EFFECT OF INTERCROPPING FORAGE LEGUMES AT DIFFERENT PLANT DENSITIES WITH SORGHUM [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] ON THE PERFORMANCE OF COMPONENT CROPS AT FEDIS, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted on farmer’s field during 2016 cropping season at Fedis Eastern Ethiopia. The experiment was aimed at assessing the effect of forage legumes population densities intercropped with sorghum on forage yield and to evaluate the effect of forage legumes intercropped with sorghum on yield components and yield of sorghum. Sorghum variety, ‘Teshale’ at its recommended population rate of 66,666.6667 plants/ha and two forage legumes (cowpea and lablab) were tested under factorial combination of three population densities (25%, 50% and 75%) and the sole forage legumes with its recommended density (250,000 plants/ha) accompanied with sole sorghum and the treatments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design in three replications. The statistical analysis of the data indicated that forage legume and planting density had no significant effect on sorghum phenology, but the forage legume phenology and flowering date showed significance difference between population densities of forage legumes. The leaf area and leaf area index of sorghum indicated a significance difference among the forage legume and cropping system. The earlier flowering date (72.3 days) of forage legume was recorded under the forage plant grown at 75% population density. The interaction effect of forage legumes and plant population density was significant (P<0.01) on plant height and thousand kernels weight of sorghum at (P<0.05).The higher sorghum plant height (157.5 cm) was recorded from sorghum intercropped with lablab at 25% plant population density, while the highest thousand kernels weight (59.57) was recorded under sorghum intercropped with cowpea at 75% population density. All forage parameters indicated significant difference on forage legumes except on the number of branches and stand count. The LER of the system was found to be more than one indicating the advantages of the intercropping system over sole cropping system. The highest sorghum grain yield, LA, LAI and LERs were obtained from sorghum-lablab intercropping in which lablab was sown at 25% plant population. Higher (GMV10980 ETB ha-1) was obtained from cowpea intercropped with sorghum. Therefore, from this result it can be concluded that intercropping of lablab with sorghum at 25% seed rate of its sole with superior system of cropping in the study area