DOI: 10.5061/dryad.tqjq2bw2p
title: Innovafrica-Sorghum-Legume trials lindi

description: Ensuring food security in small-scale farming requires improvement of
 productivity of food crops to ensure access of food in local
 communities. the objective of the sorghum-legume demonstration
 trial was to demonstrate the performance of proven Sustainable
 Agricultural Intensification (SAI) practices in terms of yield, soil
 quality and labour efficiency. A farmers-led field trails were conducted
 in Nachunyu and Mmumbu villages in Lindi district, Tanzania. The SAI
 technologies validated include:  i) Treatment 1: Conventional
 tillage – farmers practice, consisting of hand hoe cultivation, residue
 were removed, no herbicides applied (hand hoe weeding) and continuous
 sorghum  ii) Treatment 2: Conservation tillage dibble stick,
 retention of crop residues but no herbicide use (traditional weeding), and
 cropping system of continuous sorghum, applied fertilizers and no burning
 of residues; iii) Treatment 3: Conservation tillage using dibble stick,
 retention of crop residues, applied herbicide immediately after planting ,
 but continuous sorghum, applied fertilizer (NPS) and no burning of
 residues; iv) Treatment 4: Conservation agriculture with legume-sorghum
 rotation, tillage dibble stick, retention of crop residues, apply
 herbicide roundup soon after planting followed by traditional hand hoe
 weeding when needed after crop germination, apply fertilizers (NPS),
 started with sorghum in  season one (1) 2017/18. Soil samples
 were collected before the trials and after the trials. Data collected
 includes grain yields and residue biomass. 
description: In both seasons, crop yield
 and biomass were collected during harvest in a 6-meter square area in each
 plot. All legume grains were weighed after de-shelling and weighed. A sub
 sample of grains (sorghum and legumes) were taken and transported to SUA
 to determine moisture content and the grain yield was adjusted to 14 to
 13% moisture content. In 2017-2018 no sorghum grain yield was recorded as
 all grains were damaged by birds, hence only biomass yield was recorded.
 In 2018-2019 season, no sorghum yield was recorded due to poor germination
 of sorghum, which led to no crop establishment in Hamasa demonstration
 plot at Nachunyu village and birds damage in Mkombozi and Hiari
 demonstration plot. In the first season 2017-18 a regional average yield
 was collected from published Agricultural Statistics while in 2018-19
 season, farmers in Lindi were interviewed to report their yield of crops
 harvested in 2018-19 season. Composite
 soil samples were collected before planting at 20 cm depth in each
 experimental plot. A composite soil sample was obtained by mixing 5
 samples randomly collected from the farm. In each farm two composite
 samples were collected. The composite soil samples were placed in a clean
 plastic bag, transported to Soil Science lab at SUA Morogoro. At the lab,
 the soil samples were air dried, ground to pass through 2-mm sieve for
 physical and chemical analysis. The samples were analysed as summarised in
 Table 3.3. Before planting for second season 2018-2019, composite soil
 samples were taken from each plot, transported to SUA Soil Science lab for
 determination of soil pH, OC, Total N, available P, CEC and exchangeable
 bases using same methods as in Table
 3.3. Tabel 3.3: Soil analysis methods 
 
 
 Soil parameter
 Methods 
 Reference 
 Texture 
 Bouyoucos hydrometer
 method Day
 (1965) pH (H2O) 
 pH meter 
 McLean, (1986)
 Organic Carbon (%)
 
  
 
 Walkley and Black
 (1934) Total N (%) 
 Kjeldahl procedure
 
 Bremner and Mulvaney,
 (1982) Ava. P (mg kg-1)
 
 Bray I /Olsen
 method   
 
 CEC (cmolc
 kg-1) NH4Ac saturation and
 distillation-Titration Chapman (1965)
 K+
 (cmol kg-1) NH4Ac saturation and flame
 photometer Thomas (1986) 
 Mg2+
 (cmol kg-1) NH4Ac saturation and atomic
 photometer Thomas (1986) 
 Ca2+
 (cmol kg-1) NH4Ac saturation and atomic
 photometer Thomas (1986) 
 Na+
 (cmol kg-1) NH4Ac saturation and flame
 photometer Thomas (1986) 
 * CEC: Cation Exchange capacity, PBS: Percent
 base saturation
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