Rows Of Cowpea Research Articles

Economic Advantage of Sorghum Based Intercropping System for Western Zone of Tamil Nadu, India

Sorghum is the fifth most important crop. Being a C4 crop, it can withstand adverse climatic conditions. It can be used for food, feed, fodder, and biofuel. Sorghum can perform better under future climatic conditions than other crops and can be a better option in the future that can ensure the food and nutritional security of the country. A sorghum-based intercropping system can be a great option to ensure sustainability by fetching additional income from legume crops without compromising the yield of sorghum. An experiment was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University during the summer of 2021 to evaluate the economic benefits of a sorghum-based intercropping system. The treatment consists of T1-Sorghum Sole crop, T2-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Cowpea, T3-2rows of Sorghum+1row of Cowpea, T4-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Greengram, T5-2rows of Sorghum+1rows of Greengram, T6-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Lablab, T7-2rows of Sorghum+1rows of Lablab. The economic benefits of the cropping system were evaluated by considering the yield, BCR, and LER. The yield of sorghum (3 t ha-1) planted under T7 was significantly higher than that of sole sorghum (T1). The net return from T7 (₹ 67872 ha-1) was higher than other treatments because of the additional income generated from the lablab (high market value at the time of harvest). The B:C ratio of the intercropping system was 2.7, whereas sole sorghum registered the lowest BCR of 1.9. The compatible performance of the intercropping system yielded a higher net return and BCR. Hence, intercropping of sorghum with legumes (especially lablab) is more productive and remunerative under a 2:1 pattern compared to sole cropping.

Intercropping of Maize and Cowpea for Enhancing Productivity, Profitability and Land use Efficiency

A field experiment was conducted at agriculture farm, ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats (CIRG), Makhdoom, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh during kharif season of 2020. The treatments consist of sole maize, sole cowpea; and intercropping of maize + cowpea in 1 : 1, 2 : 1, 1 : 2, 2 : 2, 3 : 1, 1 : 3 and 3 : 3 row ratios. The results revealed that maximum total green fodder yield, maize and cowpea equivalent yield, Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), Monitory Advantage Index (MAI), net returns and Benefit: Cost ratio were recorded with 2 : 1 row ratio of maize + cowpea intercropping combination followed by 3 : 1 row ratio. The highest value of nitrogen and potassium content both in fodder maize and cowpea were recorded with 1 : 3 row ratios of maize + cowpea intercropping combination. Further, the highest phosphorus content in fodder maize was recorded with 3 : 1 row ratio of maize + cowpea intercropping combination whereas in case of cowpea the highest phosphorus content was recorded with 1 : 3 row ratio of maize + cowpea intercropping combination. Thus, it was found that two rows maize + one row of cowpea (2 : 1) intercropping combination perform best in terms of yield, land use efficiency and profitability of fodder maize and cowpea. Bangladesh J. Bot. 53(2): 235-242, 2024 (June)

Effects of different tillage and cropping systems on water repellency and hydraulic properties in a tropical Alfisol of southwestern Nigeria

This study examined the effects of growing intercrops (Sorghum, SOR (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in between rows of cowpea, COW (Vigna unguiculata) and soybean, SOY (Glyxine max L.Merr)) under different tillage systems on soil physico-chemical properties, soil water sorptivity (Sw), hydraulic conductivity (K), and soil hydrophobicity (R) in tropical Alfisol of Southwestern Nigeria. Results demonstrated cropping systems significantly impacted soil pH under each conventional tillage (CT), no tillage (NT), and compacted no till systems (NTC) tillage system in 2019, but not in the 2020 cropping season. Sorghum-cowpea SC) and sorghum-soybean (SS) intercropping systems under the three tillage systems had higher soil organic matter (SOM) contents than the corresponding sole sorghum (SOR) at the end of the study. Soil water sorptivity differed significantly (p < 0.001) among the cropping systems in 2019 and follows the order: SC > SS > SOY > SOR > COW while in 2020, averaged over three tillage systems, mean Sw values showed an increasing trend in the order: SOR (77.67 cm h-1/2) < COW (82.42 cm h-1/2) < SOY (88.00 cm h-1/2) < SS (88.73 cm h-1/2) < SC (98.29 cm h-1/2). In general, intercropping had a lower R than sole cropping. NTC soil was 46.48% and 56.39%; 32.47% and 41.67% more hydrophobic than soils under NT and CT in 2019 and 2020. Intercropping with legumes might have contributed to the higher K levels. Organic matter in soil improves conductivity by improving soil structure. The intercrop may have improved soil water conservation because of their shading and better soil protection. The study demonstrated that conservation tillage with intercropping could effectively enhance soil hydraulic properties.

Pearl Millet-Cowpea Forage Mixture Planting Arrangement Influences Mixture Yield and Nutritive Value in Semiarid Regions

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) are well-adapted to semiarid regions. A two-year study at New Mexico State University’s Rex E. Kirksey Agricultural Science Center at Tucumcari, NM, USA, compared monoculture pearl millet and cowpea with their mixtures in various row arrangements in four randomized complete blocks each year. Treatments included monoculture pearl millet (millet) and cowpea (cowpea), pearl millet and cowpea mixture planted in the same row (millet–cowpea), the species planted in alternate rows (millet–cowpea 1:1), the species planted in two adjacent rows alternating between species (millet–cowpea 2:2), and the species planted in four adjacent rows alternating between species (millet–cowpea 4:4), Mixture neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was reduced i millet–cowpea 1:1 and millet–cowpea 2:2 compared to millet (673, 662, 644, 646, and 666 g NDF kg−1 for millet, millet–cowpea, millet–cowpea 1:1, millet–cowpea 2:2, and millet–cowpea 4:4, respectively, LSD = 18, p ≤ 0.05). Crude protein tended to be increased in millet–cowpea 2:2. Based on these results two rows of cowpea alternated with two rows of pearl millet, all spaced at 15 cm and harvesting for hay at the pearl millet boot stage likely optimizes the compromise of DM yield and the nutritive value of the mixture.

Exploiting the Genetic Potential of Cowpea in An Intercropping Complex

In the West African sub-region, intercropping is a critical element in cowpea product profiles. This study aimed to investigate the impact of intercropping cowpea with pearl millet on genetic correlations, heritability, and response to selection. Thirty-five cowpea genotypes and one pearl millet variety were used to create three cropping patterns: sole cowpea, 1:1 (one row of millet to one row of cowpea), and 2:4 (two rows of millet to four rows of cowpea). Split-plot experiments were conducted for two years with cropping patterns considered as the main plots and genotypes as sub-plots. Data were captured on grain yield (GY), 100 seed weight (Hsdwt), pod weight (Pdwt), fodder weight (Fdwt), and harvest index (HI). Genotype, cropping pattern, year, and genotype-by-cropping pattern interactions were significant for most of the traits. Higher heritability and predicted genetic advance were depicted under sole cropping rather than in the intercropped systems. High positive genetic correlations (rg ≥ 0.9) were obtained between cropping patterns. Genetic correlations among traits were higher under sole cropping than in the intercropping. Path analysis portrayed the HI as having the highest significant and positive direct effect on GY. This study identified short duration cowpea genotypes that are stable and adapted to unique cropping systems.

Melon/cowpea intercropping pattern influenced the N and C soil cycling and the abundance of soil rare bacterial taxa.

The high use of pesticides, herbicides, and unsustainable farming practices resulted in losses of soil quality. Sustainable farming practices such as intercropping could be a good alternative to traditional monocrop, especially using legumes such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp). In this study, different melon and cowpea intercropping patterns (melon mixed with cowpea in the same row (MC1); alternating one melon row and one cowpea row (MC2); alternating two melon rows and one cowpea row (MC3)) were assayed to study the intercropping effect on soil bacterial community through 16S rRNA region in a 3-year experiment. The results indicated that intercropping showed high content of total organic carbon, total nitrogen and ammonium, melon yield, and bacterial diversity as well as higher levels of beneficial soil microorganisms such a Pseudomonas, Aeromicrobium, Niastella, or Sphingomonas which can promote plant growth and plant defense against pathogens. Furthermore, intercropping showed a higher rare taxa diversity in two (MC1 and MC2) out of the three intercropping systems. In addition, N-cycling genes such as nirB, nosZ, and amoA were more abundant in MC1 and MC2 whereas the narG predicted gene was far more abundant in the intercropping systems than in the monocrop at the end of the 3-year experiment. This research fills a gap in knowledge about the importance of soil bacteria in an intercropping melon/cowpea pattern, showing the benefits to yield and soil quality with a decrease in N fertilization.

Bio-agroeconomic returns in beet-cowpea intercropping by optimization of population densities and spatial arrangements

One of the great challenges of the beet and cowpea cultivation in crop association is to maintain their productivity as that of their sole counterparts in semi-arid environment. In this context, the objective of this work is to assess whether there is bio-agroeconomic return in associations of beet-cowpea by the optimization of population densities and spatial arrangements of the component crops. Experiments were performed in randomised complete block designs with treatments arranged in a 4 × 3 factorial scheme, with four replications. The first factor was the population densities of cowpea (100, 80, 60, and 40% of the recommended population in single crop - RPSC) in association with beet, and the second factor was the spatial arrangements (2:2, 3:3, and 4:4), formed by beet (B) rows alternating with cowpea (C) rows. The competition and agronomic indices evaluated were aggressiveness, competitive ratio, land equivalent ratio, actual yield loss, intercropping advantage and the productive efficiency index. The economic indicators evaluated were gross income, net income, rate of return and profit margin. High agro-economic efficiency can be obtained in the cultivation of beet and cowpea intercropping when well-managing the factors of production, population densities and spatial arrangement of the component crops. The greatest agro-economic return of the cowpea and beet intercropping was obtained in the population densities of 40 and 100% of RPSC for cowpea and beet, respectively. The 2:2 spatial arrangement between beet and cowpea crops was the one with the best productive performance and higher indicators of economic return. The cowpea was the dominant crop while the beet was dominated.

Planting Density and Geometry Effect on Canopy Development, Forage Yield and Nutritive Value of Sorghum and Annual Legumes Intercropping

Forage sorghum (FS) (Sorghum bicolor L.) is a major forage in crop–livestock production systems. It has low crude protein (CP) and is rich in fiber. Its forage quality can be improved by mixing with legumes rich in CP. Achieving a greater legume contribution to achieve higher CP over monocrops is a challenge for intercropping. Field trials were conducted with lablab (Lablab purpureus L.), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), grown with sorghum as mixed 1:1 (sorghum: legumes) and 2:2 (sorghum: legumes) rows. The sorghum plant density was 250,000 and 190,000 plants ha−1. Periodic crop biomass, leaf area index (LAI) and light interception (LI) were measured, together with forage mixture quality at final harvest. The LAI and LI values were greater for lablab and cowpea intercrops in the 1:1 configuration. Legume forage yield contributed up to 10–12% of the total dry matter (DM). A significant improvement in legume biomass was observed for a sorghum population at 190,000 plants ha−1 with paired rows (2:2) of either lablab or cowpea. Sorghum and total forage yields were higher in both 1:1 and 2:2 configurations with 250,000 plants ha−1. The CP concentration of the forage mixture was 62–75 g kg−1 DM. The acid and neutral detergent fibers and the digestibility of the forage mixture were not improved to any great extent. The results suggested that sorghum planted at normal populations with paired rows of lablab or cowpea can improve sorghum–legume intercrop productivity.

Assessments of the Effects of Legume Species Intercropping on Radiation Use Efficiency of Sorghum

A field experiment was executed to assess the effect of legume species intercropping on the Radiation use efficiency of Sorghum during summer 2021. In India, Sorghum is primarily raised for poultry and animal feed and it is being cultivated under poor resource conditions. Hence, intercropping sorghum with legumes can help in improving the resource use efficiency than sole sorghum and also enable farmers to boost their livelihood. The treatments were T1-Sorghum Sole crop (SS), T2-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Cowpea (2S:2C), T3-2rows of Sorghum+1row of Cowpea (2S:1C), T4-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Greengram (2S:2G), T5-2rows of Sorghum+1rows of Greengram (2S:1G), T6-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Lablab (2S:2L), T7-2rows of Sorghum+1rows of Lablab (2S:1L). An experiment was carried out in Randomized Block Design and was replicated thrice. The results were statistically analysed using SPSS software. The results revealed that Sorghum + Lablab in 2:1 registered the highest leaf area index, dry matter production which ultimately resulted in high Radiation Use Efficiency. Overall, the intercropping system had high RUE than sole Sorghum. Thus it was concluded that planting sorghum with a legume in a 2:1 pattern would be recommended as it has better resource use efficiency than sole sorghum.

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

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

Influence of Light Parameters on Photosynthetic Rate of Sorghum Based Intercropping System

Selecting the appropriate row proportion in the intercropping system is required for the effective harnessing of solar radiation. In Semi-arid areas, Sorghum based intercropping is commonly adopted by the farmers for effective utilization of the available resources. The treatments consisted of T1-Sorghum Sole crop (SS), T2-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Cowpea (2S:2C), T3-2rows of Sorghum+1row of Cowpea (2S:1C), T4-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Greengram (2S:2G), T5-2rows of Sorghum+1rows of Greengram (2S:1G), T6-2rows of Sorghum+2rows of Lablab (2S:2L), T7-2rows of Sorghum+1rows of Lablab (2S:1L). The results of the study showed that sorghum under 2:1 pattern had enhanced LAI, Radiation absorption efficiency which resulted in a high photosynthetic rate. The intercrops under 2:2 pattern were suffered from shading of sorghum than 2:1 pattern which affected the photosynthetic rate of intercrops under 2:2 pattern. Hence, planting sorghum under 2:1 pattern with Lablab will be the ideal row ratio to harness maximum sunlight.

Rendimiento de la planta de frijol caupí [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] y calidad nutricional en los sistemas de cultivo intercalado de frijol caupí y sorgo

In traditional row and strip cowpea-sorghum intercropping systems, cowpea forage yield reduces significantly due to intense competition and dominance of sorghum in acquiring growth resources. This field study evaluated novel mixed strip intercropping systems of forage cowpea and sorghum having different number of crops rows arranged under different spatial arrangements. Cowpea was intercropped with sorghum in 8, 12 and 16 rows strips with row-row spacing of 30, 45 and 60 cm. In each strip, equal number of rows of cowpea and sorghum were maintained. Factorial arrangement of randomized complete block design with three replicates was used to execute the field trials during summer seasons of 2013 and 2014. Strips having 12 rows and 60 cm row-row spacing positively affected all agronomic variables of cowpea which led to maximum forage yield (22.2 and 23.7 t ha-1 during 2013 and 2014 respectively) and dry matter biomass (6.63 and 6.94 t ha-1 during 2013 and 2014 respectively). In contrast, 8-rows strips having line spacing of 30 cm outperformed other intercropping systems by yielding the maximum herbage yield and dry matter biomass of sorghum. The intercropping system comprising of 12-rows strips with 60 cm row-row spacing remained superior in recording the maximum crude protein, fats and total ash along with the minimum fiber content of cowpea. In addition, this intercropping system under rest of spatial arrangements also remained unmatched, while 16-rows strips under all planting geometries remained inferior to other intercropping systems. Thus, cowpea intercropping with sorghum in 12-rows strips having 60 cm spacing offers biologically viable solution to improve biomass and forage quality of cowpea in intercropping with sorghum.

Effect of crop geometry and in situ soil moisture conservation practices on yield attributes and yield of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Rice is the most widely grown crop in India. With the decreasing availability of water for irrigation, farmers are now switching towards water efficient production systems such as upland rice. Moisture stress at critical stages is one of the major reasons for low productivity of upland rice. So, the present study was conducted at college of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India. The experiment was conducted in RBD with nine treatments including two crop geometries viz., normal planting (20 cm x 10 cm) and paired row planting (10 cm x 10 cm) with 40 cm between paired rows, three rows of cowpea are grown in between two paired rows and in situ soil moisture conservation practices viz., live mulching of cowpea, hydrogel application and coirpith compost application were compared and analysed statistically on yield parameters and yield. Results revealed that, the treatment T9 (Paired row planting with live mulching of cowpea, hydrogel and coir pith compost application) favorably influenced the yield characters and yield of upland rice through proper conservation of moisture and improved availability of nutrients. The treatment T9 recorded the highest grain and straw yields of 3825 and 7700 kg ha-1 respectively with a harvest index (0.48) and was significantly superior to other treatments. It also recorded the highest moisture content in the soil as well as the maximum uptake and availability of nutrients.

Sustainability of carrot-cowpea intercropping systems through optimization of green manuring and spatial arrangements

ABSTRACT: One of the biggest challenges in intercropping of two or more crops is to maintain their productivity as that of their sole counterparts. In order to obtain sustainable intercropping systems in a semi-arid environment, this study evaluated the agro-economic advantage and sustainability of intercropped systems of carrot and cowpea, optimizing the green manuring and spatial arrangements. Experiments were conducted in the period from July to October 2017 and 2018, using a randomized complete block design with the treatments arranged in a 4 x 3 factorial scheme, with four replications. Treatments included four amounts of M. aegyptia incorporated into the soil (20, 35, 50, and 65 t ha-1 on dry basis) with three spatial arrangements (2:2, 3:3, and 4:4) between the components cultures formed from cowpea rows alternated with carrot rows. The agro-economic advantage indices evaluated in the intercropping systems were: land equivalent ratio (LER), area-time equivalent ratio (ATER), score of the canonical variable (Z), actual yield loss (AYL), intercropping advantage (IA), gross income (GI), net income (NI), rate of return (RR), and profit margin (PM). The highest agro-economic advantages of the carrot and cowpea intercropping were obtained for LER, ATER, NI, and RR of 2.60, 4.16, US$ 8,720.99 ha-1, and US$ 2.21, respectively, for M. aegyptia biomass amounts of 46.42, 47.82, 32.60 and 31.51t ha-1 added to the soil. The 2: 2 spatial arrangement was the one with the best productive performance, with higher net income and rate of return in the intercropping of carrot-cowpea.

Spatial Arrangements on Growth and Yield of Cowpea (&lt;em&gt;Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.&lt;/em&gt;) in Intercropping

This experiment was conducted at the Crop Farm of Eastern University, Sri Lanka to evaluate the effect of different spatial arrangements on growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) under okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) cowpea intercropping in sandy regosol. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) having monocropping and different intercropping patterns. The results revealed that there was a significant difference (P&lt;0.05) among treatments for plant height, root length, leaf area, leaf area index, pod length, number of total and effective nodules per plant, dry weight of effective nodules and total pod yield of cowpea. However, seeds per pod was not significantly different (P&gt;0.05) with different plating patterns. The study concluded that 60 cm between two rows with 150 cm between two pairs of rows of okra with three rows of cowpea in between paired rows would be the most suitable planting system to get maximum growth and yield of cowpea.

Effect of intercropping on growth, yield and profitability of sorghum, pearl millet and cowpea

Green forage availability is very important to maintain livestock health and productivity and this is particularly essential in dairy entrepreneurship where consistent and regular supply of green fodder is imperative to sustain the milk production. Green herbage in addition to energy also provides vitamins, minerals with better dry matter digestibility (Surve et al., 2012). The field experiment was conducted at research farm, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar during kharif season of the year 2019 to study the effects of cereal fodder based cowpea intercropping. The soil of the experimental field was loamy in nature and medium in organic carbon (0.54 %), low in available nitrogen (172.84 kg/ha), available phosphorus (28.56 kg/ha) and available potassium (161.34 kg/ha) and neutral reaction. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) design consisting of 11 treatments viz. T1- sole sorghum, T2- sole pearl millet, T3- sole cowpea, T4- sorghum + cowpea (1:1), T5- sorghum + cowpea (1:2), T6- sorghum + cowpea (2:1), T7- sorghum + cowpea (2:2), T8- Pearlmillet + Cowpea (1:1), T9- Pearlmillet + Cowpea (1:2), T10- Pearlmillet + Cowpea (2:1) and T11- Pearlmillet + Cowpea (2:2) row ratio. Within various treatments of intercropping, it was found that intercropping of sorghum with cowpea (2:1 row ratio) had higher green fodder (490.0 qh-1) and dry fodder yield (103.3 qh-1), sorghum equivalent yield, net returns (Rs. 55,597 ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (BC ratio) (2.30). Intercropping of sorghum and cowpea with 2:1 row ratio was found economically viable with higher green fodder yield and net returns.

Cowpea and beet intercropping agro-economic dynamics under spatial arrangement and cowpea population density

ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of planting spatial arrangements between the cowpea and beet crops in intercropping and of cowpea population densities on the crop’s productivity and in the agro-economic efficiency of the association at two growing seasons. The experimental design was of randomised blocks with the treatments arranged in a 4 x 3 factorial scheme, in four replications. The first factor was constituted by three spatial arrangements between the component cultures (2:2, 3:3 and 4:4), formed by beet rows alternated with cowpea rows, while the second factor was constituted by the population densities of cowpea: 40, 60, 80 and 100% of the recommended population in single crop (RDSC). The production and its components were evaluated in the beet and cowpea. Apart from these characteristics, the following agro-economic indicators were also determined for each treatment: system productivity index (SPI), the land equivalent coefficient (LEC), and the monetary equivalent ratio (MER). The maximum production of commercial beet roots was obtained with 15.60 t ha-1 productivity at density of 61.82% of RDSC within the 4:4 arrangement, while the maximum yield of cowpea green grains of 2.23 t ha-1 was reached at density of 79.57% of RDSC within 2:2 spatial arrangement. The productivities of beet roots of extra A, extra AA and great types decreased with increasing cowpea population density, without any influence of the tested spatial arrangements. The maximum mean productivity of cowpea green pods of 1.74 t ha-1 was obtained at density of 87.47% of RDSC, reached within 2:2 spatial arrangement. The maximum economic efficiency of the cowpea-beet intercropping was obtained with MER of 1.11 at cowpea density of 100% of RDSC, irrespective of the spatial arrangement and growing season.

Production and benefits in carrot and vegetable cowpea associations under green manuring and spatial arrangements

The use of a cropping system that provides producers with better land use, higher productivity per unit area, greater diversification in production, and, consequently, agro-economic advantages, is the choice of many vegetable producers. To meet the demands of these producers, experiments were conducted under field conditions in a semi-arid environment to evaluate the production and agro-economic benefits of carrot x vegetable cowpea associations as a function of green manuring with biomass of Merremia aegyptia L., a spontaneous species from the Caatinga biome, in different spatial arrangements at two cropping years. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with treatments arranged in a 4 x 3 factorial scheme, with four replications. The first studied factor was the amounts of M. aegyptia biomass (20, 35, 50, and 65 t ha-1 on a dry basis), while the second factor was the spatial planting arrangements (2:2, 3:3, and 4:4), corresponding to rows of carrot alternated with rows of vegetable cowpea. The production optimization of the carrot and cowpea cultures was achieved with the incorporation of the M. aegyptia biomass amounts of 32.69 and 50.17 t ha-1, respectively, and agro-economic optimization of the entire intercropping system was obtained at a biomass amount of 34.66 t ha-¹. The spatial planting arrangement of 2:2 resulted in the greatest agro-economic efficiency of the crop association.

GROWTH AND RESULTS OF CORN AND NUTS IN THE INTERCROPPING SYSTEM

The purpose of this study was to determine the growth and yield of corn and cowpea after planting in the intercropping system. Conducting research at the Kalitirto Agricultural Research and Development (KP4) Educational Garden, Berbah, Yogyakarta friend. A Complete Randomized Block Design with 3 replications was used in the study. Experimental intercropping of corn and cowpea based on additive series system. The first factor is the population of cowpea is without cowpea, 1 row, 2 rows, and 3 rows of cowpea. The second factor is the spacing is 100 cm x 20 cm and 80 cm x 25 cm. Research on cowpea monoculture as a comparison.The results obtained (1) insertion of cowpea, and spacing of corn did not affect the yield of corn per hectare, but affect the yield of cowpea. (2) The combination of 100 cm x 20 cm corn spacing treatment with the insertion of 2 rows of cowpea gives the highest Land Equity Ratio value of 1.42.

Growth and Dry Matter Accumulation of Okra (&lt;i&gt;Abelmoschus esculentus&lt;/i&gt; L.) as Influenced by Different Plating Pattern Under Okra - Cowpea (&lt;i&gt;Vigna unguiculata&lt;/i&gt; L.) Intercropping

Compared to sole cropping, intercropping systems can more efficiently use the existing resources which ultimately lead to improved plant growth and dry matter accumulation. So, most of the farmers in developing countries can follow the intercropping systems with high yielding crop combinations. The experiment was carried out at the Crop Farm of Eastern University, Sri Lanka in 2018 to investigate the growth and dry matter accumulation in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) as influenced by different planting patterns under okra-cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) intercropping in sandy regosol. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Treatments were okra as a sole crop (T1), cowpea as a sole crop (T2), alternative planting of okra and cowpea (T3), 60/150 cm paired row planting of okra with two rows and three rows of cowpea in between paired rows (T4 and T5) and 75/120 cm paired row planting of okra with two rows and three rows of cowpea in between paired rows (T6 and T7). Plant height, root length, fresh and dry weights of plant, leaf area, leaf area index, canopy width and cumulative yield of okra were higher in T5, while chlorophyll content showed no significant difference (P&gt;0.05) with different planting patterns. The present study concluded that 60/150 cm paired row planting of okra with three rows of cowpea in between paired rows (T5) would be the most suitable planting system in sandy regosol to achieve better growth and dry matter in okra.