Use of legume cover crops has been reported to improve maize productivity through various mechanisms that include improved soil mineral N supply and weed control. However, in the smallholder irrigation farming sector, where maize is the staple crop, strategies for intercropping summer legume cover crops are often a challenge for farmers. Field experiments were conducted in a warm-temperate region of South Africa during the summer season of 2007/08 and 2008/09 to investigate the effects of strip intercropping patterns (3:2; 4:2 and 6:2 patterns) on the productivity of maize (cv. PAN 6479) together with mucuna or sunnhemp. The strip-intercrop patterns did not result in improved soil mineral N or weed control. Maize yields from rows adjacent to the cover crop strips were significantly (P
