ABSTRACT
Two field experiments were conducted from August to November 2017, April to July 2018 planting seasons at Eastern Farm of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State to determine the effect of Row plant population and zinc micronutrient application in a Maize-Mungbean intercropping scheme. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated three times. Treatments included two different population density of mungbean (106,666 plants/ha and 133,333 plants/ha) and three level of zinc application rate (0kg/ha, 2kg/ha and 4kg/ha). The result obtained showed that intercropping of maize-mungbean population and zinc rate interactions significantly influence growth yield and yield components in both maize and munbean plants. The result among sole maize indicated that the highest grain yield of 2.69 t/ha and 4.04 t/ha was recorded at sole maize + Zn (4kg/ha) in the 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons. The highest yield of maize grain in the intercrops were 3.58 t/ha and 3.86 t/ha which was recorded in Maize + Mungbean (106,666 plants/ha) + Zn (4kg/ha) in 2017 and Maize + Mungbean (133,333 plants/ha) + Zn (2kg/ha) in the 2018 cropping seasons respectively. Similarly, the interaction of mungbean population with maize and zinc rate application when considered, showed that mungbean grain yield in the sole cropping gave the maximum yield of 720kg/ha at sole mungbean (133,333 plants/ha) + Zn (4kg/ha) in 2017 and 1182 kg/ha at sole Mungbean (106,666 plants/ha) + Zn (2kg/ha) in the 2018 cropping seasons respectively. The highest mungbean grain yield of 777kg/ha was recorded by Maize+Mungbean (133,333 plants/ha) + Zn (4kg/ha) in 2017 and 945kg/ha at Maize + Mungbean (133,333 plants/ha) + Zn (4kg/ha) in the 2018 season respectively among the intercropped scheme. Based on the cropping system, sole cropping gave the highest grain yield in the two cropping seasons with 482kg/ha in 2017 and 750kg/ha in the 2018 cropping season. Also, the interaction of Zn (4kg/ha) gave the highest yield in the 2017 while Zn (2kg/ha) gave the highest yield in the 2018 cropping seasons respectively. The maximum value of Total land equivalent ratio, Land Equivalent Co-efficient and % land save of 1.76, 0.76 and 43.18 were obtained at Maize + Mungbean (133,333 plants/ha) + Zn (2kg/ha) in 2017 season while that of 2018 season were 1.51, 0.54 and 33.77 was recorded by maize + mungbean (106,666 plants/ha) + Zn (2kg/ha). These results indicated that row plant population density and zinc rate application are important factors determining the productivity of intercropped and zinc micronutrients fertilizer applied to obtain adequate yield.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table
of Contents vi
List
of Tables ix
Abstract xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Justification of the Study 4
1.2 Objectives of the Study 4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6
2.1 Intercropping Systems 6
2.1.1 Advantages of intercropping 7
2.1.2 Disadvantages
of intercropping 8
2.1.3 Cereal-legume intercropping 9
2.1.4
Plant population density and ratio in
intercropping systems 10
2.1.5 Importance of micro-nutrients especially
Zinc (Zn) in cereal-legume
production 11
2.1.6 Importance of mungbean 13
2.1.7 Botany,
propagation or planting of mungbean in intercrop 14
2.1.8
Importance of maize. 14
2.1.9
Botany, propagation or planting of
maize in intercrops 15
2.1.10
Plant population and crop yield 15
2.1.11 Assessment of yield advantages in
intercropping systems 16
CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS 18
3.1
Location of the Experimental
Site 18
3.2
Soil History of the
Experimental Site 18
3.3
Planting Materials 18
3.4
Experimental Design 19
3.5
Agronomic Practices 21
3.5.1 Land
preparation 21
3.5.2 Basal
treatments 21
3.5.3 Preparation
of planting materials 21
3.5.4 Sowing
method/treatment application 21
3.5.5 Fertilizer
application 22
3.5.6 Weed
control 22
3.5.7 Plant
health management 22
3.6
Experimental Design 22
3.7
Data Collection 22
3.6.1 Maize
and mungbean (vegetative growth) 22
3.6.2 Yield data of maize and mungbean 23
3.6.3
Tissue analysis of plants
(destructive sampling) 24
3.6.3.1 Determination
of nitrogen (N) 25
3.6.3.2 Determination
of phosphorus (P) 26
3.6.3.3 Determination
of calcium (Ca) and manganese (Mn) 27
3.6.3.4 Determination
of zinc (Zn) 28
3.6.4
Evaluation of crop
mixture 28
3.7
Statistical Analysis 30
3.8
Statistical Model 30
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 32
4.1 Soil
Physico-Chemical Properties of the Experimental Site 32
4.2 Agrometeorological Data of the
Experimental Sites (January to December
2017 and 2018) 32
4.3 Maize 35
4.3.1 Growth components 35
4.3.2 Maize yield and yield components 54
4.4 Mungbean 59
4.4.1 Growth components 59
4.4.2 Mungbean yield and yield components 86
4.5 Discussion 92
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 97
5.1 Conclusion 97
5.2 Recommendation 97
References
LIST OF TABLES
3.1: Treatments
description 20
4.1 Soil
physico-chemical properties of the experimental site 33
4.2 Agro-meteorological data of the
experiential site (January-
December 2017 and 2018) 34
4.3: Effect
of cropping system, mungbean plant populations and zinc rate
on plant height of maize at
different sampled dates in 2017 and 2018
cropping seasons. 36
4.4: Effect of cropping system, mungbean
populations and zinc rate on
number
of leaves of maize at different sampled dated in 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons. 39
4.5: Effect of cropping system, mungbean plant
populations and zinc rate
on leaf area of maize at different sampled dates in 2017 and 2018
cropping seasons. 42
4.6: Effect of cropping system, mungbean plant
populations and zinc rate on
leaf area index of maize at
different sampled dates in 2017 and 2018
cropping seasons. 46
4.7: Effect
of cropping system, mungbean plant population and zinc rate
on
dry matter content of vegetative parts of maize at 8WAP in 2017
and
2018 cropping seasons. 50
4.8: Effect
of cropping system, mungbean plant population and zinc rate on
Mineral
contents of maize at 8WAP in 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons 52
4.9: Effect of cropping system, mungbean plant
populations and zinc rate on
Yield and Yield Component of maize
in 2017 cropping seasons.
mungbean plant populations and zinc
rate on Yield And Yield Component
of maize in 2018 cropping seasons. 55
4.10:
Effect of cropping system, mungbean
plant populations and zinc rate on
plant height of mungbean at
different sampled dates in
2017
and 2018 cropping seasons. 61
4.
11: Effect of cropping system, mungbean
plant populations and zinc rate on
number of leaves of mungbean at
different sampled dates in
2017 and 2018 cropping seasons. 65
4.12:
Effect of cropping system, mungbean
plant populations and zinc rate on
number
of stems of mungbean at different sampled date in 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons. 69
4.13:
Effect of cropping system mungbean
plant populations and zinc rate on
leaf area of mungbean at different sampled
dated in 2017 and
2018
seasons (leaf area) 72
4.14:
Effect of cropping system, mungbean
plant populations and zinc rate on
leaf area index of mungbean at different
sampled
date
in 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons. 75
4.15: Effect of cropping system, mungbean plant
populations and zinc rate on
canopy diameter of mungbean at different
sampled date in 2017 and 2018
cropping
seasons. 78
4.16:
Effect of cropping system, mungbean
plant population and zinc rate on dry
matter content of vegetative parts
of mungbean at 8WAP in 2017
and
2018 cropping season 81
4.17 Effect of cropping system, mungbean plant
populations and zinc rate on
mineral contents of mungbean at
8WAP in
2017 and 2018 cropping
seasons. 84
4.18 Effect of cropping system mungbean plant populations
and zinc rate on
Yield And Yield Component of mungbean in 2017 cropping seasons.
Effect of cropping system mungbean
plant populations and zinc rate on
Yield and Yield Component of mungbean
in 2018 cropping seasons. 87
4.19: Effect
of zinc rate and mungbean plant population on land
equivalent
ratio (LER),
land equivalent coefficient (LEC) and
percentage land saved (%) in maize and
mungbean intercrops
in 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons 91
CHAPTER
1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Intercropping, which is a form of farming system
practiced by farmers includes among other patterns the growing of more than one
crop simultaneously on the same area of land in definite row arrangement (row
intercropping) (Muoneke, 2017). According to Takim (2012), the system demands
proximity in terms of space and time on the same field.
The most common goal of row intercropping is
production of heigher yield on a land by utilization of ecological processes
and niches that would otherwise not be used by one crop (Ouma et al., 2010). Its practice is prevalent
in the sub-tropical regions of Africa, Asia and some Tropical American
countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico among others (Okigbo, 1982;
Dhima et al., 2007).
Hauggard-Nielsen et
al., (2009); Chapagain and Riseman, (2014) and Hamzei and Seyyedi, (2016)
reported that cereal/legume mixture is the most common form of intercropping
practiced by most farmers. Intercropping is prevalent in the Nigerian farming
systems where annual and perennial crops (vegetables, field crops and perennial
fruits and vegetable crops) are mixed ( Muoneke and Mbah, 2007; Mbah et al., 2011; Mouneke, 2017).
According to Carruthers et al. (2000) intercropping is gaining greater attention at most
regions of the globe for the production of food, feed and fibre so as to meet
the challenges of decreasing available fertile arable lands resulting from
population pressure. Intercropping is the most prevalent farming practice
utilized for sustainable agricultural systems which plays a paramount function
in improving the quality of productivity and yield thereby helping increase
resource utilization and ensure a balanced environment, (Alizadeh et al., 2010).
Intercropping as a farming (technology) enables
intensification of a farming system leading to increased general productivity and
biodiversity in the intercropped fields as compared to monocultures of the
individual intercropped species. Also, Muoneke (2017) stated that intercropping
involves low input system agriculture that is achieved by the simple experiment
of growing crops together in a unit area.
Intercropping
legumes and cereals is a widely practiced scheme in the tropics (Banik et al., 2006; Hauggard-Nielsen et al., 2001) because leguminous crops
incorporated in crop production
helps farmers to combat soil
erosion and decrease of organic matters and also nitrogen availability (Muoneke
et al., 2002, Akingbade et al., 2004), crop complementarity (Muoneke et al., 2012), and weed control (Poggio, 2005; Banik et al.,2006;Muoneke et al., 2013) as
well as legume root parasite infection control (Fernandez-Aparico et al., 2007).
Maize (Zea mays
L.) is a cereal crop cultivated in all parts of the world at various
agro-ecological environments (IITA, 2009). It is the third most important
cereal crop grown for both man and animal consumption in the world (FAO, 2015).
Its grain constitutes about 9.73% protein, 4.85% oil, 9.43% crude fibre and
71.96% starch. While it’s green fodder contains 10.35% protein, 28.79%
cellulose, 9.09% moisture (Ali et al., 2014).
Maize is commonly intercropped with various crops such as cassava, yam,
vegetables/cowpea among others in the southeastern region of Nigeria and has
versatile uses as food, feed and industrial materials (Ogunlela et al., 1988; Muoneke and Mbah 2007;
Mbah et al., 2011).
Mungbean (Vigna
radiata (L) Wilczek) belongs to family Fabaceae. It is a readily and
available protein source and other vital micronutrients (Javed et al., 2014). Mungbean crop is grown widely in Asia and is gradually
being incorporated into the Nigeria agroecosystem (Onuh et al., 2011; Agugo 2003). The grain of mungbean constitutes 24.5 %
protein, 59.9 % carbohydrate, 75 mg calcium, 8.5 mg iron, 49mg β-carotene in
100 mg of mungbean (Afzal et al.,
2004).
Many farmers reduce the planting density of the
various crop components in an intercropping system, which adversely reduces
yield of components crops of the respective intercrops as compared to pure
stands (Chiezey et al., 1990; Hiebsch
et al., 1995). Yunussa (1989)
reported that the beneficial effects of intercropping are not realized by the
farmers, because they often plant their crops at sub-optimal densities, hence
the use of optimal plant population in intercropping systems enhances yield and
productivity advantage.
Tariq et al.,
(2002) reported that maize is a crop that is most susceptible to zinc
deficiency. Zinc was reported to increase maize grain yield (Harris et al., 2007; Hossain et al., 2008). Use of Cu and Zn have significantly
improved grain yield of maize,
production of dry matter, organic and inorganic compounds concentration in
plant yield and vegetative production (Eteng et al., 2014).
Mungbean grows well in the presence of zinc
micro-nutrients in soil. According to Shojaei and Makavian (2015), zinc helps
to activate various metabolic enzymes in the roots and plant body, hence
adequate uptake of NPK by the crop is increased to maintain crop growth and
production.
Abunyewa and Mercer-Quarshie (2004) reported that
manual application of zinc sulphate fertilizer helps to improve the yield of
maize. Jekara et al., (2005) reported
uptake of zinc in leaves; grain and roots contain maximum zinc contents of
29.84 mg kg-1 dry weight, 35.55 mg kg-1 dry weight and
35.88 mg kg-1 dry weight, respectively. Increase in plant height, maize
crop zinc content and shoot dry weight was reported by Furlani et al., (2005). 26% Increase in yield
grain and 16% of wheat over a range of environment of production was reported
by Harris et al. (2007).
Guan et al., (2003)
observed that uptake of zinc by seedlings of mungbean was improved by increase
in the quantity of Zn and become stable by increased application of Zn. Kassab
(2005) reported that foliar application of Zn with other micronutrients
significantly increased the growth yield and yield related parameters of
mungbean. Kumar et al., (2010)
evaluated the effect of ZnSO4 on growth of mungbean on saline
environment and reported significant hampering of the suppressing effects of
salinity on the plant.
1.2 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
There is little information on the actual plant
population requirements of mungbean and maize with relation to their response
to zinc micronutrient application in an intercropping system. Therefore, there
is the need to ascertain the impact of plant population and effect of zinc
micronutrient rate on yield and growth of mungbean and maize based
intercropping system.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study were to determine:
i.
the effect of plant population of mungbean on growth and yield of component
crops in maize-mungbean intercrop;
ii. the
effect of zinc rate on growth and yield of maize and mungbean in sole and
intercrop;
iii. the effect
of cropping system on growth and yield of maize and mungbean in sole and
intercrop;
iv. the interactive
effects of the three factors (plant population, zinc rate and cropping system) on
growth and yield of the component crops as well as productivity of the
system.
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