Intercropping maize and sweet potato in western Kenya: A technology to increase crop production for food security

Abstract

In the production of sweet potato most farmers in western Kenya practice relay cropping with maize where sweet potato is planted when maize is approaching physiological maturity. Rarely do they practice intercropping to maximize on time and space. The present study evaluated land use efficiency of maize and sweet potato under different cropping patterns. Three maize and three sweet potato cultivars with differing maturity periods (early, medium and late) were intercropped in two different cropping patterns. The sole crops of maize and sweet potato served as the control plots. The trial was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replicates for two consecutive cropping seasons. Data was collected on maize and sweet potato yield, grain weight per cob, mean tuber weight, number of tubers per plant and harvest index. Data was analyzed using ANOVA and treatment means separated using LSD. Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was calculated to determine land use efficiency in the intercrop systems. The LER index identified 90% of the intercrop combinations as biologically more efficient; there was 10 - 67% higher land use efficiency due to intercropping. Overall sweet potato yields were higher in intercrops since harvests were from two cropping seasons instead of one. The results also suggest that the medium maturing maize and sweet potato cultivars are best suited for intercropping and also allow for successful growing of crops in two growing seasons in a year.