Intercropping of maize-mungbean to increase the farmer's income

Abstract

The alternative to increase the income of maize farmers is intercropping with legumes. Intercropping of maize-mungbean should be not maize productivity lowest compared to monoculture. Therefore, to avoid the decrease in the yield of maize, the plant population of maize in intercropping should be the same as the optimal population in maize monoculture and mungbean in intercropping does not interfere or compete with the maize crop. To suppress yield reduction of mungbean in intercropping by setting maize plants as such so that the light intensity obtained by mungbean to be optimum. The research was aimed to obtain maize-mungbean intercropping with high farmer income. The field experiment was conducted on dry land at Gowa, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The treatment i.e 1. Intercropping 1 row of mungbean in maize twin row at plant spacing of (100-50) cm x 20 cm; 2. Intercropping 2 rows of mungbean in maize twin rows at plant spacing of (100-50) cm x 20 cm; 3. Intercropping with 1 row of mungbean in twin row at plant spacing of (110-40) cm x 20 cm; 4. Intercropping 2 rows of mungbean in maize twin rows at plant spacing of (110-40) cm x 20 cm; 5. Maize monoculture with a plant spacing of 75 cm x 20 cm; 6. Mungbean monoculture with a plant spacing of 40 x 20 cm. Both of maize monoculture and intercropping maintained plant population at 66,666 plants ha-1. Monoculture of mungbean population was 125,000 plant ha-1, whereas intercropping whit 1 row of mungbean was 33,333 plant ha-1 and 2 rows of mungbean at 66,666 plant ha-1. The results showed that maize-mungbean intercropping in twin rows of maize was able to obtained maize grain yield 2.9 - 7.0% and profit of 26 - 45% higher than monoculture, had maize equivalent yield 24-50% higher than maize grain yield actual, land equivalent ratio >1, and B-C ratio > 1. Intercropping of maize-mungbean with twin rows plant of maize at spacing (110-40) cm x 20 cm and 2 rows of mungbean can be recommended to increase farmer income because it has the highest land utilities and economic benefit compared to other models.