Effect of spatial arrangements on the performance of pearl millet-Cowpea

2013

English

Spatial arrangement of crops is critical in determining the growth and yield of intercrops. The productivity of four spatial arrangements of pearl millet-cowpea intercrop was studied from June to October 2010 in the Sudan savannah zone of Upper East Region of Ghana. The intercrop row arrangements were: one-row millet: one row cowpea (1M:1C), two-row millet : one row cowpea (2M:1C), two-row millet : two-row cowpea (2M:2C) and two-row millet : four-row cowpea (2M:4C). There were also the sole crop arrangements of millet and cowpea that formed the basis for comparison with the other arrangements. Even though yields of the intercrop components were lower than their sole crop counterparts, the intercrop components were more productive than the sole crop components as evidenced by the Land Equivalent Ratios (LERs) which ranged from 1.27 to 2.31. The results of the study showed that one row of millet to one row of cowpea (with millet planted 2 weeks before cowpea) yielded better than the other spatial arrangements.

Yirzagla, J.