Back U. R. Sangakkara
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Full Paper (PDF File: 22 KB)
Abstract
Intercropping is recommended for increasing productivity of smallholder
tropical farming systems. In organic farming, these systems play a prominent
role due to the inclusion of a legume, which could fix atmospheric nitrogen.
However, the component crops do need organic matter to procure nutrients.
Effective Microorganisms (EM) have the ability to release nutrients from
organic matter through fermentation and decomposition Thus a study was
carried out to determine the impact of EM on N dynamics in a cereal - egume
cropping system, using 15N labeled corn or mungbean residues. EM increased
15N concentrations of corn at the V8 growth stage indicating better use
of applied nutrients from organic matter. The uptake of 15N was greater
from mungbean residues rather than from corn. EM also increased biological
N fixation. The synergistic effects of EM in organic systems were evident
from this field study.