Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an annual dicotyledonous tuber herbaceous crop. The crop is relatively susceptible to water stress when compared to other major field crops. Soil texture plays a pivotal role in the ...

Conservation agriculture (CA) is a production system that involves three principles which are minimal or zero tillage, crop rotation and mulching with plant residues. CA improves soil physical properties resulting in ...

Bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides DC.) is an indigenous herbal tea plant in South Africa with medicinal potential. Various parts of this plant are used to make herbal infusions and have been used traditionally for different ...

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is an important grain legume, which is grown in many African countries largely for human and animal consumption. Leguminous crops such as pigeonpea fix atmospheric nitrogen (N) symbiotically in ...

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) is an important grain legume that originated in the Indian sub-continent. In South Africa, it is grown either as single plants or as a hedge, mainly in Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, and ...

South African soils contain lesser percent organic carbon content compared to soils from many parts of the world. The loss in organic carbon content reduces soil fertility and drives an ever increasing demand for the use ...

Soil degradation is a major challenge affecting agricultural production around the world in the twenty-first century. Alternative approaches including the use of biochar and the introduction of legumes that will fix ...

Excessive and unnecessary tillage without residue retention can degrade the soil’s physical quality, decrease soil organic carbon contents and crop yields. Although the benefits of improved tillage methods and mulching ...

Soil erosion and runoff are a major threat to soil productivity since it is associated with the removal of the top layer, depletion of essential plant nutrients, and reduces infiltration of water into the soil. Soil aggregate ...

Soil resilience is the ability of a soil to recover its function or capacity after applied stress such as crusting. Some soils have high potential for recovery while others have poor resilience. Soils with poor resilience ...