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The unknown cowpea, a typical bean in African and Asian countries, is a good alternative to improve the yield and sustainability of horticultural plantations, through a strategy of crop rotation, according to the conclusion of Virginia Sánchez Navarro's thesis at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT).
The inclusion of legumes in rotation, such as cowpea and broad bean, improves the quality and fertility of the soil, thanks to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, increasing the yield of subsequent crops.
The tests carried out by researchers from the Department of Agricultural Engineering of the UPCT at the Tomás Ferro Experimental Station, with funding from the European project Eurolegume, have proven effective in reducing the external contribution of nitrogen fertilizers, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"The results showed that previous cultivation of cowpea, compared to bean cultivation, was a more effective alternative in terms of sustainable production to increase organic matter, soil fertility and yield of subsequent crops through rhizodeposition processes ", Says the new doctor by the UPCT.
"Cowpea contributed to an increase in available soil phosphorus while maintaining the yield and quality of broccoli cultivation when fertilization rates were reduced by 20%," says the author of the thesis, led by Professors Raúl Zornoza and Juan Fernández.
"The rotation with cowpea increased the diameter and yields of the broccoli pellets, improving soil structure and microbial activity," adds Zornoza.
Researchers from the Polytechnic are now carrying out new trials with legumes, within the AsociaHortus project (AGL2017-83975-R) led by the UPCT, but through associated crops (legumes and other horticultural species are planted simultaneously in the same plot), to improve their productivity and environmental sustainability.
Source: UPCT
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