{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.7910/DVN/GVNJAB", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:24:31Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2019-06-24", "title": "Physical topsoil  properties in Murugusi, Western Kenya", "description": "Open Access<b>General:</b> Lab determined topsoil bulk density, contents of sand, clay and organic carbon in Murugusi, W. Kenya, together with spatial coordinates of where the soil samples were taken (rounded to the closest center point of a 250 m \u00d7 250 m raster). All lab analyses were carried out at the ILRI/CIAT lab in Nairob, Kenya.  <br>  <b>Soil sampling:</b> At each sample location, one composite topsoil sample was taken; three cores of 7 cm in diameter taken within an area of one square meter. The soil was taken from 0-0.2 m depth below any organic (O) horizon.   <br>  <b>Determination of soil properties:</b> The bulk density of the soil was determined by taking two undisturbed soil samples (0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth) of known volume (100 cm2) and weighting them after air drying. Soil fractions of clay (<0.002 mm) and sand (0.05-2 mm) were determined by the hydrometer method (Estefan et al., 2014), using 10% sodium hexametaphosphate as the dispersing agent. Soil pH was determined potentiometrically on a soil suspension of 1:2 (soil: water). Total carbon was measured after dry combustion using an elemental analyser (Elementar Vario max cube; ISO 10694, first edition 1995-03-01)  <br>  <b>Reference: </b>Estefan G., Sommer R., Ryan J. (2014) Analytical Methods for Soil-Plant and Water in Dry Areas. A Manual of Relevance to the West Asia and North Africa Region. 3rd Edition, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Aleppo, 255 pp. Available online at: http://repo.mel.cgiar.org:8080/handle/20.500.11766/7512?show=full. Verified: October 9, 2018.  <br>  <b>Acknowledgements: </b> We are deeply thankful for the good services provided by John Mukulama (soil sampling), John Yumbya Mutua (soil sampling) and Francis Mungthu Njenga (lab analyses) The project was carried out within the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE).", "keywords": ["Soil organic matter", "Agricultural Sciences", "Soil organic carbon", "sand", "Kenya", "Carbon", "Latin America and the Caribbean", "soil", "Soil", "Soil bulk density", "Sand", "soil organic matter", "Earth and Environmental Sciences", "Soil texture", "Murugusi", "Africa", "Clay", "Texture", "Western Kenya", "Agroecosystems and Sustainable Landscapes - ASL"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Piikki, Kristin, S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m, Mats, Sommer, Rolf, Da Silva, Mayesse,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/GVNJAB"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.7910/DVN/GVNJAB", "name": "item", "description": "10.7910/DVN/GVNJAB", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.7910/DVN/GVNJAB"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.eja.2013.02.005", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:16:08Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2013-03-16", "title": "Managing Tephrosia Mulch And Fertilizer To Enhance Coffee Productivity On Smallholder Farms In The Eastern African Highlands", "description": "Abstract   In Maraba, Southwest Rwanda, coffee productivity is constrained by poor soil fertility and lack of organic mulch. We investigated the potential to produce mulch by growing Tephrosia vogelii either intercropped with smallholder coffee or in arable fields outside the coffee, and the effect of the mulch on coffee yields over two years. Two accessions of T. vogelii (ex. Gisagara, Rwanda and ex. Kisumu, Kenya) were grown for six months both within and outside smallholder coffee fields in the first year. Experimental blocks were replicated across eight smallholder farms, only a single replicate per farm due to the small farm sizes. The accession from Rwanda (T. vogelii ex. Gisagara) grew more vigorously in all experiments. Soils within the coffee fields were more fertile those outside the coffee fields, presumably due to farmers\u2019 long-term management with mulch. Tephrosia grew less well in the fields outside coffee, producing only 0.6\u20130.7\u00a0Mg\u00a0ha\u22121 of biomass and adding (in kg\u00a0ha\u22121) 19 N, 1 P and 6 K in the mulch. By contrast, Tephrosia intercropped with coffee, produced 1.4\u20131.9\u00a0Mg\u00a0ha\u22121 of biomass and added (in kg\u00a0ha\u22121) 42\u201357 N, 3 P and 13\u201316 K in the mulch. Coffee yields were increased significantly by 400\u2013500\u00a0kg\u00a0ha\u22121 only in the treatments where Tephrosia was intercropped with coffee. Soil analysis and a missing-nutrient pot experiment showed that the poor growth of Tephrosia in the fields outside coffee was due to soil acidity (aluminium toxicity) combined with deficiencies of P, K and Ca.  In the second year, the treatments in fields outside coffee were discontinued, and in the coffee intercrops, two Tephrosia accessions were grown in treatments with and without NPK fertilizer. Tephrosia grew well and produced between 2.5 and 3.8\u00a0Mg\u00a0ha\u22121 biomass for the two accessions when interplanted within coffee fields, adding 103\u2013150\u00a0kg\u00a0N\u00a0ha\u22121, 5\u20139\u00a0kg\u00a0P\u00a0ha\u22121 and 24\u201338\u00a0kg\u00a0K\u00a0ha\u22121. Tephrosia mulch increased yields of coffee by 400\u00a0kg\u00a0ha\u22121. Combined use of NPK\u00a0+\u00a0Tephrosia mulch increased Tephrosia biomass production and in turn yielded an additional 300\u2013700\u00a0kg\u00a0ha\u22121 of coffee. Over the two years, this was equivalent to a 23\u201336% increase in coffee yield using Tephrosia intercropping alone and a further 25\u201342% increase in coffee yield when NPK fertilizer was also added. Agronomic efficiency (AE) of nutrients added were 30% greater when the Tephrosia mulch was grown in situ and the two cultivars of Tephrosia did not differ in AE. The AE of Tephrosia mulch was 87% that of NPK fertilizer, reflecting the rapid mineralization of Tephrosia mulch. There was a synergistic effect of Tephrosia mulch on the efficiency with which NPK fertilizer was used by coffee. The increase in coffee yields was positively related to the amount of nutrients added in the Tephrosia biomass. Tephrosia intercropping required 30 man-days\u00a0ha\u22121 less than current farmer management due to reduced labour required for weeding, and benefit\u2013cost ratios ranged between 3.4 and 5.5. The Tephrosia-coffee intercropping system offers great potential for agroecological intensification for smallholder farmers in the East African highlands.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "decomposition", "variability", "tephrosia", "coffee", "nitrogen release", "western kenya", "resource-allocation", "cropping systems", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "smallholder farmer", "15. Life on land", "improved fallows", "bukoba district", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "cover crops", "intercropping", "management"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2013.02.005"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/European%20Journal%20of%20Agronomy", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.eja.2013.02.005", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.eja.2013.02.005", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.eja.2013.02.005"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-07-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.cropro.2009.05.014", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:16:03Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2009-06-29", "title": "Integration Of Edible Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) Into The Push\u2013Pull Technology Developed For Stemborer And Striga Control In Maize-Based Cropping Systems", "description": "Smallholder farming systems in eastern Africa are characterized by cereal/edible legume intercrops in fields severely constrained by parasitic weed, Striga hermonthica, cereal stemborers and declining soil fertility. The push\u2013pull technology concurrently addresses these constraints. It involves intercropping maize with stemborer repellent fodder legume, Desmodium spp. (push), with an attractant crop, Napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum (pull), planted around this intercrop, thus making it difficult to interplant edible legumes. We assessed farmers\u2019 practice and perceptions on intercropping and willingness to integrate beans in their push\u2013pull plots from a sample of 300 farmers in six districts in western Kenya. All the respondents traditionally intercropped maize with beans, planted either between the rows of maize, in the same holes with maize or in between maize plants within a row. The majority (92%) were willing to integrate beans in their push\u2013pull plots. We, therefore, evaluated effects of integrating beans in the maize\u2013desmodium intercrops. Treatments comprised a maize monocrop, maize\u2013bean intercrop and three maize\u2013desmodium intercrops, two of which were integrated with beans, either in the same holes with maize or in between maize plants in a row (bean integration plots). On-farm trials were similarly established among 56 farmers in four districts in western Kenya to assess the two integration methods. S. hermonthica counts and stemborer damage to maize were significantly lower and maize yields significantly higher in the maize\u2013desmodium and bean integration plots than in the other systems. Overall, integration of beans in the maize\u2013desmodium intercrops and the planting arrangement did not compromise the S. hermonthica and stemborer control efficacy of desmodium. Integration of beans significantly increased labour and total variable costs, with these being significantly higher in plots with both crops in different holes than in the same hole. Total revenue, gross benefits and benefit cost ratios did not significantly differ between the bean integration and maize\u2013desmodium intercrops. Furthermore, these parameters were for most part not affected by the planting arrangements, both on-station and on-farm. These results show that integration of beans in the maize\u2013desmodium and indeed push\u2013 pull technology while guaranteeing an additional crop, a protein source, to the farmers does not compromise the observed benefits of the technology but yields same economic benefits. Where labour is easily available, farmers are, however, advised to plant maize and beans in separate holes to avoid the risk of competition for moisture and nutrients where these might be limiting.", "keywords": ["580", "2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Push\u2013pull", "Stemborers", "Economics", "Bean", "Striga", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "01 natural sciences", "Maize", "Farmers' perceptions", "Intercropping", "8. Economic growth", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Western Kenya"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2009.05.014"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Crop%20Protection", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.cropro.2009.05.014", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.cropro.2009.05.014", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.cropro.2009.05.014"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2009-11-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.7910/DVN/HE6CEM", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-25T16:24:31Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "An integrated approach for understanding the factors that facilitate or constrain the adoption of soil carbon enhancing practices in East Africa, specifically Western Kenya", "description": "The survey data on soil carbon enhancing practices in western Kenya is systematically organized in Microsoft Excel tables. The data entails general household characteristics, plot characteristics, practices implemented, yield, inputs, livestock ownership, social capital, access to credit, access to extension services and sources of income.", "keywords": ["Land Management", "Agricultural Sciences", "Soil carbon enhancing practices", "land management", "Low soil fertility", "Kenya", "soil", "Soil", "Earth and Environmental Sciences", "Natural Resources", "Africa", "agricultural economics", "Decision and Policy Analysis - DAPA", "Western Kenya", "natural resources", "Agricultural Economics"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Ng\u2019ang\u2019a, Stanley Karanja, George Magambo, Kanyenji, Jalang'o, Dorcas Anyango, Nguru, Wilson Maina, Girvetz, Evan,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HE6CEM"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.7910/DVN/HE6CEM", "name": "item", "description": "10.7910/DVN/HE6CEM", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.7910/DVN/HE6CEM"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Western+Kenya&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Western+Kenya&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Western+Kenya&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Western+Kenya&offset=4", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 4, "numberReturned": 4, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-07-26T09:21:10.276312Z"}