Effect of Tephrosia vogelii and Inorganic Nitrogen on Soil Nitrogen

The maize crop in many underdeveloped countries, particularly in Africa, plays an important role as main source of food and food security, the maize production is constrained for nutrient deficiency. Nutrient depletion and Soil degradation are major problems leading to low soil fertility productivity, hunger, and poverty. Nitrogen is the most deficient nutrient in nearly all soils and Phosphorus is the second limiting nutrient. Thus there is need to identify an affordable management strategy for sustainable maize production which conserves nutrients in the soil, increases yields of maize or other crops and improves soil properties with minimum use inorganic fertilizer. The aim of this work is to search for solutions to the high cost of crop production by partial use of organic sources of nitrogen in conjunction with small doses of inorganic fertilizer.