Maize and beans contribute significantly to food security in Kenya. Farming practices used in production of these crops may affect nematode community assemblages and influence agricultural productivity. Information on response of nematofauna, particularly free-living nematodes, under various agronomic practices in Kenyan maize-beans intercrop is scarce. This study reports on the effects of farming practices on nematode community dynamics, ecological and functional indices, nematode metabolic footprints, and predator-prey relationship in maize-beans cropping systems in Mwea, Kenya. The field trials were set up in two seasons in a randomized complete block design with each treatment consisting of four replicates. The treatments included cow manure plus chemical fertilizer (CmDCF), cow manure plus wood ash (CmWa), cow manure combined with wood ash plus fertilizers (CmWaF), chemical fertilizers only (DNF) and unamended controls. Soil samples were collected at 0–20 cm depth at bimonthly intervals during 2018–2019. During the two seasons, 54 nematode genera were identified. Cephalobus, and Heterocephalobus (bacterivores), Labronema (omnivore) and Nygolaimus (predator) were abundant in CmDCF, CmWa, CmWaF, and DNF while Aphelenchus and Aphelenchoides (fungivores) were dominant in all treatments. Principal response curve analysis showed that CmWaF significantly reduced the population of Helicotylenchus, Scutellonema and Rotylenchulus during the 2^nd and 4^th month in the second season. Renyi diversity analysis indicated that CmWaF had higher diversity of omnivores while functional metabolic footprints categorized it as structured in both seasons. Predator-prey analysis suggested that CmWa and CmWaF have the potential to provide suitable conditions for predators, target prey and amplifiable prey biomass. This study provides an insight on the implication of farming practices, on nematode abundance and soil food web in two economically important crops in Kenya. It also provides a basis for exploring the potential role of organic amendments containing cow manure in control of plant parasitic nematodes in maize-beans cropping systems.

玉米和豆类对肯尼亚的粮食安全做出了重要贡献。生产这些农作物的耕作方式可能会影响线虫群落，并影响农业生产力。在肯尼亚玉米-豆类间作的各种农艺方法下，关于线虫，特别是自由生活的线虫的反应的信息很少。这项研究报告了肯尼亚Mwea玉米-大豆种植系统中耕作方式对线虫群落动态，生态和功能指数，线虫代谢足迹以及食肉动物与猎物之间的关系的影响。田间试验在两个季节中以随机完整区组设计进行，每种处理均包含四次重复。处理方法包括牛粪加化学肥料（CmDCF），牛粪加木灰（CmWa），牛粪与木灰加肥料（CmWaF），仅化学肥料（DNF）和未经修改的对照相结合。在2018-2019年期间，每隔两个月以0-20厘米的深度采集土壤样品。在两个季节中，鉴定出54个线虫属。Cephalobus，并Heterocephalobus（食细菌），Labronema（杂食）和Nygolaimus（捕食）较丰富的CmDCF，CmWa，CmWaF，和DNF同时Aphelenchus和线虫（fungivores）在所有的治疗优势。表明CmWaF显著的人口减少主要响应曲线分析螺旋线虫，Scutellonema和Rotylenchulus 2期间^第二和4^个第二季的一个月。Renyi多样性分析表明，CmWaF杂食性的多样性较高，而功能代谢足迹将其归类为两个季节。捕食者—猎物的分析表明，CmWa和CmWaF可能为捕食者，目标猎物和可扩增的猎物生物量提供合适的条件。这项研究提供了关于肯尼亚两种经济上重要的农作物的耕作方式，线虫丰度和土壤食物网的影响的见解。它还为探讨含牛粪肥的有机改良剂在控制玉米-豆种植系统中植物寄生线虫中的潜在作用提供了基础。