Grain yield, biomass, and nutritional values of various cropping systems tested on-station with/without fertilizer application on two soils in Zimbabwe between 2020 and 2023

<p>This database contains data on grain, biomass, protein, and calorie yields from on-station trials in Zimbabwe, conducted at the Domboshava Training Centre (DTC) (17.62°S, 31.17°E) and the University of Zimbabwe farm (UZ) (17.73°S, 31.020°E), characterized by different soil types.</p>

<p>The trials tested maize monocropping, maize-legume rotations, and intercropping with various layouts (traditional intercropping and double-row strip cropping), with and without fertilizer application. Two contrasting legumes, cowpea and pigeon pea, were included in the cropping systems. The experiment was established during the 2019/2020 growing season, but data were collected from the 2020/21 to 2022/23 seasons to allow the rotations to develop. It was carried out under Conservation Agriculture and rainfed conditions.</p>

<p>The dataset is divided into three parts:<br>
1) Field measurement, including treatments, grain yields, and crop biomass;<br>
2) Calculations at the cropping system level (total biomass, calories, and proteins);<br>
3) Processed data used to evaluate the stability of each cropping system, as shown in a radar plot presented in the related paper.</p>