Effect of intercropping of maize and cowpea on the yield, land productivity and profitability of components crops in Bena- Tsemay Woreda, Southern Ethiopia

G Biruk,T Anteneh,T Awoke

doi:10.3329/ijarit.v11i2.57268

Abstract

Field experiment was carried out during the 2017-18 cropping season at Kako, Bena-Ttsemay woreda, South Omo zone, Southern Ethiopia to determine the effect of intercropping of maize and cowpea on the yield, land use efficiency and profitability of both crops. The experiment consisted of 4 treatments (sole maize, sole cowpea, one row maize to one row cowpea and one row maize to two-row cowpea) and laid in RCBD in four replications. Intercropping of one row maize to one row cowpea and one row maize to two-row cowpea, resulted in 55.8% and 27.9% greater land use efficiency than for either crop grown alone. The highest MAI was obtained by growing one row of maize to one row of cowpea (11563.17) followed by one row maize to two-rows of cowpea (6783.50).Based on the present finding, intercropping of one row maize and one row cowpea more economic advantage than the other crop combination or grown alone. Therefore, intercropping of one row maize to one row cowpea is an advantageous to farmers in the study area since it would provide additional crop yield with the same piece of land and more profitable related to cost benefit. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(2): 147-150, Dec 2021

Highlights

Intercropping is the growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field such that the period of overlap is long enough to include the vegetative stage (Lithourgidis et al, 2011)
The grain yield of maize is higher when intercropped with the ratio of one row maize to two-row cowpea 3577.67 kg ha-1 followed by one row maize to one row cowpea 3271.00 kg ha-1 (Table 1)
The total biomass of maize is higher when intercropped with the ratio of one row maize to two-row cowpea (16.17 t ha-1) followed by one row maize to one row cowpea (14.35 t ha-1) (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Intercropping is the growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field such that the period of overlap is long enough to include the vegetative stage (Lithourgidis et al, 2011). Intercropping, double cropping and other mixed cropping practices that allow more efficient uses of farm resources are among the agricultural practices associated with sustainable crop production (NRC, 1993; Tolera, 2003). Reported grain legume–cereal intercropping performance indicates some principal advantage worth considering while directing present agricultural practices in more sustainable directions like yield advantages and greater yield stability over years compared to grain legume sole cropping (Hauggaard-Nielsen, et al, 2001; Jensen, 1996). The main concept of intercropping is to get increased total productivity per unit area and time, besides equitable and judicious utilization of land resources and farming inputs including labor. One of the main reasons for higher yields in intercropping is that the component crops are able to use natural resources differently and make better overall use of natural resources than grown separately (Willey, 1979). A careful selection of crops having different growth habit can reduce the mutual competition to a considerable extent

Methods

Results

Conclusion