Effect of clump planting of maize and time of planting of beans on growth and yield of intercropped maize and beans

Abstract

Two field experiments were conducted at the University of Nairobi's Faculty of Agriculture Kabete, to investigate the merits of clump planting of maize and time of planting of intercropped beans on growth and yield of the maize and beans. Effect of the treatments on field weed load was also examined. Three clumping patterns of maize and three planting times of beans were tested in a factorial experiment laid out in a completely randomised block design with three replications. The clumping patterns of maize consisted of one maize plant per hill spaced at 75 and 25 cm, two maize plants per hill spaced at 75 and 50 cm, and three maize plants per hill spaced at 75 and 75 cm. The three planting times of beans were beans planted with maize at the same time, planting beans two weeks after maize was planted, and planting beans four weeks after planting of maize. The two crops were intercropped in the same row. The parameters measured were: Biomass developments, grain yield and yield components, and field weed load quantified as weed biomass. Results showed that beans planted at the same time with maize had a superior yield compared with the beans planted two or four weeks after planting of maize. Beans planted 13 with maize clump spaced at 75 by 75 cm yielded significantly higher than beans planted with maize clump spaced at 75 by 50 cm and this in turn was higher than beans planted with maize clumped at 75 cm by 25 cm. The clump planting of maize and time planting of beans had no significant effect on the maize. The weed dry matter in clump spacing at 75 by 75 cm was significantly higher than in clump spacing at 75 by 50 cm and this in turn was higher than in clump spacing at 75 by 25 cm. Beans planted with maize at the same time had less weed load than beans intercropped two weeks after the maize and this in turn had less weed load than beans intercropped four weeks after the maize.