ABSTRACT

Three field experiments were conducted in the research field of National Horticultural Research Institute's substation at Mbato, Okigwe in 2009 and 2010. The first experiment studied the effect of component density on garden egg and egusi melon in intercrop at four densities (4440, 5000, 10,000 and 20,000) per hectare. The second assessed the effect of relative sowing time on the growth and yield of garden egg and egusi melon in sole and intercrop systems. Garden egg and egusi melon were either sown the same day or I ,2,3 or 4 weeks before and after each other. The third experiment evaluated the effect of NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer rates (0,200,400 and 600) kg per hectare on the growth and yield of garden egg and egusi melon, in sole and intercrop systems. The trials were in randomized complete block design (RCBD). Land equivalent ratio (LER) and gross monetary returns (GMR) were used to assess the productivity of the intercropping systems. In the first experiment, fresh garden egg fruit (yield tlha) increased as population density of garden egg increased but decreased with increase in density of egusi melon. Egusi melon seed yield increased as both densities increased. Weed density and weed dry weight were least in intercropped plots as compared with sole garden egg and sole egusi melon plots. Land equivalent ratios (LER) were mostly above 1.00, the best performance with a two — year mean of 1.87 was recorded at garden egg 4440 + egusi melon 5000/ha. Best gross monetary return was recorded at garden egg 4440 + egusi melon 20,000/ha. The second experiment showed that yield declined with delayed relative sowing time. Yield of components were best when they were introduced earlier in the system: Intercropping reduced weed density and weed dry weight when compared with sole cropped stands irrespective of the relative sowing time. Land equivalent ratio (LER) was mostly over unity indicating yield advantage. Gross monetary return (GMR) was best in sole garden egg, closely followed by intercropping on the same day. In the next experiment intercropping reduced the yield of garden egg and egusi melon as compared with their sole crops. Applying fertilizer significantly (P<0.05) increased the yield of component crops from 0kg/ha through 200kg to 400kg/ha before dropping off at 600kg/ha. Productivity of the system showed a maximum yield advantage of 140 and 159% in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The best monetary return of N2,354,998.5 in 2009 and 2,508,960 in 2010 were obtained in intercrop at 400kg NPK fertilizer/ha.