YIELD AND LAND EQUIVALENT RATIO OF INTERCROPPING MAIZE WITH EGYPTIAN COTTON

Abstract

Mixed cropping is a system of agriculture that involves planting two or more crops simultaneously in the same field. A two year study was conducted at Giza Agric. Exp. & Res. Sta., Fac. of Agric., Cairo Univ., Egypt, during 2011 and 2012 summer seasons to increase yields of maize and cotton, as well as, famer's benefit. Mixed intercropping pattern (120 cm ridge width) was used in this study for growing both crops, maize plants were distributed in four plants per hill spacing at 70 cm of middle of ridge after one month of growing cotton, whereas, cotton plants were sown in both sides of ridges by growing two plants per hill distanced at 20 cm apart, in addition to solid plantings of both crops. Two Egyptian cotton varieties Giza 80 and Giza 86, as well as, one maize variety S.C. 30k08 were used. Three maize treatments (harvesting maize for grains, defoliation of maize at 100 days from sowing maize and harvesting maize for silage at 90 days age) were used under intercropping and solid plantings. A split-split plot arrangement in randomized complete block design was used. Cropping systems were distributed at main plots, whereas, cotton varieties and maize treatments were allotted in sub and sub – sub plots, respectively. For cotton plants under intercropping, shading of adjacent maize plants affected negatively number of open bolls per plant, seed cotton yields per plant and per ha. Cotton cultivar Giza 80 had higher values of number of open bolls per plant, seed cotton yields per plant and per ha in a comparison with the other. Harvested maize plants for silage caused significant increments in number of open bolls/plant, seed cotton yields per plant and ha by 7.69, 13.36 and 11.97 percent, respectively, as compared with intercropped cotton plants with harvested maize plants for grains. The studied cotton traits were affected by the interaction between cropping systems and maize treatments only. Intercropping maize with cotton decreased number of ears per plant, grain yields per plant and per ha as compared with recommended solid planting of maize. Intercropping decreased grain yields caused significant reduction in grain yield per ha by about 22.13% as compared with recommended solid planting of maize. Intercropping maize with cotton increased LER as compared to solid plantings of both crops. LER ranged from 1.45 to 1.98 with an average of 1.69. Net return of intercropping maize with cotton was varied between treatments from 475 to 936 € per ha as compared with recommended solid planting cotton (212 € ).