2c
74.4ab
84.5a

Groundnut
39.2d
42.2d
61.0bc
67.3b

Previous maize
23.9f
35.7e
38.4de
49.2cd

Fallow
32.5ef
42.2d
56.4c
65.0b

12 weeks after sowing

Soyabean
109.2j
177.1hi
187.3gh
190.1fg

Cowpea
111.1j
173.2hi
218.1dc
223.0dc

Lablab
207.4ef
239.3cd
264.3ab
277.1a

Groundnut
123.31i
191.1fg
226.2dc
252.3bc

Previous maize
104.5j
138.1i
189.4gh
198.4fg

Fallow
119.0ij
181.2gh
213.1ef
254bc

Means followed by the same letter(s) within the same week are not statistically different at 5% level of significance (P ≤ 0.05).

Treatment effects on the fodder yield of maize are shown in Table 7. Fodder from the previous lablab plots were significantly higher compared with other previous crop plots. The previous maize plots produced the least fodder yield. Nitrogen application significantly increases the fodder yield up to 120 kg N ha⁻¹ (i.e., an increase in N rate resulted in a significant increase in maize fodder yield.

Table 7: Effect of previous legume crops and nitrogen fertilizer on fodder yield of succeeding maize crop at Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria during 1998 cropping season.

Treatments
Fodder yield kg ha⁻¹

Previous Crop (P)

    Soyabean
3628c

    Cowpea
4347b

    Lablab
5778a

    Groundnut
4653b

    Previous maize
3134d

    Fallow
3742c

Nitrogen kg ha⁻¹

    0
3169d

    40
3902c

    80
4513b

    120
5192a

Interaction (P × N)
*

Means followed by the same letter(s) within the same treatment group are not statistically different at 5% level of significance (P ≤ 0.05).

*: Significant at P = 0.05.

Table 8 shows the interaction between previous crop and nitrogen levels on the fodder yield of succeeding maize crop. The interaction showed that application of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ to maize crop on the previous lablab plot produced significantly the highest fodder yield of maize compared to other previous crops plots and applied nitrogen levels.

Table 8: Interaction between previous crop and nitrogen fertilizer on fodder yield of succeeding maize crop at Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria during 1998 cropping season.

Previous Crops
Fertilizer rates (Kg N ha⁻¹)

0
40
80
120

Soyabean
2663jk
3200i
3800gh
4850de

Cowpea
3150i
4200fg
4900d
5138cd

Lablab
4663e
5263c
6000b
7188a

Groundnut
3325i
4575e
5225c
5488c

Previous maize
2213k
2950j
3400hi
3975g

Fallow
3000ij
3225i
3750h
4513ef

Means followed by the same letter(s) are not statistically different at 5% level of significance (P ≤ 0.05).

Plant height, leaf area per plant, total dry matter per plant, and fodder yield were significantly influenced by the previous lablab plots compared to other legumes, previous maize plots and fallow plots. This could be attributed to higher nitrogen fixed into the soil by lablab through symbiotic nitrogen fixation, compared to other previous crops plots. This also confirms the fact that nitrogen is the most essential element needed for plant growth and development [13].

The significant response of leaf area, plant height total dry matter per plant and fodder yield kg ha⁻¹ to applied nitrogen fertilizer could be due to its role in promoting rapid vegetative growth and its direct effect on cell division, expansion, synthesis of enzymes, and chlorophyll [14].

4. Conclusion and Recommendation

From the foregoing, it can be concluded that previous lablab plots to which reduced inorganic nitrogen fertilizer was applied (80 kg N ha⁻¹), significantly increased the growth and development of the succeeding maize crop and is therefore recommended.

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