Various crop alternatives can be used as vegetative cover (grains, legumes, root crops and oil crops) in conservation agriculture (CA) and are of great benefit to the soil. This entry discusses in particular the use of leguminous crops as vegetative cover in crop rotation. It provides detailed advice on when to introduce legumes and provides criteria for the selection of the most appropriate legumes. For that purpose a list of almost 80 leguminous cover crops is attached ordered according to the environmental and climatic conditions they can be used under (e.g. humidity, fire, drought, shade, fertile soils, flooded area or cold conditions).
This technology is part of a series on conservation agriculture.
Technologies and practices for small agricultural producers (TECA). Cover crop species, with a special focus on legumes. Food and Administration Organisation for the United Nations (FAO). Accessed online: teca.fao.org/technology/cover-crop-species-special-focus-legumes.
