Effects of Maize/ Pigeon Pea Intercropping Systems on Growth and Yield of Component Crops in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

Information on the performances of the maize and pigeon pea intercropping systems under dry-land conditions of Wolaita area is rare. Hence, on-farm experiment was conducted in 2021 and 2022 cropping seasons with the objective of evaluating maize/pigeon pea intercropping systems at Humbo district in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia. Five treatments such as sole maize, sole pigeon pea, farmer’s intercropping practice, 1 maize row: 1 pigeon pea row and 2 maize rows: 1 pigeon pea row ratios were tested in RCB design with three replications. Improved maize variety, BH-540, and local pigeon pea variety were used as the test plants. Growth parameters and yield and yield attributes of maize and pigeon pea were measured. Combined analysis of variances showed that there were statistically significant differences (P<0.05) observed among treatments regarding to maize and pigeon pea growth parameters, above-ground biomass and grain yield. The highest maize plant height (206.7 cm) and the shortest leaf length (59.4 cm) were recorded with maize grown in 1 maize: 1 pigeon pea intercropping system while the shortest plant height (168.8 cm) and the longest leaf length (93.8 cm) were recorded with sole maize which is statistically at par with farmer’s practice. The highest maize biomass (16.73 tha-1) and grain yield (6.47 tha-1) were recorded with maize grown in sole which showed no significant from yields obtained from farmer’s intercropping practice. In contrast, the lowest maize biomass (13.36 tha-1) and grain yield (5.25 tha-1) were recorded with maize grown in 1 maize: 1 pigeon pea intercropping system. Regarding to pigeon pea growth parameters, the shortest mean plant height (91.2 cm) and less number of primary branches (5.5) were recorded with farmer’s practice of sowing in the same row while the longest plant height (169.8 cm) and more number of primary branches (21.3) were recorded with sole pigeon pea. The lowest pigeon pea biomass yield (7.87 tha-1) and grain yield (0.56 tha-1) were recorded with 2maize rows:1pigeon pea row intercropping while the highest biomass (11.3 tha-1) and grain yield (0.8 tha-1) were recorded with sole pigeon pea. The highest LER (1.77) was obtained from the farmer’s intercropping system. Finally, since the growth habits may vary among varieties, further research on compatibility of other improved pigeon pea varieties for intercropping systems with maize is important.