Evaluating Productivity of Three Legume Species at Different Agro-ecological Zones of Makueni County Kenya
Keywords:
Beans,, cowpea,, lablab,, agro-ecological zone,, Makueni CountyAbstract
Grain legume production in Makueni County is low mainly due to drought. Drought tolerant legumes can be used to mitigate the effects of drought as well as improving soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation and as green manure. The objective of the study was to evaluate the productivity of three legume species in different agroecological zones in Makueni County. This study was conducted in Makueni County during the 2014 long rain from March to July season in three locations namely Machinery Inner Lowland 6 (IL6), Utafiti Lower Midland 5(LM5) and Mwanzo Lower Midland 4 (LM4) with five farmers from each location. The three legume species were Beans (KAT/B-9), Cowpea (M66), Lablab (KAT/DL-1) and Lablab accession CP1 81364. The experiment was laid out as a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five replications. Data was collected on biomass yield at physiological maturity and grain yield at harvest. Data was subjected to ANOVA using SAS. There was no significant difference (P≤ 0.05) in the biomass and grain yields of KAT Bean 9 across the three locations. However, cowpea and lablab yields were significantly (P≤ 0.05) different across the locations. Cowpea M66 biomass and grain yields were significantly (P≤ 0.05) higher in Mwanzo as compared to the other locations. The biomass yield was 2840 kg/ha while grain yield was 1823 kg/ha. Lablab biomass and grain yields were significantly (P≤ 0.05) higher in Utafiti and Mwanzo locations than Machinery. KAT/DL-1 biomass yields was 3856 kg/ha and 4012 kg/ha in Utafiti and Mwanzo respectively. The grain yields in Utafiti and Mwanzo were 1604 kg/ha and 1823 kg/ha respectively. Overall, lablab variety KAT/DL-1 significantly (P≤ 0.05) yielded more biomass and grain than CP1 81364 across the three locations. The results show that KAT Bean-9 was suitable in the three agro-ecological zones. Cowpea variety M66 is more suited to LM4 agro-ecological zone while lablab variety KAT/DL-1 is suitable for LM4 and LM5 agro-ecological zones. Farmers should cultivate legume varieties better adapted to their agro-ecological zones to improve yields.
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