Abstract
Green manuring and the spatial arrangement of planting intercropped crops are manageable factors to increase the bioeconomic effectiveness of intercropped systems. Therefore, the object of this study was to work out the bio-economic efficacy in cowpea-radish association under diverse Calotropis procera biomass amounts and planting arrangements in two cultivation seasons through biological and economic indices. The research was conducted in a design of randomized complete blocks with four repetitions. The treatments were made of combination of four C. procera biomass amounts placed into the soil (20, 35, 50 and 65 t ha-1) with three cowpea-radish planting arrangements (2:2, 3:3 and 4:4). The biological indices, land equivalent ratio (LER), area-time equivalency ratio (ATER), actual yield loss (AYL), and system productivity index (SPI) and the economic indicators gross revenue (GR), net revenue (NR), rate of return (RR) and profit margin (PM) were evaluated to express the bio-economic efficacy of the cowpea-radish association. The greatest biological efficiencies of the cowpea-radish association were attained with LER and ATER of 1.75 and 1.25; AYL and SPI of 1.48 and 13.15 t ha-1, respectively, in the amount of 62 t ha-1 of C. procera biomass in the planting arrangements 2: 2 and 3: 3. The largest net economic revenue (NR) of 16,382.85 R$ ha-1 was attained in the amount of 52 t ha-1 of C. procera in the planting arrangement 3: 3.
Highlights
Association of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata L. (Walp.)] with radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is beginning to be practiced in the northeast of Brazil (Pereira et al, 2016)
The greatest biological efficiencies of the cowpea-radish association were attained with land equivalent ratio (LER) and area-time equivalency ratio (ATER) of 1.75 and 1.25; actual yield loss (AYL) and system productivity index (SPI) of 1.48 and 13.15 t ha-1, respectively, in the amount of 62 t ha-1 of C. procera biomass in the planting arrangements 2: 2 and 3: 3. The largest net economic revenue (NR) of 16,382.85 R$ ha-1 was attained in the amount of 52 t ha-1 of C. procera in the planting arrangement 3: 3. Keywords: Vigna unguiculata; Raphanus sativus; Calotropis procera; Biological índices; Economic indicators
The object of this study was to work out the cowpea-radish intercrop bio-economic efficacy under different C. procera biomass amounts in diverse planting arrangements in two cultivation seasons. It followed the Bhatt (2011) recommendation for the statistical design, and for cowpea and radish crops management in intercropping and in monocropping, besides the materials used in conducting these experiments, they were used the methodologies established by Nunes et al (2018); Pereira et al (2018); Ribeiro et al (2018) and Moraes et al (2019)
Summary
Association of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata L. (Walp.)] with radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is beginning to be practiced in the northeast of Brazil (Pereira et al, 2016). These two crops are considered two companion crops of economic and nutritional value that can complement each other in an intercrop (Chaves et al, 2020) When associated they can increase the total yield per unit of land and of time, increase the diversity of products, reduce the economic risks of the producer and help to use the land, labor and other environmental recourses of the rural land efficiently and judiciously (Nunes et al, 2018). Planting arrangement as a management factor in intercrops can be manipulated to enhance the usage of ambient recources and efficiency of these associations, defining the pattern of plants distribution in the soil, determining the area shape available for each plant individually It constitutes an important production factor in the competition between crops, in the bio-agronomic efficacy of the intercrops (Chaves et al, 2020). The object of this study was to work out the cowpea-radish intercrop bio-economic efficacy under different C. procera biomass amounts in diverse planting arrangements in two cultivation seasons
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