Pages: (26-40 )
Abstract
Reduction in agricultural land in Nigeria with increasing population has led to land maximization by multiple cropping. A field experiment was conducted 2019 in Ikenne and Ibadan to assess the effect of cropping system and fertilizer application on the yield of okra intercropped with jatropha. The experiment was a split-plot arrangement in a Randomized Complete Block Design, replicated three times. The main plot was fertilizer sources: NPK, Organic, Organic + NPK and control while cropping system: sole okra, sole Jatropha and their intercrop were sub-plot. Data collected to determine okra growth includes: plant height, number of leaves/ plant, leaf area and the yield by number of days to 50 % flowering, number of fruits/ ha, fruit yield and fruiting duration and Jatropha growth by: plant height (cm), number of leaves/plant. Results showed that okra can be intercropped with jatropha without any significant reduction it its performance as the number of fruits/ha, 172.25 in sole crop and 147.23 in intercrop, and fruit yield/ha in both intercrop, 2791.36 kg/ha, 1057.44 kg/ha and monocrop, 3305.39 kg/ha, 1354.94 kg/ha in Ikenne and Ibadan sites respectively were not different significantly. Growth and yield of okra was significantly (P≤0.05) higher in fertilized plots than the unfertilized plots, with organic + NPK fertilizers at 75 kgN/ha producing the best results.
Keywords: Fertilizer, Growth, Intercropping, Jatropha, Okra, Yield.,