Effect of plant population and row orientation on crop yield under sorghum-cowpea intercropping systems in semi-arid Zimbabwe

Authors : Tafadzwa Talent HARİPO, Veronica MAKUVARO, Tendai MADANZİ, Nyasha SAKADZO

Pages : 41-48

Doi:10.31015/jaefs.2023.1.5

View : 6 | Download : 6

Publication Date : 2023-03-27

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Smallholder farmers commonly practise intercropping to improve crop yield per unit land area. Proper combination of plant population and row orientation of the component crops needs to be established and this prompted this investigation. A 2x7 factorial experiment was laid in a RCBD with three replications, at Matopos Research Station in Natural Region IV of Zimbabwe. Treatments consisted of sorghum planted at a constant population of 55556plants/ha intercropped with cowpea insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(C); simultaneously planted at varying populations of 111111plants/ha insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(C1);, 166667plants/ha insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(C3); and 222222plants/ha insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(C3); in East-West insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(EW); and North-South insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(NS); row orientation. Interaction of cowpea population density and row orientation significantly insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(p<0.05); influenced crop yield and its attributes. Treatment NS-SC3 produced lowest number of pods/plant and grains/pod of 2.6 and 6.1 respectively. Highest cowpea grain yield insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(637.2kg/ha); was obtained in EW-C3 and lowest insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(92.4kg/ha); in EW-SC3. Sorghum yield was highest in NS-S insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1296.5kg/ha); and lowest in EW-SC3 insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(491.9kg/ha);. LER showed that intercropping performed better than sole crops except for EW-SC3 and NS-SC3 which had LER of 0.800 and 0.905 respectively. Highest LER of 1.312 was obtained in EW-C2. Farmers should plant sorghum-cowpea intercrops in EW row orientation for increased cowpea grain yield but NS row orientation for sole sorghum.
Keywords : intercropping, intercrop population, row orientation, LER