TITLE:
Evaluating the Intercropping of Millet with Cowpea for Forage Yield and Quality
AUTHORS:
Naveed Islam, Muhammad Shahid Ibni Zamir, Shan Mohi Ud Din, Umer Farooq, Haseeb Arshad, Aqib Bilal, Muhammad Talha Sajjad
KEYWORDS:
Intercropping, Forage, Quality, Yield, Crop, Productivity
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.9 No.9,
August
7,
2018
ABSTRACT: A field
study was scheduled to estimate the impact of intercropping of pearl millet
with cowpea on forage yield and quality at Agronomy Research Farm, University
of Agriculture, Faisalabad. It was done in kharif season 2016. Randomized
complete block design was used to conduct this experiment. It has three
replications. The size of net plot is 3.6 m × 6 m. It
comprised of five treatments (T1 = one row of millet alternating
with one row of cowpea (1M:1C), T2 = two rows of millet alternating with one row of cowpea (2M:1C), T3 = one row of millet alternating with two rows of cowpea (1M:2C), T4 = sole millet, T5 = sole cowpea). We found that intercropping
significantly effected the
yield and quality of forage. Intercropping system had significant effects on
nutritive value of forage crop. Within various treatments of intercropping, it
is evident that treatment T2 (two rows of millet alternating with
one row of cowpea) gives maximum total dry matter yield (9.68 t ha-1). It
was then tracked by treatment T1 (one row of millet alternating with
one row of cowpea) and treatment T3 (one row of millet alternating
with two rows of cowpea) producing dry matter yield (9.07 t ha-1 and 8.33 t ha-1, respectively).
Based on high grain and suitable environmental condition, intercrop
productivity compared to sole crop could be selected for improving the
productivity of millet/cowpea mixture in the Punjab.