improved cropping model: doubled-up grain legumes (DGL)

Summary

The FRT developed an improved cropping model: farmers typically coppiced pigeon pea (cut the plant back to the main stem after harvest which encourages regrowth and a higher yield in the second year), intercropping the two-year-old plants with maize the following year, thereby growing grain legumes two years in a row, or ‘doubled-up grain legumes (DGL). This farmer innovation provided large amounts of legume residue for soil fertility improvement, while at the same time ensured production of three nutrient enriched legume crops in conjunction with a maize crop.