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Crop Growth, Development and Yield in Semi-arid Conditions in Botswana. II. The Effects of Intercropping Sorghum Bicolor with Vigna Unguiculata

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

D. J. Rees
D. J. Rees
Affiliation:
Dryland Farming Research Scheme (DLFRS), Agricultural Research Station, P/Bag 0033, Gaborone, Botswana
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Summary

Plant growth, development and yield were monitored in sorghum/cowpea intercropping trials in Botswana during the drought seasons of 1982/3 and 1983/4. The cowpea proved to be more competitive than sorghum in these arid conditions, resulting in substantial increases in sorghum mortality and developmental delay, and substantial decreases in sorghum leaf area indices, dry weight production and grain yield. Intercropping in standard rows at medium plant densities resulted in Land Equivalent Ratios considerably less than 1.0, in contrast to earlier trials in Botswana in higher rainfall years which demonstrated intercropping advantages. Low density, wide row intercropping resulted in some small intercropping advantages, suggesting that this treatment may have potential in Botswana's variable climatic conditions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , April 1986 , pp. 169 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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References

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