| Peer-Reviewed

The Effect of Plant Population Density on Yield and Yield Parameters of Potato, Maize and Beans in an Intercropping System in Bambili, the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Received: 1 October 2021     Accepted: 15 November 2021     Published: 23 November 2021
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Plant population density in intercropping system is known to directly affect competition among component crop as well as their yields. In a bit to establish appropriate population density in an intercropping system in Bambili, a field experiment was conducted with treatments Sole Potato (33,333 plants/ha), Sole maize (40,000 plants/ha), sole beans (66,666 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/maize 25 cm (73,333 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/maize 50 cm (53333 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/beans 15 cm (99,999 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/beans 30 cm (66,666 plants/ha) and potato 30 cm/Maize 100 cm/Beans 60 cm (59,333 plants/ha) using a Randomized Complete Block Design with four (4) replicates. Data was collected on growth and yield parameters and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Means were separated using Fischer’s least significance difference (LSD). Results obtained showed that intercropping potato, maize and beans had no effect on percentage emergence and percentage plant vigor but significant differences (P≤ 0.05) on plant height and groundcover. Significant differences (P≤ 0.05) between numbers of tubers per potato plants were obtained in both intercropping and sole cropping while the differences in the number of pods per beans plant and number of cobs per maize plant were not significant (P≥ 0.05). Intercropping had a negative effect on the average weight of tubers per potato plant which resulted to lower tuber weights per plant in intercropping as compared to sole cropping. In the case of beans and maize, intercropping had no significant effect (P≥ 0.05) on the average weight of pods, but there was significant (P≤ 0.05) difference in the average weight of maize grains. Overall the yields of potato per hectare, maize per hectare and beans per hectare were significantly (P≤ 0.05) affected by intercropping. Comparing the intercropping treatments, potato/maize at 25 cm had the best maize grain yield (1.7 tons/ha) while potato/beans at 15 cm had the best beans yield (2.4 tons/ha). More research on Potato /beans (99,999 plants/ha), Potato /maize (53333 plants/ha) and Potato /maize (73,333 plants/ha) as appropriate intercropping systems is recommended.

Published in American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 9, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18
Page(s) 390-396
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Potato, Maize, Beans, Intercropping, Plant Spacing, Population Density

References
[1] Caliskan, S. M., M. Aslan, I. Uremis and M. E. Caliskan, 2007. The effect of row spacing on yield and yield components of full season and double cropped soybean. Turk. J. Agric. For., 31: 147-154.
[2] M. M. Rahman and M. M. Hossain, 2011. Plant Density Effects on Growth, Yield and Yield Components of Two Soybean Varieties under Equidistant Planting Arrangement, Asian Journal of Science 10 (5): 278-286, ISSN 1682-3974 / 10.3923/ajps. 278-286.
[3] Grichar, W. J., 2007. Row spacing, plant populations and cultivar effects on soybean production along Texas Gulf Coast. Crop Manag.
[4] Misiko, M., P. Tittonell, J. J. Ramisch, P. Richards and K. E. Giller, 2008. Integrating new soybean varieties for soil fertility management in smallholder systems through participatory research: lessons from western Kenya. Agric. Syst., 97: 1-12.
[5] Daroish, M., Z. Hassan and M. Ahad, 2005. Influence of planting dates and plant densities on photosynthesis capacity, grain and biological yield of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] in Karaj, Iran. J. Agron., 4: 230-237.
[6] Seran, T. H and I. Brintha, 2009a. Studies on biological and economic sufficiency of Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) intercropped with vegetable amaranthus (Amaranthus tricolor L.). Open Hortic. J., 2: 17-21.
[7] Peter B. Adler, Danielle Smull, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, Tucker Furniss, Andrew Kulmatiski, Joan M. Meiners, Andrew T. Tredennick, Kari E. Veblen, 2018; Competition and coexistence in plant communities: intraspecific competition is stronger than interspecific competition, Ecology Letters Volume 21, Issue 9, Pages: 1319-1329.
[8] Ravneet K. Sandhu, Nathan S. Boyd, Shaun Sharpe, Zhengfei Guan, Qi Qiu, Tianyuan Luo, and Shinsuke Agehara 2020b; Management of Relay-cropped Strawberry and Eggplant to Maximize Yield and Economic Return in HortScience Volume 55: Issue 7, Page Count: 1083–1089.
[9] Fasoula, V. A., and Tollenaar, M. (2005). The impact of plant population density on crop yield and response to selection in maize. Maydica 50, 39–48.
[10] Zhang, G., Yang, Z. and Dong, S., 2011. Interspecific competitiveness affects the total biomass yield in an alfalfa and corn intercropping system. Field Crops Research, 124 (1), pp. 66-73. Doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2011.06.006.
[11] Jackson LE, Pascual U, Hodgkin T (2007) Utilizing and conserving agrobiodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Agr Ecosyst Environ 121: 196-210.
[12] Waddington SR, Mekuria M, Siziba S, Karigwindi J (2007) Long-term yield sustainability and financial returns from grain legume-maize intercrops on a sandy soil in subhumid north central Zimbabwe. Exp Agr 43: 489-503.
[13] Saddam Aref Al-Dalain (2009) Effect of Intercropping of Zea Maize with Potato Solanum tuberosum L. on Potato Growth and on the Productivity and Land Equivalent Ratio of Potato and Zea Maize. Agricultural Journal 4: 164-170.
[14] Beyenesh Z. Kidane, Mereseit H. Hailu, Haile T. Haile 2017; Maize and Potato Intercropping: A Technology to Increase Productivity and Profitability in Tigray,” Open Agriculture, Vol 2, no. 1, 2017; pp. 411–416.
[15] Bantie YB 2015; Determination of effective spatial arrangement for intercropping of maize and potato using competition indices at South Wollo, Ethiopia - International Journal of Research, 2: 137. doi: 10.4172/2376-0354.1000137.
[16] Ndiso et al. 2016 Effect of cropping system on soil moisture content, canopy temperature, growth and yield performance of maize and cowpea. International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2167-0447 Vol. 7 (3), pp. 1271-1281, 2017.
[17] Kariaga B. M., (2004). Intercropping maize with cowpeas and beans for soil and water management in western Kenya. ISCO 2004 - 13th International Soil Conservation Organization Conference – Brisbane, July 2004 Conserving Soil and Water for Society: Sharing Solutions.
[18] Neba, Aaron (1999). Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon. Bamenda: Neba Publishers.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Tatah Eugene Lendzemo, Che Terence Nfongeh, Chi Christopher Tamu, Dominic Khumbah Njualem. (2021). The Effect of Plant Population Density on Yield and Yield Parameters of Potato, Maize and Beans in an Intercropping System in Bambili, the Western Highlands of Cameroon. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 9(6), 390-396. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Tatah Eugene Lendzemo; Che Terence Nfongeh; Chi Christopher Tamu; Dominic Khumbah Njualem. The Effect of Plant Population Density on Yield and Yield Parameters of Potato, Maize and Beans in an Intercropping System in Bambili, the Western Highlands of Cameroon. Am. J. Agric. For. 2021, 9(6), 390-396. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Tatah Eugene Lendzemo, Che Terence Nfongeh, Chi Christopher Tamu, Dominic Khumbah Njualem. The Effect of Plant Population Density on Yield and Yield Parameters of Potato, Maize and Beans in an Intercropping System in Bambili, the Western Highlands of Cameroon. Am J Agric For. 2021;9(6):390-396. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18,
      author = {Tatah Eugene Lendzemo and Che Terence Nfongeh and Chi Christopher Tamu and Dominic Khumbah Njualem},
      title = {The Effect of Plant Population Density on Yield and Yield Parameters of Potato, Maize and Beans in an Intercropping System in Bambili, the Western Highlands of Cameroon},
      journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
      volume = {9},
      number = {6},
      pages = {390-396},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20210906.18},
      abstract = {Plant population density in intercropping system is known to directly affect competition among component crop as well as their yields. In a bit to establish appropriate population density in an intercropping system in Bambili, a field experiment was conducted with treatments Sole Potato (33,333 plants/ha), Sole maize (40,000 plants/ha), sole beans (66,666 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/maize 25 cm (73,333 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/maize 50 cm (53333 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/beans 15 cm (99,999 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/beans 30 cm (66,666 plants/ha) and potato 30 cm/Maize 100 cm/Beans 60 cm (59,333 plants/ha) using a Randomized Complete Block Design with four (4) replicates. Data was collected on growth and yield parameters and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Means were separated using Fischer’s least significance difference (LSD). Results obtained showed that intercropping potato, maize and beans had no effect on percentage emergence and percentage plant vigor but significant differences (P≤ 0.05) on plant height and groundcover. Significant differences (P≤ 0.05) between numbers of tubers per potato plants were obtained in both intercropping and sole cropping while the differences in the number of pods per beans plant and number of cobs per maize plant were not significant (P≥ 0.05). Intercropping had a negative effect on the average weight of tubers per potato plant which resulted to lower tuber weights per plant in intercropping as compared to sole cropping. In the case of beans and maize, intercropping had no significant effect (P≥ 0.05) on the average weight of pods, but there was significant (P≤ 0.05) difference in the average weight of maize grains. Overall the yields of potato per hectare, maize per hectare and beans per hectare were significantly (P≤ 0.05) affected by intercropping. Comparing the intercropping treatments, potato/maize at 25 cm had the best maize grain yield (1.7 tons/ha) while potato/beans at 15 cm had the best beans yield (2.4 tons/ha). More research on Potato /beans (99,999 plants/ha), Potato /maize (53333 plants/ha) and Potato /maize (73,333 plants/ha) as appropriate intercropping systems is recommended.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Effect of Plant Population Density on Yield and Yield Parameters of Potato, Maize and Beans in an Intercropping System in Bambili, the Western Highlands of Cameroon
    AU  - Tatah Eugene Lendzemo
    AU  - Che Terence Nfongeh
    AU  - Chi Christopher Tamu
    AU  - Dominic Khumbah Njualem
    Y1  - 2021/11/23
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18
    T2  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JF  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JO  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    SP  - 390
    EP  - 396
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8591
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.18
    AB  - Plant population density in intercropping system is known to directly affect competition among component crop as well as their yields. In a bit to establish appropriate population density in an intercropping system in Bambili, a field experiment was conducted with treatments Sole Potato (33,333 plants/ha), Sole maize (40,000 plants/ha), sole beans (66,666 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/maize 25 cm (73,333 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/maize 50 cm (53333 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/beans 15 cm (99,999 plants/ha), potato 30 cm/beans 30 cm (66,666 plants/ha) and potato 30 cm/Maize 100 cm/Beans 60 cm (59,333 plants/ha) using a Randomized Complete Block Design with four (4) replicates. Data was collected on growth and yield parameters and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Means were separated using Fischer’s least significance difference (LSD). Results obtained showed that intercropping potato, maize and beans had no effect on percentage emergence and percentage plant vigor but significant differences (P≤ 0.05) on plant height and groundcover. Significant differences (P≤ 0.05) between numbers of tubers per potato plants were obtained in both intercropping and sole cropping while the differences in the number of pods per beans plant and number of cobs per maize plant were not significant (P≥ 0.05). Intercropping had a negative effect on the average weight of tubers per potato plant which resulted to lower tuber weights per plant in intercropping as compared to sole cropping. In the case of beans and maize, intercropping had no significant effect (P≥ 0.05) on the average weight of pods, but there was significant (P≤ 0.05) difference in the average weight of maize grains. Overall the yields of potato per hectare, maize per hectare and beans per hectare were significantly (P≤ 0.05) affected by intercropping. Comparing the intercropping treatments, potato/maize at 25 cm had the best maize grain yield (1.7 tons/ha) while potato/beans at 15 cm had the best beans yield (2.4 tons/ha). More research on Potato /beans (99,999 plants/ha), Potato /maize (53333 plants/ha) and Potato /maize (73,333 plants/ha) as appropriate intercropping systems is recommended.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Crop Production Technology, College of Technology, the University of Bamenda, Bambili, NWR Cameroon

  • Department of Crop Production Technology, College of Technology, the University of Bamenda, Bambili, NWR Cameroon

  • Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Technology, the University of Bamenda, Bambili, NWR Cameroon

  • School of Tropical Agriculture and Natural Resources, Catholic University of Cameroon CATUC, Bamenda, NWR Cameroon

  • Sections