Planting from vegetative material - cgiar

'Stylo 184' grown as a cover crop or
improved fallow (Marenu,Indonesia). [WS]
42
The following figure shows the benefit of an improved
legume fallow on soil fertility as compared with a natural
fallow. The legumes were used for feed for 8 months and
the following 4-month regrowth was incorporated into the
soil before planting a maize crop. Grain yield of maize,
following the one-year Stylosanthes guianensis fallow, was
4.8 t/ha compared with only 1.7 t/ha following the natural
fallow. The nitrogen contribution of the legume fallow was
equivalent to 120 kg/ha of nitrogen.
Forage grasses can also significantly improve soil fertility,
particularly in very poor soils. Their strong, fibrous root
systems improve soil structure, efficiently extract
nutrients and increase organic matter content through
breakdown of roots and leaves. For centuries, ley farming
systems (pasture fallow systems) have used these benefits
of grasses to sustain crop yields but have been lost in
modern agriculture.