Effect of Legume Intercropping on Enrichment of Soil Nitrogen, Bacterial Activity and Productivity of Associated Maize Crops

SUMMARY Experiments comparing the effects of different legume intercrops on available soil nitrogen, bacterial activity and the yield of maize over two years showed that soyabean and blackgram were more suitable for this purpose than groundnut, substantially increasing NO 3 and NH 4 concentrations and populations of active bacteria in the maize rhizosphere. This increased maize yield by 15–20% and grain protein content by 20%.