EFFECT OF INTERCROPPING IN GROWTH AND YIELD OF MAIZE AND COWPEA

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at the Abu Ghraib experimental station ofthe Department of Agric. Res., Ministry of Agriculture in the spring season of2016 in order to evaluate the growth and yield of maize and cowpea under theinfluence of intercropping. Experiment carried out according to the design ofrandomized complete block with three replicates. Experiment included sixtreatments (100% maize, 100% cowpea 100% Maize + 100% cowpea, 100%Maize+75% cowpea, 100% Maize+50% cowpea and 100% Maize+25% cowpea),the variety of maize used was 5018 and for cowpea was California Ramshorn.The results showed that all studied were influenced by intercropping. Plantheight, leaf area, days to flowering and number of seeds per plant for both cropsdecreased as the crop density of companion crop increased. Grain yield of bothcrops were affected by intercropping as compared to sole crop as influenced byplant density.All intercropping treatments had land equivalent ratio greater than1, that means that intercropping was more efficient than monoculture in theyield return per unit area. The most appropriate and most efficient treatments ofintercropping which gave the highest land equivalent ratio was 100%maize +100% or 75% cowpea.