Infleunce of Agroforestry System on Growth and Yield of Sorghum, Sesame and Roselle Intercropped with Acacia senegal

Transcription

1 Infleunce of Agroforestry System on Growth nd Yield of Sorghum, Sesme nd Roselle Intercropped with Acci senegl (L.) Willd in North Kordofn Stte, Sudn. Kml Eldin M. F. M. Agriculturl Reserch Corportion, El-Oeid Reserch Sttion, P.O. Box 429, El-Oeid, Sudn. ABSTRACT: This study exmined the effects of intercropping with Acci senegl (L.) Willd on growth nd yield of sorghum ( Sorghum icolor L.), sesme ( Sesmum indicum L.) nd roselle ( Hiiscus sdr). Field experiments were conducted in El- Oeid Reserch frm (Lt N; Long E), North Kordofn Stte, Sudn, during in n 11yer-old A. senegl plnttion. The experimentl design ws rndomized complete lock design (RCBD) with four replictes. Dt were recorded for plnt height (cm), fresh weight (kg \h), dry weight (kg \h), crop yield (kg\h) nd gum yield (kg \h). Lnd Equivlent Rtios (LER) nd simple finncil nlyses of gross surpluses were used to evlute the productivity nd profitility of the different tretments. The results indicted tht A. senegl trees hd eneficil effect on crop performnce nd yield. Significnt differences (P<0.05) were otined for plnt height, fresh weight, dry weight nd crop yield. Therefore, yield of sorghum, sesme nd roselle under intercropping system ws 13.7, 23.8 nd 20.9% higher, respectively thn tht otined in the sole cropping system. The highest yield increse ws oserved with sesme (23.8 %). All the tretments gve lnd equivlent rtio (LER) of more thn one - indicting the superiority of growing the field crops in intercropping over the sole cropping systems. The highest LER of ( 3.8) ws otined for sesme intercropped with A. senegl (Hsh) nd followed y (3.7) when sorghum ws intercropped with A. senegl nd (3.3) when roselle intercropped with A. senegl. All the tretments gve positive net revenues, the highest eing for intercropping with sorghum (558 SDG \h). The intercropping of roselle gve the second net revenue (518 SDG \h), while the sole sorghum gve the lowest net revenue (501 SDG\h). KEYWORDS:Sorghum icolor,acci senegl, Agroforestry system, Sesmum indicum, Hiiscus sdrifi, Semi-rid enviroment, Sudn INTRODUCTION Acci senegl (L.) Willd produces high qulity gum ric which is n importnt csh crop tht contriutes signficntly to the economies of numer of Africn coutries (Fdl nd El sheikh., 2009) More thn 80% of the totl gum ric worldwide is collected from Acci senegl which grows nturlly in the gum elt of Sudn (Fdl, 2009). The nnul trde is worth round 45 million USD (Bshir, 2001; Beshl 1984., nd Lrson nd Brom, 1991). The verge gum production in Sudn hs declined from 46,000 metric tons in the 1960s to 28,000 metric tons in 1990s (Elmgvist, 2003). A. senegl in Sudn grows nturlly in the gum elt (Ltitude 10 0 nd 14 0 N). This rod ecologicl region represents complex nd diverse environment with regrd to climte, soils, vegettion, nimls nd humn ctivities (Blll, 1991). These fctors were reported y Seif Eldin, (1984) to hve n impct on gum yield. The species is grown successfully in the semi-rid environment of Kordofn, Drfur nd western White Nile nd in the centrl cly plins (Ahmed, 1986; Bdi et l., 1989; Hussein nd Suliemn, 1999). In ddition to producing gum, A. senegl is useful s windrek, its 151

2 pods nd folige provide good fodder for livestock nd the tough wood of its tp root nd stem is used for mking tool hndles. Strong fiers cn e otined from the long, flexile surfce roots, nd the dense wood yields excellent chrcol (NAS, 1986). It is n importnt multipurpose leguminous tree species for fforesttion in the rid nd semi rid regions. It plys n importnt environmentl role in comting desert encrochment nd minimizing soil erosion. An importnt chrcteristic of this woody legume is its ility to fix tmospheric nitrogen in symiosis with rihzoium in root nodules (Zhng et l. 1992). A. senegl in western Sudn is under cropped with field crops such s millet Pennisetum glucum (L) R. Br), sorghum ( Sorghum icolor L.), groundnut ( Archis hypoge L.), sesme ( Sesmum indicum L.) nd wtermelon ( Citrulus lntus Thum) in fllow period of yers (Blll, 1991). In recent yers, the re under A. senegl is decresing due to expnsion nd intensifiction of griculturl ctivities, excessive tree cutting, drought nd desertifiction (NKRDP., 2001). This hs resulted in severe losses in soil fertility nd significnt declines in yields of crops nd trees (Fdl nd Ge, 2004). The ojective of this study ws to investigte the effect of A. senegl groforestry system on growth nd yield of sorghum ( Sorghum icolor L.'), sesme (Sesmum indicum L.) nd roselle ( Hiiscus sdrifi L.) nd to ssess nd compre the economic return of the crops grown without trees. MATERIALS nd METHODS The field experiment ws conducted under rinfed condition t the Reserch Frm (Lt N; Long E) of El-Oeid Agriculturl Reserch Sttion in North Kordofn Stte, Sudn during the growing seson The soil is sndy, the orgnic mtter, nitrogen nd phosphors re less thn 1% (Fdl nd El g, 2009). The nnul rinfll in this re rnges from mm, flling in July to Septemer. The men reltive humidity is 34% nd vries from 14% in the dry seson to 60% in the wet seson.the men nnul minimum nd mximum temperture rnge etween 20 0 C nd 35 0 C, respectively. The study ws conducted in n 11- yer old plnttion of A. senegl. The trees hd n verge height of 2.5 m nd n verge crown width of 2 m. Experimentl design:the experimentl design ws complete rndomized lock design with four replictes. Ech lock ws composed of six plots; three plots representing the intercropping of sorghum, sesme nd roselle with A. senegl, while the other three representing the sole cropping (control). Plot size ws 20 X 20 m. Intercropping plots hd n verge of 15 trees per plot i.e 375 tree per hectre. Culturl prctices: Intilly, the tril site ws mnully clered of undesirle vegettion. Seeds of sorghum, sesme nd roselle were sown on 15 th July Before sowing the seeds were treted with Furnsn-D t the rte of 3 g\kg of seeds ginst insects nd fungi. Plnt holes were dug with hnd hoe t the spcing of 75x 75cm nd 50x 25 cm nd 50cm x 50 cm for sorghum, sesme nd roselle, respectively. For sorghum, sesme nd roselle out 4 seeds were plced in ech hole nd where more seeds germinted they were thinned to two plnts per hole three weeks lter. Two hnd weedings were done 14 nd 30 dys fter sowing. The crops were hrvested t mturity during Novemer for sorghum nd sesme nd Decemer 152

3 for roselle in the sme yer. At physiologicl mturity plnt height (cm), fresh weight (kg/h), dry weight (kg/h) nd crop yield (kg/h) were recorded. Gum tpping: The A. senegl trees in the intercropping tretments were tpped during 15 th of Octoer The first picking ws done 45 dys fter the tpping, followed y four collections in n intervl of 15 dys. The gum from ech picking ws weighed fter ir drying using sensitive lnce. Dt were sujected to nlysis of vrince using MSTAT-C sttisticl pckge (Fisher, 1990), nd LSD used for men comprisons. Lnd equivlent rtio: The Lnd Equivlent Rtio (LER) ws used to evlute the productivity nd lnd use efficiency of the mixed cropping system (Beets, 1982 nd Willey, 1979). LER is mesure of the degree to which intercropping gives higher returns to given lnd re thn monocropping 2. It is clculted s follows: LER = Crop A yield in mixture + Crop B yield in mixture Crop A yield in monoculture Crop B yield in monoculture 1.LER 1 Yield disdvntge for intercropping (the system suffers from competition) 2. LER = 1 Intercropping hs no dvntge over monocropping 3. LER 1 Yield dvntge for intercropping (intercropping is etter thn monocropping). Economic nlysis: Prtil udgeting technigue (CIMMYT, 1988) ws used; net surplus ws otined y sutrcting the totl production cost from the gross revenues. RESULTS Agronomic prmeter: Plnt height (cm) of sorghum, sesme nd roselle ws signficntly ( P< 0.05) greter under the intercropping pttern compred with the monocropping (Figure1). This cn e ttriuted to increse in soil fertility nd improvement of soil physicl properties under A. senegl s result of ddition of orgnic mtter through litter minerliztion. Yield (kg\h) Sorghum Sesme Roselle Crops Figure1. Plnt height (cm) of sorghum, sesme nd roselle s ffected y cropping system. Mens with different letters re significntly different (p<0.05) ccording to LSD test. Fresh weight nd dry weight (kg \h) were signficntly ( P< 0.05) higher under the intercropping of sorghum, sesme nd roselle with A. senegl (Tle1). This could e ttriuted to shding effect tht limited fruit Intercropping Sole cropping 153

4 production more thn vegettive growth. Tle1: Fresh weight nd dry weight (kg/h) under different cropping systems t El- Oeid Reserch Frm during growing seson Cropping systems Crops Sesme Sorghum Roselle Fresh weight (kg\h) Sole cropping Intercropping LSD CV% Dry weight (kg\h) Sole cropping Intercropping LSD CV % Mens with different letters in the sme columns re significnt different (P<0.05) ccording to LSD test. Yield of sorghum, sesme nd roselle re shown in (Figure 2). Yield of the tested crops ws signficntly higher with intercropping thn with sole cropping system Intercropping Sole cropping Yield (kg\h) Sorghum Sesme Roselle Crops Figure 2. Yield of sorghm, sesme nd roselle s ffected y cropping system in El- Oeid Reserch Frm during the growing seson Mens with different letters re significntly different (P<0.05) ccording to LSD test. The difference in yield ws highest in sesme nd roselle crops. The yield from intercropping of sorghum, sesme nd roselle were 13.7, 23.8 nd 20.9 higher thn in mono crops respectively. The increse in crop yield cn e ttriuted to the dvntge of the intercropping in incresing the supply of nutrients within the rooting 154 zone of crops nd proly to the etter growth environment provided y the trees. Gumyield : Gum yield (g\tree\picking) ws significntly (P<0.05) incresed for sorghum, sesme nd roslle under intercropping system (Tle2). Tle 2: Gum yield (g\tree) under different cropping systems t El-Oeid Reserch Frm during the growing seson Cropping Systems Pickings Totl Pure A. senegl Sorghum intercropping Sesme intercropping

5 Roselle intercropping SE± CV% The highest gum production per tree y sorghum (283g), sesme (268g) nd for the five pickings (298g) ws the lest gum yield of (239g) ws otined when roselle ws otined in from pure A. senegl stnd. intercropped with A. senegl, followed Lnd equivlent rtio: The Lnd Equivlent Rtios (LER) re shown in Tle (3). Tle 3: Lnd equivlent rtio (LER) for the tested crops in the intercropping with A. Senegl nd sole cropping systems Cropping Systems Crop Yield (kg/h) Gum Yield (kg/h) Totl (LER/Crops) Pure A. senegl Sole sorghum Sorghum intercropped Sole sesme Sesme intercropped Sole roselle Roselle intercropped ll LER were more thn one - indicting the dvntge of intercropping of groundnut, sesme nd roselle with A. senegl over the monocropping system tht contined the field crops only. The highest LER Economic vlues of the intercropping ndmonocropping systems: Prtil udget nlysis for different tretments is summrized in of (3.8) ws otined when sesme ws grown in n intercropping system, while the lowest LER(3.3) ws recorded for roselle intercropped with A. senegl. tle 4. All the tretments in the intercropping systems gve positive net revenue. Tle 4: Prtil udget for sorghum, sesme nd roselle intercropped with A. senegl. Cropping systems Crop yield Gross revenue Productioncost Net Revnue (SDG\h) (kg\h) (SDG\h) (SDG\h) Pure A. Senegl Sole Sorghum Sorghum intercropped Sole Sesme Sesme intercropped Sole Roselle Roselle intercropped The highest net revenue of (558 SDG\h) ws recorded y intercropped sorghum with A. senegl,followed y intercropped roselle (518 SDG\h) nd sole sesme (505 SDG \h). The lest net revenue of (201 SDG \h) ws DISCUSSION Acci senegl groforestry system hs severl environmentl enefits, s 155 recorded when sorghum ws grown s mono-crop. The intercropping of sorghum, sesme nd roselle with A. senegl in the present study gve higher net return thn the monocropping system. it mkes ful use of the limited resources nd thus leds to higher economic enefits compred to

6 growing trees or griculturl crops lon. In the present invistigtion, the increse in height growth for the three crops in the intercropping plot could e ttriuted the field crops since they utilized different soil lyers. This is in greement with the finding of (Hussein, 1983) who reported tht sndy soils under A. senegl hd more nitrogen thn the soils wy from A. senegl. Also, (Hussein nd El Tohmi, 1989) showed tht A. senegl plnttions were eneficl in retining the depleted nutrients; the meliortive effect ws most pronounced on cron nd nitrogen contents. The high fresh weight of sorghum, sesme nd roselle in the intercropping systems could e ttriuted to shding effect which limits fruit production more thn vegettive growth (Gffr, 2005). The present investigtion, A. senegl trees hd eneficil effect on crop yield. The highest yield increse ws oserved with intercropped sesme (23.8%). In comprison to open fields, incresed herceous productivity under cnopies of svnnh trees is the most common pttern in tropicl tree communities with low density, low rinfll, nd moderte soil fertility (Belsky, 1994). This is generlly ttriuted to higher concentrtion of orgnic mtter nd nutrients, etter soil physicl condition, nd fster wter infiltrtion rte (Vets, 1992), s well s lower soil nd plnt tempertures (Vndeneldt nd Willims, 1992) nd reduced wter loss due to lower evpo trnspirtion (Tiedemnn nd CONCLUSIONS In the present investigtion, roselle proved most comptle with A. senegl intercropping followed y sesme nd sorghum. From profitility point of view ll the to etter growth environment provided y the trees nd prole possile shelter effect (Fdl nd Geuer, 2005). These dvntges re not offset y competition etween the trees nd Klemmedson,1977) reltive to res in open fields. According to (Buresh nd Tin,1998), trees in generl cn influence the supply nd vilility of nutrients in the soil. They increse the supply of nutrients within the rooting zone of crops, through retrievl of nutrients from elow the rooting zone nd reduction in nutrient losses from processes such s leching nd erosion. The superiority of growing of the field crops with leguminous trees compred to the control ws lso reported y Ahmed (1990) who indicted tht Sorghum icolor vriety Auseen showed Prices\kg of sorghum, sesme,roselle nd gum re 2.2, 1.4, 2.2 nd 2.3 SDG, respectively; I US$= 2.5 SDG. Significntly etter growth when lley cropped with Leucen leucocephl in the University of Khrtoum frm. The vrition in gum yield in the present study my e ttriuted to vrition in environmentl fctors nd mngement prctices. This is in line with (Blll, 2002 nd Blll et l., 2005) who reported tht vrition in gum production ws ttriuted to mngement prctices nd climtic fctors, tree ge nd proly genetic mkeup of trees. In contrst, yield per tree otined y (Gfr, 2005) in the sme site ws rnged etween 18 g nd 260 g/tree. tretments gve positive net revenues, the highest eing for intercropped sorghum. The intercropping of roselle gve the second net revenue, while the sole sorghum gve the lowest net revenue. 156

7 REFERENCES: 1. Ahmed, A. A. S. (1990). Growth nd yield of certin griculturl crops under lley cropping with Leucen leucocephl. M.Sc. thesis University of Khrtoum. 2. Ahmed, E. A. (1986). Some spects of dry lnd fforesttion in the Sudn with specil reference to Acci tortilis (Forks) Hyne, A.senegl Willd. nd Prosopis chilensis (Molin) stuntz. Forest Ecology nd Mngement, 16: Bdi, K. H. M., Ahmed, A.E., nd Byoumi, M.S. (1989). The forest of the Sudn. Forest Ntionl Corportion.Khrtoum. 4. Blll, M. E. (2002). Yield trends of gum Aric from Acci senegl s relted to some environmentl nd mngeril fctors. PhD thesis. University of Khrtoum.105 p. 5. Blll, M. E ElSiddig,E. A., El Fdl, M. A. nd Luukknen. O. (2005). Gum Aric yield in differentilly mnged Acci senegl stnds in western Sudn. Agroforestry Systems 63: Blll, M. E. (1991). Acci senegl: multi-purpose tree species for the rid nd semi-rid tropics. M. Sc. theses University of Wles, UK. 7. Bshir, M. (2001). Sudn Co untry on Biodiversity;, Silver Str Press, Khrtoum, Sudn. 8. Beets, W. C. (1982). Multiple cropping nd tropicl frming systems, West view press, Inc. Boulder, Colordo. 9. Belsky. (1994). influences of trees on svnnh productivity: tests of shde, nutrients, nd tree- grss compettion, Ecology, Beshl, A. (1984). The economics of primry commodity: Gum Aric, Oxford Blletin of Economics nd Sttistics.(46),4: Bunderson, W.T., Elwkeel, A., Sd, Z. A nd Hshim,I. M. (1990). Agroforestry prctices nd potentil in Western Sudn. In : plnning for Agroforestry. ELSEVER Amesterdm. 12. Buresh, R. J. nd Tin, G. (1998). Soil improvement y trees in su-shrn Afric, Agrofor. Syst CIMMYT. (1988). From Agronomic Dt to Frmer Recommendtions: An Economics Trining mnul. Completely revised edition. Mexico. D.F. 14. Elmgvist, B. (2003). The vulnerility of trditionl Agroforestry systems: comprison of the gum Aric livelihood strtegy efore 1984 drought to tht of present in Kordofn- Sudn. Pper presented on Environment, plce nd sustinle Nturl Resources Mngement Confrnce, Uppsl, Sweeden. 15. Fdl, K. E. M., nd El sheikh, S, Elg (2009). Effect of Acci senegl on growth nd yield of groundnut, sesme nd roselle in n groforestry system in North Kordofn Stte, Sudn. Pulished online 08 July Journl of Agrofor. Syst. D \s Fdl, K. E. M., nd Geuer, J.(2004). Crop Performnce nd Yield of Groundnut, Sesme nd Roselle in n Agroforestry Cropping System with Acci senegl in North Kordofn (Sudn). Journl of Agriculture nd Rurl Development in the Tropic nd Sutropic (105) 2, Fdl, K. El. M. (1999). Growth nd yield of some griculturl crops under lley cropping with Acci senegl (L.) Willd on sndy soils. M.Sc. thesis University of Khrtoum. 18. Felker, P. (1978). Stte of the rt: Acci lid s complementry, 157

8 permnent intercropping with nnul crops, prepred under contrct for U.S.A.I.D, Grnt No. AID, frc-/361. University of Cliforni Riverside. 19. Gfr,A. M. (2005). Improvement of trditionl Acci senegl Agroforestry: Ecophysiologicl chrcteristic s indictors for tree crop interction on sndy soil in western Sudn. PhD thesis. University of Helsinki. Tropicl Forestry Resport No.26, Hussein, S. E. G. (1990). The influence of fllow under Acci senegl (L) Willd.On the C nd N content of the soil. Beiter, Tory, lnd Wirtsch. Vet. Med P Hussein,S. E. G (1983). A preliminry study of soils under Acci senegl (L.) Willd, Sudn Silv, 5 (25): , Khrtoum. 22. Hussein,S. E. G. nd El Tohmi, A. E. (1989). The influence of Acci senegl plnttions on some properties of vertisol soil. Socil Forestry nd Environment. (4): 1-4 Khrtoum, Sudn. 23. Hussein,S. E. G. nd Fdl, K. E.M. (2001). Yield of Groudnut, Sesme nd Millet Under Alley Cropping with Acci senegl (L) Willd. In Northern nd Southern Kordofn Sttes. U. of K. J. Agric, Sci, 9 (1) Lrson, B. A., nd Bromley, D. W. (1991). Nturl Resources Prices, export policies nd deforesttion: The Cse of Sudn, World Development, (19), 10: NAS (1986). Tropic l legumes. Wshington, USA. 26. NKRDP (2001). Bseline Survey Report, North Kordofn Rurl Development Project-IFAD, El-Oeid Sudn. 27. Seif El Din, A. nd Oeid, M. (1970). Ecologicl Studies of the Vegettion of the Sudn. II. The Germintion of Seeds nd Estlishment of Seedlings of Acci senegl (L.) Willd under Controlled Conditions in the Sudn. The Journl of Applied Ecology.(8), 1 : Seif El Din, A. (1984). Agroforestry Prctices in the Dry Regions. At- Tshur, Vndeneldt, R. J. nd Willims, J.H. (1992). The effect of soil surfce temperture on the growth of millet in reltion to the effect of Fidheri lid trees, Agric. For. Meteorol Vets, O.R. (1992). Micro-site effects of trees nd shrus in dry svnns, J. Veg. Sci Willey, P. W. (1979). A scientific pproch to intercropping reserch. Proceeding of the interntionl workshop on intercropping, ICRISAT, Hyderd, Indi. 32. Zhng,H., Krsisto. M nd Lindostorm, K. (1992). Assessment of competitiveness of fst growing rhizoi infecting Acci senegl using ntiiotic resistnce nd melnin production s identifiction mrkers. World J. Micro.Bot; 8: