Soil improver and green manure
Slenderleaf (Crotalaria brevidens) is an N-fixing legume: it improves the N status of the soil and can be intercropped with finger millet crops, providing valuable N return to the next-year finger millet crop (Chweya, 1997). Slenderleaf does well on slopes and has been used in soil erosion control (Duke, 1981). In Brazil, slenderleaf has been used in coffee plantations as a green manure and cover crop. It prevented soil erosion by adding moisture and reducing soil temperature. Slenderleaf also reduced weed growth (Muzilli et al., 1992).
Striga hermonthica controller
Slenderleaf (Crotalaria brevidens) is reported to promote the germination of striga, a parasitic plant that is a major problem for maize and millet growers. In the presence of Crotalaria, striga germinates and later dies due to the lack of a suitable host plant (Abukutsa-Onyango, 2004).