Forage Production Potential of Maize - Cowpea Intercropping in Maichew - Southern Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Needless to mention the ever increasing pressure on cultivated land for food & commercial crops, diminishing the area for forage production. RCBD five treatments with three replications experiment compared maize grown as sole crop with maize-cowpea intercropped to assess agronomic, nutritional and economic returns of forage production. Average plant performance ranged 122.85-174.19cm maize plant height; 20.7-26.4cm ear length, & number of leaves/maize plant was 9.13-10.52. The effect of intercropping treatments on maize forage yield was significant (P<0.05), however, there was no significant difference in grain yield among the cropping systems though T5 yielded higher and higher 100 maize grains weight followed by T4 yield and 21.74g average 100 maize grain weight; T3 (3.05ton/ha) and 21.84g average 100 maize seeds and the least in yield was actually the sole maize T2 (2.24ton/ha), confirming that intercropping has at least, some scenario better than sole cropping practices. There was no significant soil NPK effect pre-sowing and postharvest. Nutritionally, feed quality of maize parts was significant difference among the intercropping systems that stated in their descending value of cowpea hay, as follows: NDF (T3>T1>T5>T4); ADF (T1>T5>T3>T4) and typical in CP. lignin content (T1>T5>T4>T3), while IVDMD% (T3>T4>T5>T1). NDF content was significantly higher in maize stem and least in grain. Maize husk significantly over dominated in ADF content than stem, leaf and grain in descending order. ADF content was great significant in the entire parts that maize husk has higher than stem which exceeds leaf. Grain was the least in ADF content of all maize parts. Similarly, maize stem was significantly higher in lignin than husk, leaf and grain. LER was 1.45 in the mixtures indicating yield advantage over sole crops. T4 has the potential for enhancing cowpea and maize performances. Favorable seasons for better DM yield and chemical composition of both crops should be researched.