Contribution ofTithonia diversifoliato yield and nutrient uptake of maize in Malawian small-scale agriculture

Locally available non-traditional green manure plants could potentially contribute to reversing the trend of declining soil fertility and raise maize yield in small-scale farms. In this study, Tithonia diversifolia was tested as a low cost green manure in Malawi. In a greenhouse incubation experiment, changes in soil nitrate (NO(3-), ammonium (NH4 +) and extractable phosphorus (Mehlich-3 P) were compared between treatments of T. diversifolia, Crotolaria juncea (sunhemp), Tephrosia vogelii, Mucuna utilis (velvet beans) and maize stover that were applied to the soil at an equivalent rate of 3 Mg dry matter ha−1. This was followed by a field study where three rates of T. diversifolia dry matter (1.5, 3.0, 4.5 Mg ha−1) were applied with or without triple superphosphate (TSP) supplement to maize grown at three locations in central and northern Malawi. The changes in laboratory incubated soil N03- and NH4 + levels were similar (P 0.05) among T. diversifolia, Tephrosia and Mucuna while the change in soil treated...