Evaluation of Sorghum-Cowpea Intercrop Productivity in Savanna Agro-ecology using Competition Indices

Abstract

The competitive behaviour of sorghum-cowpea intercrops at different planting patterns were studied at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching and Research farm, Bauchi in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria during the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons. The treatments comprised of three row arrangements of sorghum/cowpea mixtures; one row of sorghum for one row of cowpea (1S:1C), two rows of sorghum for one row of cowpea (2S:1C) and one row of sorghum for two rows of cowpea (1S:2C), respectively. Sole crops of sorghum and cowpea were included as check to compare yields of intercropped mixtures. Results indicated that grain and straw yields of both sorghum and cowpea were higher in sole cropping than in the intercropping mixtures. However, the 2S:1C planting arrangement exhibited higher LER, competitive indices values, SPI and MAI (N7857.11) compared to the other planting arrangements and the sole crops. From this study, it is inferred that intercropping of sorghum with cowpea at 2S:1C planting pattern will give higher income, better land use efficiency and thus enhancing sustainability of crop production than sole culture of each crop species.