The Effect of Plant and Animal Waste Combinations on Intercropping Yields in a Tropical Environment

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a study aimed at stemming the declining fertility of farmer small-holdings in our rural communities the effect of cassava peels (CP) mixed in different proportions with cattle dung (D) on the growth of maize (Zea maysL), yam (Dioscorea rotundata) and yam-bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) intercrops was evaluated on a 0.28 ha plot of a mostly sandy loam soil. Each of the treatments—100% CP + 0% D, 75% CP + 25% D, 50% CP + 50% D, 25% CP + 75% D and 0% CP + 100% D—was applied at the rates of 0, 25, 50 and 75 Mg ha−1 respectively and, after a month's incubation, planted to maize and yam with yam-bean following a month later. The respective maize forage and grain yields (Mg ha−1) of 7.04 and 2.25 obtained at 100% CP increased correspondingly to 9.22 and 2.99 with 100% D. The forage yield values did however not differ (P>0.05) for treatments containing 25% D and above. At 25 Mg ha−1 rate, the maize yield increases were in the range 50%-131.6% for forage and 106.9%-292.8% for grain; beyond this rate, di...