Growth and yield parameters of ginger as influenced by varying populations of maize intercrop
Lyocks SWJ1*, Tanimu J2 and Dauji LZ1
Research Article | Published August 2013
Journal of Agricultural and Crop Research, Vol. 1(2), pp. 24-29
1Samaru College of Agriculture, Division of Agricultural Colleges, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria.
2Department of Soil Science and Land Resources Management, Federal University Wukari Taraba State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: : swjlyocks@gmail.com. Tel: +2348023548026, +2347037695235.
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Intercropping of maize in ginger crop is a common practice among small scale farmers in southern Kaduna in Nigeria. However, the appropriate maize plant density to be applied on ginger crops is not known. A field experiment was conducted during the cropping seasons of 2009 and 2010 in Zaria, Nigeria to determine the most suitable maize population that would provide an appropriate advantageous shade to ginger without significantly affecting its yield or the yield of maize adversely. The field was planted with ginger at a uniform spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm (250000 plants ha-1) into which the varying maize populations 72222, 36111, 24074 and 18055 plantsha-1 were intercropped in addition with sole ginger, and sole maize crop at 72222 plants ha-1 as treatments 1 to 6, respectively. The experiment consisted of six treatments replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. Data for ginger and maize on growth parameters were obtained during the experiment period while the yield parameters were obtained at
harvest. The results showed that the ginger growth parameters did not show any significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences in the means among treatments in the trails. However, intercropping ginger with 24074 maize plants per hectare produced ginger rhizome yield of 10.84 tonnes ha-1 which was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) comparable with highest rhizomes yields of 14.08 tonne sha-1 obtained in sole ginger crop (P≤ 0.05). The 24,074 plantsha-1 maize population density also produced the highest maize grain yield (3.98 tonne sha-1) among the intercropped treatments. This treatment thus serves as the recommended intercropped populations of ginger and maize.
Key words: Zingiber officinale Roscue, Zea mays L., population density, intercropping, shade, rhizome, northern guinea savanna.
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Citation: Lyocks SWJ, Tanimu J, Dauji LZ (2013). Growth and yield parameters of ginger as influenced by varying populations of maize intercrop. J. Agric. Crop Res. 1(2): 24-29
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