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AUTHOR(S): Christian Iwuagwu, Charles Umechuruba, Charles Ononuju, Andrew Nwogbaga, Muhammadu Salaudeen, Francis Onejeme
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ABSTRACT The experiment was conducted in 2010 and 2011 planting seasons in an upland location. The experiment involved the planting of faro 48 which was most susceptible to the common fungal diseases as revealed by the seed health test done in earlier experiment. One variety of maize (Oba Super 2), hybrid maize and one variety of soybeans commonly planted in the area TGX 1448260 were used. Three treatments of Rice + Maize, Rice + Soybeans and Sole Rice as control were used in the experiment. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated 12 times. Effective planting area of each block was 6m x 2m, giving 12m2 while each plot in a block was measured 2m x 2m, giving 4m2. A total area of the farm with the paths was 12m x 4m which equals 48m2. The experiment was sited at the eastern farm of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and research farm of National Cereal Research Institute, Amakama Umuahia South LGA. The land was ploughed and harrowed and later ridges were made. The ridges were converted into bed measuring 2m x 2m with 50cm path between each and 1m path between each block. The rice was planted four seeds per stand at a distance of 20cm x 20cm. This gave a plant population of 250,000 stands per hectare. Soybean and maize were planted at the distances of 25cm x 50cm and 25cm x 75cm respectively in between the rows of rice plants in a staggering arrangement. The plant population for soybean was 80,000 stands / ha while maize had 53,333 stands / ha. Relevant data collected from the rice crop include: Plant height, number of tillers, leaf area, root length, panicle length, one thousand seed weight, and yield per plot and disease assessment. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA in RCBD using GenStat software. The results showed that there was a significant effect of intercropping on the yield of rice. The highest yield (290.07g) was obtained in rice + soybean mixture. This was significantly higher than the other mixtures, followed by (235.13g) obtained in rice only. This was significantly the same as the least (220.44g) obtained in rice + maize mixture .There was a significant effect of intercropping on disease incidence on rice plants. The highest disease incidence of (64.10%) obtained in rice + soybean which is significantly higher than (50.90%) obtained in rice + rice but not different from (37.20%) obtained in rice only in Umudike. There was a significant effect of intercropping on disease severity on rice plants, where the highest disease severity of 3.25 occurred in rice + soybean mixture. This was significantly higher than the least disease severity value (1.92) obtained in rice only as well as 2.00 obtained in rice + maize. It is therefore recommended that rice and some complementary crops such as soybean be intercropped to increase yield in order to maximize profit. |
KEYWORDS Intercropping, disease incidence, severity, rice, maize, soybean, yield |
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Cite this paper Christian Iwuagwu, Charles Umechuruba, Charles Ononuju, Andrew Nwogbaga, Muhammadu Salaudeen, Francis Onejeme. (2019) Effect of Intercropping Rice with Maize and Soybeans on Disease Incidence, Severity and Yield of Rice in Abia State. International Journal of Agricultural Science, 4, 23-28 |
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