Effects of different cropping pattern on performance of maize-soybean mixture in Makurdi, Nigeria
Journal Title: Scientific Journal of Crop Science - Year 2012, Vol 1, Issue 2
Abstract
Field experiments were conducted from July to November during the 2009 and 2010 cropping seasons, at the Research Farm, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria, to evaluate the effects of different cropping pattern on performance of maize-soybean mixture and to assess the advantage of the intercropping system. The treatments consisted of four cropping patterns, which consisted of alternating one stand of maize with one stand of soybean (1sM:1sS); one stand of maize alternated with two stands of soybean (1sM:2sS); one row of maize alternated with one row of soybean (1rM:1rS); and one row of maize alternated with two rows of soybean (1rM:2rS), while the sole crops of maize and soybean constituted the fifth and sixth treatments, which also serve as controls. The six treatments were replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. The results obtained showed that alternating 1sM:1sS gave the greatest intercrop yields of maize and soybean and highest land equivalent ratio (LER) values of 1.87 and 1.86 respectively, in years 2009 and 2010, indicating that the greatest productivity per unit area was achieved by growing the two crops together alternating 1sM:1sS, than by growing them separately. With these LER values, 46.5 % and 46.2 % of land were respectively saved in 2009 and 2010, which could be used for other agricultural purposes. This study showed that in a maize-soybean intercropping system, the appropriate cropping pattern would be alternating 1sM:1sS. This should therefore be recommended for Makurdi location, Nigeria.
Authors and Affiliations
M. O. Ijoyah*| Department of Crop Production, University of Agriculture, P.M.B 2373, Makurdi, Nigeria., F. T. Fanen| Department of Crop Production Technology, Akperan Orshi College of Agriculture, Yandev, Benue State, Nigeria.
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP998
- DOI -
- Views 675
- Downloads 42
Seroprevalence of infectious bursal disease in backyard chickens of North West Ethiopia
A cross sectional study was conducted in North Gondar and West Gojjam Administrative Zones from November 2009 to June 2010 to determine the seroprevalence of infectious bursal disease by using I-ELISA (Indirect enzyme li...
Factors affecting rice farmer’s knowledge about the principles of sustainable agriculture (case study: central part of noor township in the mazandaran province, Iran)
The purpose of this study was to assess factors affecting rice farmer’s knowledge about the principles of sustainable agriculture. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 130 rice farmers of central part...
Effects of different cropping pattern on performance of maize-soybean mixture in Makurdi, Nigeria
Field experiments were conducted from July to November during the 2009 and 2010 cropping seasons, at the Research Farm, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria, to evaluate the effects of different cropping pattern o...
Comparing genetic diversity and population structure of common beans grown in Kyrgyzstan using microsatellites
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important export crop in Kyrgyzstan. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of genetic diversity, determine the population structure, and relate to the main gene pools gr...
Molecular detection of Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus associated with Citrus greening (Huanglongbing) of mandarin by DNA template preparation
The polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) diagnosis is more reliable and sensitive diagnostic tool for detecting greening bacterium than other conventional approaches like Electron microscopy, DNA-DNA hybridization and immunof...