CEREALS, LEGUMES and

SOIL MANAGEMENT
Jessica Elizabeth Joseph
VMF 12
What are Cereal
Crops

 Monocot family: Poaceae/Graminae

 Grasses cultivated for their edible seed
 Wheat and rice- most important and common
 Provide most food energy- staple crops
 Impact of Cereals on Crop Land
• Overcropping - low productivity
• Degraded fields occur from cereal-
based crops
• Withdrawal of nutrients and soil
deterioration
• Low fertility
 What are Legumes

 Members of the fabaceae family or

the seed/pod of the plant
 Fix nitrogen in soil
 High protein, carbohydrate and fat
content
How do Legumes affect soil
 Green manuring
 Nitrogen fixation
 Deep-rooted legumes depressed yield
Soil Management
• Intercropping – cereal/legume
• Crop rotation
• Tillage – reduced
• More earthworms
• Organic manure
• Mulching – applying a layer of
material to improve soil quality
 Sources
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/295813125_Analysis_of_Soil_Manag
ement_Practices_in_Cereal_Based_Production_Systems_among_Small-Scale_
Farmers_in_Kwara_State

• https://www.maximumyield.com/definition/725/legume
• https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture-natural-resources-and-indust
ry/agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/crops-and-irrigation/soils-fertility-and-nu
trients/soil-improvements-with-legumes
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262680110_Potential_role_of_cereal-
legume_intercropping_systems_in_integrated_soil_fertility_management_in_s
mallholder_farming_systems_of_Sub-Saharan_Africa