Influence of intercropping sorghum with legumes to control striga (Striga hermonthica) in Pawe, North Western Ethiopia (original) (raw)
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Journal of biology, agriculture and healthcare, 2016
Striga is a serious constraint to sorghum, millet, rice and maize production in the dry land zones of Africa Field experiment was conducted at Mechara Agricultural Research Center during ; to determine the effect of cowpea and soybean intercropping pattern on Striga hermonthica infestation in sorghum and to assess the effect of S. hermonthica and intercropping on system productivity. The treatments included two legume crops (soybean and cowpea), their planting time (simultaneously and at first weeding of sorghum),three planting patterns of legumes (double alternate plants within sorghum plants, two rows in between two rows of sorghum and both double alternate plants and two rows in between two rows of sorghum) along with sole crops (sorghum, soybean and cowpea). The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that cowpea proved significantly superior to soybean in reducing striga infestation. Though simultaneous planting of soybean with sorghum in double alternate plants and two rows in between two rows of sorghum had minimum Striga infestation, but it was statistically at par with cowpea planted simultaneously with sorghum under all the planting patterns and planting with first weeding in sorghum under double alternate plants and two rows in between two rows of sorghum. Interaction of legumes with planting pattern significantly influenced sorghum plant height and aboveground dry biomass yield, while legumes and their time of planting and time of planting and planting pattern had significant effect on crop stand count and kernel weight per head, respectively.
Influence of Sorghum-legume Intercropping on Striga Control and Sorghum Performance
University of Khartoum Journal of Agricultural Sciences
Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth is an important parasitic weedon cereals in the semi-arid tropics. Intercropping, particularly of cerealswith cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), is a common practice in many parts ofthe semi-arid zone. The main objectives of this study were to determinethe influence of sorghum-legume intercropping on striga control in centralSudan, and to assess the effect of such association on crop performance.Field experiments were conducted in striga-infested plots at theAgricultural Research Corporation (ARC) farm at Wad Madani, Sudan,during the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 seasons. Sorghum cultivarsArfagadamk and Wad Ahmed were intercropped with four legumes.Treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design with 3replicates. Striga emergence was significantly reduced by 37.7% - 85.6%in sorghum-legume intercropping compared to sole sorghum, irrespectiveof variety and season. The highest reduction in striga emergence wasobtained with the sorghum cv. Arfagadamk-legu...
Agricultural Systems, 2014
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L. Moench) is a globally important food security crop, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments. Sorghum productivity is low in subsistence farming systems due to biotic, abiotic and socio-economic constraints. The objective of this study was to determine farmers' sorghum production opportunities, threats, indigenous knowledge and perceptions with a focus on breeding priorities Striga infestations and the farmers' coping mechanisms in different agro-ecologies in Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling method was employed to interview 315 households selected from nine districts of three administrative zones within two provinces. Participatory rural appraisal tools including a structured questionnaire, pair-wise ranking, focus group discussion, and observations through a transect walk were used to collect data. The results showed that the majority of the participant farmers, (86%) were involved in sorghum production. In all study areas sorghum landraces were preferred by >85% of respondents rather than improved released varieties. Farmers listed and prioritized several sorghum production constraints based on importance and severity. The constraints varied among the study areas due to the diversity of agro-ecologies and cropping systems. Results from the pair-wise ranking showed that farmers' have variable preferences for sorghum varieties. At the north Shewa and north Wello zones drought resistance was the most farmers-preferred trait, followed by Striga resistance. In the Metekel zone Striga resistance was the number one farmer-preferred trait, followed by grain quality. The prioritised traits will form the basis for farmer-oriented sorghum breeding.
African Journal of Plant Science
This study investigates integrated striga management (ISM) technologies for enhancement of sorghum productivity and reduction of striga infestation using demonstration conducted in 2016/2017 production season in Tanqua-Abergele district in one of the striga prone areas at 'Imba-Rufeal' kebele. The results implied that there was a highly significant difference among application of ISM technologies and conventional practices for grain and straw yield. The mean sorghum grain yields obtained from ISM technologies and conventional practice were 32.86±2.96 and 25.08±5.49 qt ha-1 , respectively. Conversely, the mean sorghum straw yields obtained from ISM technologies and conventional practice were 123.29±11.22 and 138.20±16.46 qt ha-1 , respectively. Partial budget analysis indicated that maximum net benefit (11,468.33 ETB ha-1) with the highest marginal rate of return (136.01%) was generated from sorghum grown fields treated with ISM technologies compared to cultivation of local cultivar through conventional practices (9,207.83 ETB ha-1). That means for every 1 ETB invested on sorghum production using ISM technologies, the return was 1.36 ETB. Farmers' perceptions also indicated that ISM technologies are quite good at solving the recurrent striga infestation, yield increment and drought escaping mechanism of improved variety (Gobiye). Unlike straw yield, the improved variety grown using the ISM technologies proved better in grain yield, earliness, striga resistance and economically feasible compared to conventional practices. Therefore, farmers should implement ISM technologies with its full packages to enhance yield and reduce scourge of striga. Moreover, further popularization and scaling out of ISM technologies to locations prone to striga infestation should be implemented by the research center and stakeholders.
OALib, 2018
Striga causes a serious threat to successful cultivation of sorghum in areas of low and erratic rainfall and poor soil fertility. Therefore, to reduce yield losses and severity of Striga, a field experiment was conducted during the cropping season of 2015 on heavily Striga-infested field in Fedis District, Boko site to determine the effect of trap crops (cowpea, soybean, desmodium, control) and N fertilizer rates (0, 46, 92 and 138 kg N ha −1
Evaluation of Cereal-Legume Cropping on Striga Control and Maize Yield
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology: B, 2020
Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth is ranked as the number one constraint to maize productivity in Eastern Uganda. The use of trap crops is one of the control measures suggested for farmers with limited resources in Striga infested areas. In this study the main focus was on the effectiveness of intercropping in reducing Striga infestation and hence overall land productivity. The major objective was to identify suitable legumes in the control of Striga. In order to achieve this, on-farm experiments were conducted in Tororo and Busia districts of Eastern Uganda where the effect of the legumes on the Striga prevalence was evaluated. Maize (Zea mays) was intercropped with common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), soybean (Glycine max) and silver leaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) with sole maize (Z. mays) as the control. Soybean, beans and desmodium decreased the infestation of Striga by 26%, 40% and 72%, respectively. There was a significant (p < 0.05) difference in the number of emerged St...
Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 9(2): 62-66, 2019
The imbalance between the crop production and population growth is currently the major issue in southern Ethiopia. To feed the growing population, increasing the production of food through growing more crop types in the same field as an intercropping is the right strategy. The current study was aimed at evaluating the effect of sorghum-legume intercropping and its residual effect on yield of sorghum. The land equivalent ratio was calculated for sorghum intercropped with pigeon pea and cowpea. Intercropping sorghum with pigeon pea and cowpea increases the land productivity as its Land Equivalent Ratio is greater than 1. In both cases, the land equivalent ratio is greater than 1 indicating the benefits of intercropping. The residual effect of sorghum intercrop with legumes was evaluated on the yield of sorghum. Although there was no statistically significance differences on yield and yield component of sorghum, sorghum planted on the plot of pigeon pea and cowpea sole has 44.6% and 27.8% yield advantage relative to sorghum alone respectively. Planting sorghum under sorghum-cowpea intercropped condition increase the yield of sorghum by 41.8%. The result also shows 74.0% sorghum yield change was observed when planted after intercropped condition of sorghum with pigeon pea. The productivity of sorghum also increases when planted on the plot of sole legume. The current finding in general shows that legume crops contributed to the yield of sorghum either intercropped with legume or grown up using residual contribution of legumes after a year. Therefore, for maximum sorghum production farmers in the area should plant either as intercrop or after residual effect of legumes.
Effects of Inter-cropping and a Herbicide on Management of Striga hermonthica on Sorghum
Asian Research Journal of Agriculture, 2017
Aims: The present work was undertaken to determine the effects of the herbicide chlorsulfuron and intercropping sorghum (cv.Wad-Ahmed) with cowpea (T100K-901-6 cv.) on S. hermonthica incidence and sorghum growth. Study Design: Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replicates. Place and Duration of Study: A series of laboratory and greenhouse experiments was undertaken at the College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST) at Shambat, during the season 2013/2014. Methodology: Striga free or infested soil was placed in plastic pots (9 cm i .d) with perforations at the bottoms. Pots filled with Striga free soil (0 mg) were included as control for comparison. Sorghum cultivar Wad-Ahmed was sown as sole crop or intercropped with cowpea. Chlorsulfuron at 1.3 g active ingredient (a.i)/fed was applied three weeks after sowing. Plant height and Stem diameter were measured in centimetres using a ruler and vernier caliper instrument, respectively, while weight was weighed in gram after drying using a balance.