• Authors:
    • Ghelfi,R.
    • Armuzzi,M.
    • Marchi,A.
  • Source: Informatore Agrario
  • Volume: 66
  • Issue: 47
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: This paper describes the yield and profitability of potato as an intercrop for cereals grown in Italy. Information on production costs based on the input requirements of production methods commonly used by growers in Emilia Romagna is included.
  • Authors:
    • Iqbal, M.
  • Source: Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry
  • Volume: 9
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: An investigation was conducted at Bangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute Farm to assess effects of irrigation on yield of potato and sunhamp as 1st and 2nd intercrops with Isd 31 variety of sugarcane by STP polybag settlings. There was remarkable increase in yield of potato, sunhamp and sugarcane by water application. The highest yield of potato, sunhamp and sugarcane obtained were 10.06 t/ha, 16.96 t/ha and 85.50 t/ha in T 3, T 2 and T 3 treatments and of that control treatments yield were 6.94, 12.69 and 71.48 t/ha respectively. Yield of potato, sunhamp and sugarcane reduced due to excess application of water in each T 4 treatment. Therefore, the profitability of intercropping potato and sunhamp with sugarcane significantly did not reduce the yield of the sugarcane compared to the alone cane.
  • Authors:
    • Gao, M.
    • Zhou, T.
    • Zhu, S.
    • Jin, X.
  • Source: Journal of Northwest A & F University - Natural Science Edition
  • Volume: 38
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A comparative analysis of the structure and function characteristics and ecological and economic benefits of different agroforestry models in a purple soil area in China was conducted. An agroforestry ecosystem composed of a pear forest and different crops planted under the local forest was taken as the research objective. The emergy analysis method was used to compare the emergy input and output of pear-rapeseed-maize system (model 1), pear-rapeseed-groundnut system (model 2), pear-wheat-maize system (model 3) and pear-wheat-sweet potato system (model 4). Results showed that the energy input structure in the four agroforestry models was similar. The investment of non-renewable emergy took a main proportion in the systems. The human labour emergy and the fertilizer emergy played dominant roles. Model 1 had the highest production efficiency, the most advantageous in price-competition, and the most powerful self-development. Model 4 had the lowest renewable resource utilization, the smallest environment load ratio and the biggest emergy sustainable indices. The net emergy yield ratio and emergy self-support ratio of model 2 were close to that of model 3. However, model 2 had a higher development potential because of its lower environment pressure. The science and technology level of the agroforestry ecosystem in the purple soil area was lower. The input of organic manure should be increased. Model 1 was the best model at present and model 4 was the most potential model for development.
  • Authors:
    • Manorama, K.
    • Lal, S.
  • Source: Indian Journal of Agronomy
  • Volume: 55
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Field trials were conducted on sandy clay loam soils of the Nilgiris during summer seasons of 2003 to 2005 to study the intercropping possibilities of French beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L), maize ( Zea mays L.) and wheat ( Triticum aestivum L) with potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) in three population proportions (75:25, 75:50 and 50:50) under rainfed conditions. The results indicated that potato+French bean at 75:50 population recorded significantly higher potato equivalent yield, (PEY) (27.1 t/ha), land equivalent ratio (LER) (1.28) and net returns (Rs 69,090) over sole potato. Intercropping of potato with wheat and maize resulted in significant decrease in PEY over sole potato. Potato is more competitive than other crops as evident from Relative Crowding Coefficient (RCC) values. However, at 50:50 ratios, French bean and maize are more competitive. Potato+maize (75:50 and 50:50) was found soil exhaustive while potato+French bean is soil restorative system.
  • Authors:
    • Rhykerd, R.
    • Ossom, E.
    • Mayisela, M.
  • Source: Journal of Applied Sciences Research
  • Issue: February
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A field investigation was conducted in Swaziland, in 2008/2009 cropping season, to evaluate effects that different groundnut populations could exert on growth indices and crop yields in a groundnut sweetpotato association. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block of five treatments: [1, pure sweetpotato (33,333 plants ha -1); 2, pure groundnut (200,000 plants ha -1); 3, pure groundnut (100,000 plants ha -1); 4, sweetpotato (33,333 plants ha -1) intercropped with groundnut (200,000 plants ha -1); and 5, sweetpotato (33,333 plants ha -1); intercropped with groundnut (100,000 plants ha -1)] and replicated four times. Results showed that intercropping sweetpotato (33,333 plants ha -1) with a high groundnut population (200,000 plants ha -1) significantly (P
  • Authors:
    • Rao, K.
    • Nedunchezhiyan, M.
    • Satapathy, B.
  • Source: Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
  • Volume: 80
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A field experiment was conducted during 2006-08 in Alfisols under rainfed conditions to investigate the productivity potential, biological efficiency and economics of sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas L.)-based strip intercropping systems. Among the crops tested, sweet potato as a sole crop recorded higher yield (13 367 kg/ha) than other crops. Among strip intercropping, sweet potato tuber yield was higher (8 538 kg/ha) in sweet potato+pigeonpea. In sweet potato+pigeonpea intercropping increase in number of tubers/plant (3.1), tuber length (12.6 cm), mean tuber diameter (8.9 cm) and tuber yield/plant (213 g) were noticed than sole sweet potato. All the strip intercropping systems showed superiority over sole crops in terms of sweet potato tuber equivalent yield. However, sweet potato+pigeonpea intercropping system recorded significantly higher tuber equivalent yield (13 534 kg/ha) than other intercropping systems. Strip intercropping system of sweet potato+pigeonpea resulted in higher LER (1.31), the product of relative crowding co-efficient (K=3.52) and benefit:cost ratio (3.24).
  • Authors:
    • Akinpelu, A.
    • Amangbo, L.
    • Ano, A.
    • Njoku, S.
    • Ebeniro, C.
  • Source: Journal of Agriculture and Social Research (JASR)
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: A field trial was conducted for 2 years to determine cropping system effect on yield of some sweetpotato and okra cultivars in an intercropping system. Sweetpotato variety TIS 87/0087 produced significantly (P
  • Authors:
    • Nkambule, B.
    • Ossom, E.
  • Source: Advances in Environmental Biology
  • Volume: 4
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Intercropping is the growing of two or more crop species at the same time and in the same field. Sweetpotato [ Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] is receiving new attention as a life-saving food crop in developing countries. Jugo bean [ Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] is a leguminous species similar to peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.). Though leguminous crops have been associated with sweetpotato under intercropping systems, it is not known what effects different jugo bean populations could have under intercropping with a fixed population of sweetpotato. The objective of this experiment was to assess the effects of jugo bean plant population on physiological growth indices and crop yields under intercropping.
  • Authors:
    • Ossom, E.
  • Source: International Journal of Agriculture and Biology
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Sweet potato is a major root storage crop in Swaziland, whereas maize ( Zea mays L.) is the staple food crop in Swaziland. In this experiment, sweet potato cv. Kenya was grown in the field and intercropped with maize cv. SC 603 with the objective of determining the effects of crop association on soil temperature, weed infestation and crop yields. Five plant population treatments (T) were investigated: T 1, Maize alone at 40,000 plants/ha; T 2, sweetpotato alone at 33,333 plants/ha; T 3, maize at 40,000 plants/ha, intercropped with sweetpotato at 33,333 plants/ha; T 4, maize at 40,000 plants/ha, intercropped with sweet potato at 16,666 plants/ha and T 5, sweet potato alone at 16,666 plants/ha. Soil surface temperatures were generally higher than temperatures at 10 cm depth; nonetheless there were no significant differences in soil temperatures among the cropping systems. The three most dominant weed species in all plots were Bidens pilosa L. (37.5-59.3% relative abundance), followed by Cynodon dactylon L. (15.7-43.6%) and Oxalis latifolia (7.1-18.7%). Sida rhombifolia (0-0.4%); Schkuhria pinnata (0-0.4%) and Leucas martinicensis (0-0.4%) were the three least abundant weed species. Land equivalent ratio (LER) values indicated that Sweet potato-maize mixture at the recommended sole sweet potato population (33,333 plants per hectare) was a better cropping system (LER, 0.77) than intercropping at 50% of the recommended Sweet potato (LER, 0.74). Correlation data showed that maize cob yield was not significantly correlated to the 100-grain mass (r=0.508; R 2=0.2581; N, 12); the resultant correlation of determination showed that 25.8% in the variation in cob yield could be ascribed to 100-grain mass. In sweet potato, correlation data showed that the number of tubers per plant was positively correlated to tuber yield ha -1 (r=0.676; R 2=0.4570; N, 16); from the co-efficient of determination, 45.7% of tuber yield could be associated with the number of tubers per plant. In conclusion, sweet potato monocropping was the best system; nonetheless, if it has to be intercropped with maize, there should be 33,333 and 40,000 plants ha -1 of sweet potato and maize, respectively.
  • Authors:
    • Paza, A.
  • Source: Biuletyn Instytutu Hodowli i Aklimatyzacji Roslin
  • Issue: 257/258
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The objective of the investigations carried out in the years 2002-2005 was to assess the influence of stubble catch crops on yielding of potato. The following combinations of stubble catch crop fertilization applied: control object (without stubble catch crop fertilization), farmyard manure, white mustard, white mustard-mulch, phacelia, phacelia-mulch. Table potatoes were cultivated in the first year after applying the intercrop. During harvest the total yield of fresh mass of tubers was assessed, and after harvest the structure of tuber yield was determined. The results showed that stubble catch crops, compared with farmyard manure, introduced into the soil significantly smaller amount of dry matter and macroelements. The weather conditions in the period of the study significantly influenced the potato yield. The highest yield of tubers was obtained in the combination in which fertilization with phacelia plowed down the previous autumn was applied. Stubble catch crops, with the exception of white mustard left in the form of mulch till spring can completely substitute for farmyard manure fertilization.