Evaluation of cowpea cultivars for intercropping with pearl millet in the Sahelian zone of West Africa

Ntare, B R (1989) Evaluation of cowpea cultivars for intercropping with pearl millet in the Sahelian zone of West Africa. Field Crops Research, 20 (1). pp. 31-40. ISSN 0378-4290

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Abstract

Field trials were conducted at ICRISAT Sahelian Centre, Niger, to examine the performance of contrasting cowpea cultivars intercropped with pearl millet. Significant effects (P ≤ 0.05) of cropping system and cultivars were observed for cowpea grain yield. Cultivar × cropping system interaction was significant only for fodder yield. Intercropping reduced cowpea yields significantly but the degree of reduction varied among cultivars. Early-maturing erect cultivars exhibited greater yield reduction than the indeterminate spreading types and had the least effect on millet yields. Indeterminate spreading cultivars produced greater grain and fodder yield than erect types and caused the greatest millet yield reduction. The relationship between the yield of cowpea cultivars and millet when intercropped was negative. Linear correlations between yield of cowpea in sole and intercrop were positive and significant (P < 0.01) with r values ranging from 0.45 to 0.91. However, a small proportion of the greatest and least-yielding cowpea cultivars in intercropping would have been selected and rejected, respectively, on the basis of sole-crop grain-yield. It was concluded that selection of cowpea cultivars for intercropping with millet based on their grain yield in sole crop may have limited success. Selection based on fodder yield favoured late-maturing cultivars. Selection of cowpea cultivars for intercropping should be based on their intercropped performance, paying special attention to other agronomic factors. An appropriate cowpea cultivar for intercropping with millet would be the one that is less competitive with millet and yields both grain and fodder

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Intercropping, Sahelian Zone, West Africa, Cowpea
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets > Pearl Millet Others > Plant Physiology
Depositing User:	Mr B K Murthy
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2014 04:05
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2014 04:05
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/8089
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0378-4290(89)90021-X
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	The author gratefully acknowledges the facilities provided by the ICRISAT Sahelian Centre, Niger, for the conduct of the experiments.
Links:	Google Scholar

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