Effect of plant populations on the productivity of plantain and cassava intercropping

Abstract

Two plantain-cassava intercropping experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile–Ife. Each experiment was planted in a 2 x 2 factorial involving four mixture proportions arranged in Randomized Complete Block design with four replications. Growth, crop yields and productivity of plantain (Musa paradisiacal) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) were observed. The two intercrop populations for plantain were planted at 3 x 3m and 3 x 2m spacing. The two populations for cassava were planted at 1 x 1 and 1 x 0.5m spacing. In Experiment I, cassava was intercropped with plantain stands at the same time while in Experiment II, cassava was intercropped two months after plantain was planted. The results in Experiment I showed that growth, harvestable yields and productivity of plantain and cassava intercrops were enhanced by the plant populations of each intercrop Thus, suggesting that complementary rather than competitive yielding prevailed in the mixtures. The spatial and temporal factors in complementary yielding were discussed. The highest land use and monetary efficiency values were land equivalent ratio (LER), of 1.65, land equivalent coefficient (LEC) of 0.68 and monetary equivalent ratio (MER) of 1.62, which were obtained at the highest mixture plant population. Planting cassava two months after the planting of plantain (Experiment II) resulted in loss of intercropping advantage because plantain drastically affected associated cassava growth, yield and mixture productivity.

Keywords: cassava, plantain, productivity, plant population

Moor Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 5(1) 2004: 26-32