Exploring the Potential of Pachyrhizus erosus in Enhancing Nitrogen Fixation and Soil Fertility Within Regenerative Agricultural Systems: A Pathway to Sustainable Farming

This paper examines the opportunities of Pachyrhizus erosus (Jicama) to improve sustainable agriculture with respect to its specialization in fixing nitrogen, permating soils, and controlling pests (IPM). The symbiosis of Jicama with the Brady rhizobium strains is able to fix nitrogen in the atmosphere, which leads to a reduction in the reliance on synthetic fertilizers, regenerative farming systems as well as enhance nutrient cycling. It also has allelopathic effects that inhibit the growth of the weed, and its natural insecticidal elements, such as rotenone, provide a natural substitute to chemical pesticides, and thus, increases organic farming practices. The paper reveals that intercropping Jicama with crops that are intensive in nitrogen like Zea mays (sweet corn) is economically viable and enhances production of crops in particular in tropical and subtropical areas where fertilizer prices are on the increase. In addition, the study highlights the versatility of Jicama not only as a crop to be used in sustainable agriculture but also in the way the crop can be used in agro-industrial purposes, especially in the production of health foods. In this paper, the author urges a wider use of jicama in the smallholder farming systems that can result in cost-effective, environmentally sustainable practices as well as help to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as responsible consumption (SDG 12) and climate action (SDG 13).