In fifteen field trials with Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Canadian Wonder time of planting was the most important factor affecting yield of dry beans in the Shire Highlands of Southern Malawi. Under-cropping maize with beans had no deleterious effect on the yield of maize and gave a worthwhile yield of beans. Little response was found to different plant populations when conditions for growth were good, but when conditions were poor yields were greatest from the highest population of 47,000 plants per hectare. A response in yield was obtained from 11 kg. N ha.−1 but there was no effect of source of nitrogen or response to phosphate, potash or inoculation.

At Ukiriguru, Western Tanzania, three experiments over 4 years investigated the effects of nitrogen (up to 240 kg. N/ha.) and phosphate (up to 50 kg. P/ha.) on a Cenchrus ciliaris pasture. Dry matter yield increased with up to 160 kg. N and dry matter content also increased with nitrogen, whereas crude protein contents were initially lowered and then increased by the higher rates of nitrogen. These differences are attributed to changes in the leaf/framework ratio. The crude protein yield increased with each nitrogen level. Sulphate of ammonia markedly lowered the soil pH. The only responses to phosphate were when it was cultivated into the top soil, when there was a small increase in yield and a fall in crude protein.

Maize was grown for three years at three levels of nitrogen, 56, 112 and 224 kg. N ha.−1, involving altogether nine different timing and splitting treatments. Measurements were made of grain yield, plant nitrogen status and total-N-uptake, and, in one year, movement of nitrate-N in control plot soils. Where only 56 kg. N ha.−1 was applied, its time of application made very little difference to yield; at higher rates of nitrogen an unsplit application as late as seven weeks was very inefficient, but only at the highest rate did a split application give any appreciable yield increase over an unsplit application to the seed bed. Consideration of the soil nitrate-N data and the long-term pattern of rainfall distribution leads to the conclusion that leaching is unlikely to be a serious problem in the nitrogen nutrition of early-planted maize.

Effects of moisture stress during different stages of cotton development were evaluated by using correlation and regression methods on data of six irrigation experiments from three different climatic regions. Significant negative correlations were found between the number of days in which soil moisture was below a threshold level, and several plant traits. Flower number was usually affected adversely by stress at the beginning of flowering; boll number, boll retention, boll weight, lint yield, lint length and seed index by stress at the end of flowering; earliness and lint fineness by stress during early boll development. Lint index, per cent and strength were affected by stress at different periods and effects of stress on lint yield were correlated with its effects on boll number, boll weight, lint length and early maturity.

Four methods of applying boron to the oil palm were studied and the results indicated that applications to the soil or to leaf axils were best. Tests of five sources of boron showed that alkaline borate fertilizers were superior to boric acid.

The effects of different frequencies and rates of application of boron fertilizer were studied with regard to uptake of boron by the oil palm. The results indicated that annual or biannual application of this element maintained satisfactory levels in the leaf tissue. Heavy potassium fertilization was found to inhibit boron uptake but nitrogen had no effect.

Four trials are described on the effects of spraying and cultural practices on pests and yields of seed cotton. Precropping with sorghum or beans after opening from a ley did not reduce yields of cotton compared to the recommended practice of ploughing a ley 6 weeks before sowing, but late ploughing and late sowing reduced yields. Nitrogenous fertilizer after a successful ley did not increase yields, but multiple sprays (up to twelve) significantly increased them over the recommended standard four spray regime, and reduced the percentage of stained seed cotton. In general cultural practices did not affect the level of pest attack, but DDT spraying gave excellent control of Heliothis armigera, while dimethoate prevented the build up of red mite (Tetranychus telarius) and gave excellent control of tea mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus) in the multiple spray regimes.

Drought resistance in terms of yield and its components was studied in the field in twenty-one agronomically-adapted high-performance grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench) hybrids. Resistance was considered to be indicated by a minimal decrease in yield under stress as compared with non-stress conditions. Water stress, imposed by a decreasing amount of stored soil moisture during the growing season, decreased grain yield and number of panicles per unit area, increased the number of grains per panicle, the number of branches per whorl and the number of grains per branch, and decreased the number of whorls per panicle. Thus a compensatory effect was observed in some components for reduction in tillering under stress. Resistant hybrids performed better than susceptible ones under stress by producing a relatively higher number of panicles per unit area, and more grains per panicle branch. Susceptible hybrids performed better than resistant ones under non-stress (irrigated) conditions due to the relatively higher number of panicles per unit area and larger 1000-grain weight. Some of the implications regarding selection for yield performance under drought are discussed.

Crop growth rate of oil palm increases with leaf area index (LAI) to about 40 tons/ha./yr at the highest LAIs obtained. Net assimilation rate and dry matter production per palm decrease with increasing LAI, but the amount of dry matter per palm incorporated in vegetative tissues is unaffected by density. As a result the optimal LAI for oil yield is considerably below the critical LAI for maximum crop growth rate.

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of irrigation with brackish water on the growth and composition of millet and corn, fertilized with various combinations of N and P. Millet irrigated with water of EC 3.30 mmho/cm. produced yields 79 to 93 per cent of the control (tap water of 0.61 mmho/cm.), depending on the N and P treatment applied. With water of EC 5.05 mmho/cm. yields equivalent to 52–72 per cent were obtained. Corn yields were 78–90 per cent of the control with irrigation water of 4.60 mmho/cm., and 55–64 per cent when irrigated with water of 7.06 mmho/cm. The N and P contents were mostly higher in plants grown on plots irrigated with brackish water.