Watermelon intercropped with cereals under semi-arid conditions: an on-farm study

Intercropping is a common practice in Africa, but the advantage compared to sole cropping depends on the crop plants and local agro-ecological conditions. The potential of intercropping maize (Zea mays) or sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) with watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) was tested in two on-farm trials...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental agriculture 2012-07, Vol.48 (3), p.388-398
Main Authors: MUNISSE, P, B. D. JENSEN, O. A. QUILAMBO, S. B. ANDERSEN, J. L. CHRISTIANSEN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural practices
Agronomy
Citrullus lanatus
Companion crops
continuous cropping
Corn
Crop science
Crop yield
crops
Drought
Ecological conditions
Farmers
Farming
Fruits
Intercropping
plant density
planting
Planting density
rain
risk
Risk reduction
semiarid zones
Sole cropping
Sorghum
Sorghum bicolor
watermelons
Zea mays
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Summary:Intercropping is a common practice in Africa, but the advantage compared to sole cropping depends on the crop plants and local agro-ecological conditions. The potential of intercropping maize (Zea mays) or sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) with watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) was tested in two on-farm trials in southern Mozambique under semi-arid conditions in an area with low and unpredictable rainfall. In the first experiment, plant density, yield and monetary value of sole and intercropping plots of maize with watermelon were determined in 17 farmers' fields in an area where all crops developed to maturity and harvest. There was a significant reduction in yield of both maize (28.8%) and watermelon (57.8%) in the intercrop compared with the sole crop yields. However, the mean land equivalent ratio of 1.13 for yield showed that intercropping had advantages as, on average, an area planted with sole crops would require 13% more land than an intercrop production to generate the same outcome. In the second experiment, carried out in another area with 16 farmers' fields, drought was more pronounced and only watermelon developed to maturity. Intercroppings with maize and sorghum resulted in 70% and 69% yield reduction, respectively. In conclusion, watermelon is a good companion crop for intercropping with cereals to mitigate the risk of total crop failure due to drought.
ISSN:1469-4441
0014-4797
1469-4441
DOI:10.1017/S0014479712000051