Datasets from fertilized improved and local varieties of cassava grown in the highlands of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The use of mineral fertilizer and organic inputs with an improved and local variety of cassava allows (i) to identify nutrient limitations to cassava production, (ii) to investigate the effects of variety and combined application of mineral and organic inputs on cassava growth and yield and (iii) to evaluate the profitability of the improved variety and fertilizer use in cassava production. Data on growth, yield and yield components of an improved and local variety of cassava, economic analysis, soil and weather, collected during two growing cycles of cassava in farmer's fields in the highlands of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) are presented. The data complement the recently published paper "Increased cassava growth and yields through improved variety use and fertilizer application in the highlands of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo" (Munyahali .

Correction: Combining organic and mineral fertilizers as a climate-smart integrated soil fertility management practice in sub-Saharan Africa: A meta-analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Large language models and agricultural extension services.

Several factors have traditionally hampered the effectiveness of agricultural extension services, including limited institutional capacity and reach. Here we assess the potential of large language models (LLMs), specifically Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), to transform agricultural extension. We focus on the ability of LLMs to simplify scientific knowledge and provide personalized, location-specific and data-driven agricultural recommendations.

Cassava-maize intercropping systems in southern Nigeria: Radiation use efficiency, soil moisture dynamics, and yields of component crops.

Efficient utilization of incident solar radiation and rainwater conservation in rain-fed smallholder cropping systems require the development and adoption of cropping systems with high resource use efficiency. Due to the popularity of cassava-maize intercropping and the food security and economic importance of both crops in Nigeria, we investigated options to improve interception of photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR), radiation use efficiency (RUE), soil moisture retention, and yields of cassava and maize in cassava-maize intercropping systems in 8 on-farm researcher-managed multi-location trials between 2017 and 2019 in different agro-ecologies of southern Nigeria. Treatments were a combination of (1) maize planting density (low density at 20,000 maize plants ha versus high density at 40,000 maize plants ha, intercropped with 12,500 cassava plants ha); (2) fertilizer application and management targeting either the maize crop (90 kg N, 20 kg P and 37 kg K ha) or the cassava crop (75 kg N, 20 kg P and 90 kg K ha), compared with control without fertilizer application.