Productivity of Cocoyam/Vegetable Cowpea Intercrop as Influenced by spatial Arrangement and Cowpea Growth Habits
2014
Okpara, DA | Chukwuekezie, GC | Iroegbu, M
Two years field experiments laid out in randomized complete block design were conducted during the 2006 and 2007 wet seasons in the lowland humid forest zone of south-eastern Nigeria to investigate the productivity of cocoyam / vegetable cowpea intercropping as influenced by spatial arrangement and cowpea growth habit. Cocoyam and vegetable cowpea were each planted in monoculture and intercropped within and between rows. The results showed that corm yields obtained from cocoyam intercropped within the row of climbing Akidienu were significantly higher than the yields when combined within erect IT86F-204-1. The erect IT86F-204-1 gave higher fresh pod yield under sole cropping while the climbing Akidienu gave higher fresh pod yield when intercropped within cocoyam plants. Intercropping did not depress cowpea pod yield except where cocoyam was combined between erect IT86F-204-1 in 2006. Assessment of the productivity of the mixtures using LER, ATER and monetary returns showed yield advantages. The highest LER (2.9), ATER (2.5) and net monetary returns (N491,550) (using mean of two years) were obtained when cocoyam was intercropped within the climbing Akidienu vegetable cowpea rows.Keywords: Productivity, Intercrop and spatial arrangement
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