Notes to broadcasters on Faidherbia:
Date Posted: September 28th, 2009
With its special ability to naturally fertilize soil and potential to double or triple yields of nearby maize, Faidherbia can be an important asset to farmers. In fact, other plants have similar properties. Leguminous plants (such as beans and peas) also fix nitrogen in the soil. For this reason, they are often intercropped with cereals or vegetables. The practice of improved fallowing or planting “green manure” is another method of naturally incorporating nutrients into the soil.
These Farm Radio International scripts look at various plants that can be used to naturally improve soil fertility:
-.Legumes make their own fertilizer – with help from their friends (Package 80, Script 8, March 2007)
-Improve rice yields without buying fertilizer (Package 58, Script 2, January 2001)
-Grow your own fertilizer – Plant cover crops with maize (Package 58, Script 5, January 2001)
-Improved fallows for African farmers (Package 76, Script 3, October 2005)
-Improved fallows provide benefits for farmers (Package 76, Script 4, October 2005)
-Farmers who use improved fallows must replace phosphorous in soils (Package 74, Script 8, March 2005)
-Alternatives to slash and burn agriculture: Improve fallows with Tithonia, the wild sunflower (Package 71, Script 5, June 2004)
