Maize-grain legume intercropping for enhanced resource use efficiency and crop productivity in the Guinea savanna of northern Ghana

Field Crops Research
Michael KermahKen E Giller

Abstract

Smallholder farmers in the Guinea savanna practise cereal-legume intercropping to mitigate risks of crop failure in mono-cropping. The productivity of cereal-legume intercrops could be influenced by the spatial arrangement of the intercrops and the soil fertility status. Knowledge on the effect of soil fertility status on intercrop productivity is generally lacking in the Guinea savanna despite the wide variability in soil fertility status in farmers' fields, and the productivity of within-row spatial arrangement of intercrops relative to the distinct-row systems under on-farm conditions has not been studied in the region. We studied effects of maize-legume spatial intercropping patterns and soil fertility status on resource use efficiency, crop productivity and economic profitability under on-farm conditions in the Guinea savanna. Treatments consisted of maize-legume intercropped within-row, 1 row of maize alternated with one row of legume, 2 rows of maize alternated with 2 rows of legume, a sole maize crop and a sole legume crop. These were assessed in the southern Guinea savanna (SGS) and the northern Guinea savanna (NGS) of northern Ghana for two seasons using three fields differing in soil fertility in each agro-ecological...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 19, 2021·Journal of Agriculture and Food Research·Eliakira Kisetu NassaryPatrick Alois Ndakidemi

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