Mucuna takes nitrogen from the air and places it in the soil and riching it. Professor Charse Waterman, one of the Nebraska researchers notes that the plants also reseed themselves.

Another method that the scientists suggest is to plant sorghum during one growing season followed by Cowpea the next. Two other low input ways to improve the soil involve using munial and nitrogen and phosphorous as fertilizer.

And the 5th way that the study found may improve sorghum production is to reducing crop tillage. The researchers say the best methods for farms depend on their individual needs and their resources. For example, using animal waste may be best for farmers that have the animals to supply it. But on farms that can not get fertilizer, the best solution maybe the method of rotating sorghum with cowpea.
The researchers tested 142 farms across 3 areas in eastern Uganda. The study took place from 2003 to 2005. The findings have just appeared in a Grammy Journal. Professor Waterman and other scientists are continuing their research.