IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i4p581-d794460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Does Maize-Cowpea Intercropping Maximize Land Use and Economic Return? A Field Trial in Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Ayesa Akter Suhi

    (Department of Agronomy, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh)

  • Shamim Mia

    (Department of Agronomy, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh)

  • Salma Khanam

    (Department of Agronomy, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh)

  • Mehedi Hasan Mithu

    (Department of Agronomy, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh)

  • Md. Kamal Uddin

    (Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Md. Abdul Muktadir

    (Pulses Research Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Gazipur 1701, Bangladesh
    Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Leslie Research Facility, 13 Holberton Street, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia)

  • Sultan Ahmed

    (Department of Agronomy, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh)

  • Keiji Jindo

    (Agrosystems Research, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Cultivating multiple crops together can provide numerous benefits, including improved soil health and crop yield. The objective of our study was to determine the optimum planting techniques in intercropping systems, and to maximize their benefits by mitigating competition for resources such as land, space, light interception, and nutrition. The performance of successively planted maize ( Zea mays L.) grown with cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L.) was evaluated with a field trial in Bangladesh. The treatments in our study were: (a) sole maize, (b) sole cowpea, (c) crops sown simultaneously, and (d) crops sown with different time lags (1, 2, and 3 weeks) between the maize-sowing and cowpea-sowing dates. Data on the crops’ physiological parameters were recorded. These included light interception, leaf area index (LAI), Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD), harvest index, and yield. Simultaneously, canopy coverage was measured using camera-based photo analysis. In addition, an economic analysis of intercropping maize with soybean or cowpea was conducted using gross margin analysis and benefit-cost ratio. In our results, the below-canopy photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was significantly higher in intercropping treatments when maize was sown three weeks after cowpea. In contrast, the LAI value of the maize and cowpea was significantly greater when sown on the same day than in other intercropping treatments. As a result, the maize yield reduced when intercropped with cowpea. This reduction maximized when both species were sown simultaneously due to higher competition for resources, including nutrients and light. Intercropping was more beneficial in terms of land equivalent ratio than both sole cropping of maize and cowpea, especially when maize was planted three weeks later. However, this benefit was not retained when calculated as maize equivalent yield since the contribution of cowpea was small in the overall maize yield, suggesting the importance of the relative economic value of the component species. Among all treatments, the lowest maize equivalent yield (6.03 ± 0.14 t ha −1 ) was obtained from sole cowpea, and the largest land equivalent ratio (1.67 ± 0.05) was obtained from intercropping with maize sown three weeks after cowpea. This treatment provided a net income of USD 786.32 ± 25.08 ha −1 . This study has shown that together, maize–cowpea intercropping with a temporal niche difference of three weeks may be a better option for sustainable crop production in Bangladesh, maximizing land use. However, it may not provide a significantly greater maize equivalent yield and economic return.

Suggested Citation

  • Ayesa Akter Suhi & Shamim Mia & Salma Khanam & Mehedi Hasan Mithu & Md. Kamal Uddin & Md. Abdul Muktadir & Sultan Ahmed & Keiji Jindo, 2022. "How Does Maize-Cowpea Intercropping Maximize Land Use and Economic Return? A Field Trial in Bangladesh," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:4:p:581-:d:794460
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/4/581/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/4/581/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Smith, Alex & Snapp, Sieglinde & Dimes, John & Gwenambira, Chiwimbo & Chikowo, Regis, 2016. "Doubled-up legume rotations improve soil fertility and maintain productivity under variable conditions in maize-based cropping systems in Malawi," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 139-149.
    2. Delphine Renard & David Tilman, 2019. "National food production stabilized by crop diversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 571(7764), pages 257-260, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jie Zhao & Ji Chen & Damien Beillouin & Hans Lambers & Yadong Yang & Pete Smith & Zhaohai Zeng & Jørgen E. Olesen & Huadong Zang, 2022. "Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Matteo Zampieri & Andrea Toreti & Andrej Ceglar & Pierluca De Palma & Thomas Chatzopoulos, 2020. "Analysing the resilience of the European commodity production system with PyResPro, the Python Production Resilience package," Papers 2006.08976, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2020.
    3. Revoyron, Eva & Le Bail, Marianne & Meynard, Jean-Marc & Gunnarsson, Anita & Seghetti, Marco & Colombo, Luca, 2022. "Diversity and drivers of crop diversification pathways of European farms," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    4. Cyrine Rezgui & Wassila Riah-Anglet & Marie Benoit & Pierre Yves Bernard & Karine Laval & Isabelle Trinsoutrot-Gattin, 2020. "Impacts of the Winter Pea Crop (Instead of Rapeseed) on Soil Microbial Communities, Nitrogen Balance and Wheat Yield," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, November.
    5. Yu, Zhenning & She, Shuoqi & Xia, Chuyu & Luo, Jiaojiao, 2023. "How to solve the dilemma of China’s land fallow policy: Application of voluntary bidding mode in the Yangtze River Delta of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    6. Katrin Martens & Sebastian Rogga & Jana Zscheischler & Bernd Pölling & Andreas Obersteg & Annette Piorr, 2022. "Classifying New Hybrid Cooperation Models for Short Food-Supply Chains—Providing a Concept for Assessing Sustainability Transformation in the Urban-Rural Nexus," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-24, April.
    7. Marie-Benoît Magrini & Tristan Salord & Guillaume Cabanac, 2023. "The unbalanced development among legume species regarding sustainable and healthy agrifood systems in North-America and Europe: focus on food product innovations," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 187-200, February.
    8. Zulu, Leo Charles & Adams, Ellis Adjei & Chikowo, Regis & Snapp, Sieglinde, 2018. "The role of community-based livestock management institutions in the adoption and scaling up of pigeon peas in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 141-155.
    9. Wei Wang & Xin Luo & Chongmei Zhang & Jiahao Song & Dingde Xu, 2021. "Can Land Transfer Alleviate the Poverty of the Elderly? Evidence from Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-15, October.
    10. Sisay S. Mekonen & Scott E. Boyce & Abdella K. Mohammed & Lorraine Flint & Alan Flint & Markus Disse, 2023. "Recharge Estimation Approach in a Data-Scarce Semi-Arid Region, Northern Ethiopian Rift Valley," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-25, November.
    11. Rebecca Jo Stormes Newman & Claudia Capitani & Colin Courtney-Mustaphi & Jessica Paula Rose Thorn & Rebecca Kariuki & Charis Enns & Robert Marchant, 2020. "Integrating Insights from Social-Ecological Interactions into Sustainable Land Use Change Scenarios for Small Islands in the Western Indian Ocean," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-22, February.
    12. Ramazan Çakmakçı & Mehmet Ali Salık & Songül Çakmakçı, 2023. "Assessment and Principles of Environmentally Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-27, May.
    13. Matthew C. LaFevor & Aoife K. Pitts, 2022. "Irrigation Increases Crop Species Diversity in Low-Diversity Farm Regions of Mexico," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, June.
    14. Philip A. Loring, 2022. "Regenerative food systems and the conservation of change," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 701-713, June.
    15. Timothy R. Silberg & Robert B. Richardson & Maria Claudia Lopez, 2020. "Maize farmer preferences for intercropping systems to reduce Striga in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 269-283, April.
    16. Komarek, Adam M. & Drogue, Sophie & Chenoune, Roza & Hawkins, James & Msangi, Siwa & Belhouchette, Hatem & Flichman, Guillermo, 2017. "Agricultural household effects of fertilizer price changes for smallholder farmers in central Malawi," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 168-178.
    17. Wei, Zhibiao & Zhuang, Minghao & Hellegers, Petra & Cui, Zhenling & Hoffland, Ellis, 2023. "Towards circular nitrogen use in the agri-food system at village and county level in China," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    18. Sebastian Parra-Londono & Jaime Andres Tigreros & Carlos Alberto Montoya-Correa, 2024. "Colombian Crop Resilience: Evaluating National Yield Stability for Fruit and Vegetable Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, September.
    19. Yang, Xuan & Zheng, Lina & Yang, Qian & Wang, Zikui & Cui, Song & Shen, Yuying, 2018. "Modelling the effects of conservation tillage on crop water productivity, soil water dynamics and evapotranspiration of a maize-winter wheat-soybean rotation system on the Loess Plateau of China using," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 111-123.
    20. Grabowski, Philip & Schmitt Olabisi, Laura & Adebiyi, Jelili & Waldman, Kurt & Richardson, Robert & Rusinamhodzi, Leonard & Snapp, Sieglinde, 2019. "Assessing adoption potential in a risky environment: The case of perennial pigeonpea," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 89-99.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:4:p:581-:d:794460. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.