Influence of intercropping sorghum with legumes to control striga (Striga hermonthica) in Pawe, North Western Ethiopia (original) (raw)

Striga hermonthica, is a major constraint to sorghum production in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study was conducted to assess the potential role of intercropping sorghum with different legumes for control of striga. Two types of cropping system (simultaneous and relay) and two row arrangements (single and double alternate) were used for intercropping with groundnut and soybean. The experiment included a standard treatment of sole crop of sorghum, grou dnut and soybean. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications for two cropping seasons of 2014 and 2015. From the result intercropping of sorghum with soybean and groundnut has significantly reduced the striga counts per plot as compared to sole sorghum. Lowest number of striga count (29.5) at vegetative stage and (19.7) at heading stages was recorded from simultaneous cropping of sorghum-soybean in double alternate row arrangements. The combined analysis result showed that sorghum grain ...