Effects of maize residue and mineral nitrogen applications on maize yield in conservation-agriculture-based cropping systems of Southern Africa

Conservation agriculture (CA) and no-till (NT)-based cropping systems could address soil degradation and fertility decline in southern Africa. A multi-location and multi-year experiment was carried out between 2008 and 2014 to assess the effects of different levels of maize residue biomass (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 t ha −1 ) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer (0, 30, 90 kg ha −1 ) on maize performance under no-tillage. In some sites, different (N) fertilizer...