Intercropping maize and cowpea cultivars: I. Green-grain yield

Paulo Igor Barbosa e Silva,Paulo Sérgio Lima e Silva,Vianney Reinaldo de Oliveira,Marcos Antônio Leite da Silva,Roberto Pequeno de Sousa

doi:10.5935/1806-6690.20200014

Abstract

There is interest in identifying the best maize and cowpea cultivars to be used in monocropped and intercropping systems for the production of dry grain. In order to meet this interest, two monocrops of cowpea (the traditional varieties, Corujinha and Sempre Verde) were evaluated with two monocrops of maize (the AG 1051 double hybrid and the AL Bandeirante variety) and four intercrops (combinations of the cowpea varieties and the maize cultivars). Under the intercropping systems, the maize and cowpea occupied alternating rows. A completely randomized block design with six replications was used. Grain growth and yield were higher in the AG 1051 hybrid than in the AL Bandeirante variety in both the monocropped and intercropping systems. For medium-sized maize grain, the growth and yield were higher in the monocrops than in the intercrops. It is unimportant which variety of cowpea, Corujinha or Sempre Verde, is used with each maize cultivar in the intercropping systems, as there was no interaction between the maize cultivars and the cowpea cultivars. In the monocropped systems, the grain yield of the Corujinha cultivar was greater than that of the Sempre Verde cultivar. Mean grain yield in the monocrops was greater than in the intercrops. Both cowpea cultivars showed better performance when intercropped with the AL Bandeirante maize cultivar than with the AG 1051 cultivar. The value of the land equivalent ratio was greater than 1.0 only for the combination of the AL Bandeirante variety of maize and the Sempre Verde variety of cowpea.

Highlights

Cultivation of the cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.], previously limited almost exclusively to the northeast of Brazil, is expanding to the region of the Cerrado, and to the north, northeast and mid-west of the country, where it is included in production managements as an off-season crop, after soybean and rice, and, in some places, as the main crop (FREIRE FILHO, 2011)
Green cowpea grain is much appreciated in the north and northeast of Brazil, and reaches higher prices than those of the dry grain
This occurs with green ears of maize, which are consumed throughout Brazil

Summary

Introduction

Cultivation of the cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.], previously limited almost exclusively to the northeast of Brazil, is expanding to the region of the Cerrado, and to the north, northeast and mid-west of the country, where it is included in production managements as an off-season crop, after soybean and rice, and, in some places, as the main crop (FREIRE FILHO, 2011). One of the characteristics of cowpea and maize production systems in Brazil is the exploitation of each crop to produce both green and dried grain. Green cowpea grain is much appreciated in the north and northeast of Brazil, and reaches higher prices than those of the dry grain. This occurs with green ears of maize, which are consumed throughout Brazil

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Conclusion