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Article History

Received: 22 December 2025

Accepted: 19 June 2026

First Online: 16 July 2026

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate: The plants used in this study were maize and legumes (cowpea and mungbean). All varieties used were registered by government of Nepal and are commonly cultivated by farmers under field conditions. The participating farmers were beneficiaries of the CIMMYT Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project, funded by USAID, and were members of cooperatives implementing the study through NSAF sub-grant agreements in selected districts. Informed verbal consent was obtained from all participating farmers prior to data collection. Farmers were informed about the objectives and procedures of the study, the voluntary nature of their participation, their right to decline participation or withdraw at any stage without any consequences, and the intended use of the collected information. Participation was voluntary, and no personal identifiers were collected or used in data analysis and reporting. The confidentiality of participants’ responses and institution affiliations was maintained throughout the study. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations of CIMMYT.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.