The biophysical performance of hedgerow inter-cropping for soil fertility improvement wasassessed in a farmer-participatory trial in western Kenya over three years. Farmers successfullyestablished dense hedgerows (median 6680 trees ha71on plots of 790 m2, but annual yields ofhedgerow prunings of Leucaena leucocephalaand Calliandra calothyrsus(1±4 t ha 71), were lowcompared to potentials in the region (4±8 t ha71). The hedgerows reduced slopes from 7.2 to4.5% within alleys (p50.01) but had no eect on grain yield over Æve seasons. Little of thevariation in grain yield between hedgerow plots and control plots without hedgerows (adjustedr2= 11%) and among control plots (adjustedr2= 29%) could be accounted for by linearregression with measured agronomic and socio-economic variables. Fully researcher-managedtrials are recommended for agronomic evaluation of complex agroforestry technologies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479797000082Altmetric score:
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Publication year
1997
Authors
Ndufa J K; Ohlsson E L; Sjogren H; Swinkels R A; Shepherd K D
Language
English
Keywords
crop yield, farming systems, hedgerow intercropping, multipurpose trees, technology transfer
Geographic
Kenya
