ABSTRACT

Intercropping is the growing of two (Fageria, 1992; Akpan, 2012). Studies earned out by Muoneke et al. (2007) on maize/soybean intercrops showed that cereals and legumes are fast canopy forming and quick growing crops that have different growth stature, thus they are high demanding for environmental resources that occurs at different growth stages. In intercropping, some ofthe important plant factors include growth habits, particularly stature of crop, rooting systems and maturity periods, growth rates and competitive ability of crops species and densities (Beets, 1994; Mbah and Ogbodo, 2013). Akpan et al. (2006) also noted that intercropping gave high gross income to the farmer. Legumes in maize-based cropping systems besides bonus yield, greater productivity per unit time, space and higher net returns of intercropping system over monoculture (Seran and Brintha, 2010) due to their differential rooting habit, differential growth, requirement for resources and complementary interactions as brought by nitrogen fixation of legumes since legumes add enormous organic biomass (leaf, nodules, roots etc). According to FAO (1980), in Southeastern Nigeria, over 70% of the farmers practice intercropping in which maize, melon and leafy vegetables are among the component crops in the root and tuber based cropping system. Research on intercropping had revealed how ecological differences in crop species could enable resource capture and conversion of available resources are regarded to be better options for securing nitrogen economy and increasing yield of maize or more crops simultaneously on the same field. It is a common practice among the peasant farmers in the tropics including southeastern Nigeria.