Abstract:
The ever-increasing human population together with shortage of arable land is the current
developmental challenge for developing countries including Ethiopia. So that, intercropping
becoming an alternative agronomic practice enabling efficient utilization of resource in
special and temporal arrangements that ensures increasing agricultural production per unit
area. The experiment was conducted at Adet Zuria within Yilmana Densa district in the WestGojjam
Administrative Zone of Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia for the purpose of
evaluation of effect of varieties and time of intercropping on growth, yield and yield
components of component crops. The experiment was laid out in randomize complete block
design in a factorial combination of two varieties of maize (BH 546 AND BH 661), two
haricot bean varieties (Batu and Lehode), three times of plantings of haricot bean
(simultaneous, two weeks later and four weeks later after maize sowing) and four sole
cropping treatments in three replications. The data from phenological, growth and yield
parameters of component crops were analysed by using SAS software procedures 9.4 version.
The analysis of variance revealed that number of pods per plant,
number of seed per pod and
grain yield was significantly affected by (both varieties of the component crops) and time of
sowing in which variety Batu simultaneously intercropped with BH 546 gave greater values.
With regard to maize components, delay planting
of intercropped haricot bean affects leaf
number per plant and cob number; as planting was delayed by four weeks leaf number was
increased by (0.99) from 14.90-15.89, similarly cob numbers were showed increments from
1.50-1.69 as sowing time delayed by 30 days. Grain yield was also influenced by the main
effect of varieties of maize and the interaction effect of haricot bean varieties with time of
sowing where by variety BH 661 and haricot bean variety Batu intercropped four weeks after
maize sowing recorded higher values 7817.7 kg/ha and 7922.6 kg/ha, respectively. On the
other hand, intercropping also significantly affects most of component crops parameters
where the higher values were recorded in sole cropped treatments. Interms of land use
efficiency results, BH 661 simultaneously intercropped with variety Batu recorded the higher
LER (1.61) and ATER (1.27) values. Generally, even though it is impossible to deliver
valuable recommendation in one-year experiment at a single experimental site, haricot bean
variety Batu simultaneously intercropped with BH 661 was the ideal varietal combination
with right time of sowing observed in the study area.