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Discuss maize intercropping

Discuss maize intercropping

Answers

Faith
-Common with small scale farmers who grow maize for subsistence.
-Maize does well when intercropped with beans or other legumes.
-Intercropping with legumes is recommended for higher rainfall areas while pure stand is recommended for marginal rainfall areas.
-The intercropping system of maize-beans is a low input and high yield strategy in the tropics. Maize yield is increased by as much as 50% over monoculture yield. Although the yields for beans maybe reduced, the overall yield for the two combined crops is greater than when grown separately in monocultures.
-When intercropping is done with beans or cowpeas, one or two rows of legumes are sown after every row of maize. The distance between bean plants is 15 cm for two plants per hole.
-Recommended legumes for intercropping in Kenya are beans, pigeon peas, cowpeas, groundnuts and soya beans. Other crops that have been tried with varying success include potatoes, cassava and pumpkin.
-Intercropping maize with beans and other legumes like desmodium regulates pests (leafhopper, leaf beetles, stalk borer, armyworm), parasitic weeds (Strigahermonthica) and increases the land utility.
-Intercropping maize with beans and squash enhances parasitism of caterpillars. This practice increases the abundance of natural enemies where food sources for beneficial insects are made available.

Titany answered the question on August 16, 2021 at 07:29

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