Effect of Growth and Yield Responses of Maize (Zea Mays L.) Intercropped with Cowpea (Vinga Unguiculata L.), Under Rain-fed Condition in Jigjiga Woreda of Fafen zone in Somali region, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.), the queen of cereals, is planted with wide spacing and so it offers the scope of intercropping. As maize is a wide spaced crop, the inter row space allows to grow the short statured crops such as legumes. Maize- legume intercropping system is one of the most important intercropping systems followed worldwide. Considering the benefits of cereal-legume association, an experiment of maize-cowpea intercropping system was conducted during the season of 2017 G.C. in farmers field at Amadle Kebale in Jigjiga Woreda of Fafen zone in Somali region, Ethiopia, Jigjiga is under humid-hot sub-tropical climatic conditions. The treatments were comprised of five cropping systems namely, T1: sole maize, T2: sole cowpea, T3: Maize with cowpea (1:1), T4: Maize with cowpea (2:1), T5: Maize with cowpea (2:2), Paired row sowing of melkasa4 maize was done with a spacing of 75X30 cm in both sole and intercropped systems, whereas pure stand and intercropped systems of cowpea was sown with 50X30 cm spacing. As per the treatments, single
and double row of intercrops were taken in between two pairs of maize. The observations recorded from the experiment clearly showed that the growth and productivity of maize was influenced by the intercropping systems used in this research study. Based on the present finding, intercropping of two rows maize and two rows cowpea more economic advantage than the other crop combination or grown alone. However, in additive series of intercropping treatments, cowpea produced considerable yield. The competition functions like land equivalent ratio (LER), relative crowding co-efficient (RCC), aggressivity (A) and competitive ration (CR) prominently indicated the benefits of maize-cowpea intercropping system under Jigjiga area conditions.