Smallholder farmers in Limpopo, South Africa often struggle with poor soil quality, especially lacking in nitrogen. To address this, researchers tested different legume cover crops like mucuna, sunhemp, and lab-lab to see which ones would work best in the region. They found that these legumes, when used with nitrogen fertilizer, significantly increased maize yield compared to no nitrogen. Mucuna, lablab, and sunhemp were the most effective cover crops, producing more grain yield than the control group without nitrogen. Planting these legumes in early summer can help maximize biomass production and nitrogen accumulation in the soil, improving crop yields for smallholder farmers in the area.