Impact of Intercropping System on Yield and Quality of Lolium Multiflorum and Trigonella foenum-graecuml

Abstract

Due to the ever increasing pressure on cultivated land the importance of intercropping in farming practices has been recognized. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of intercropping ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum lam) with fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). For this purpose, a field experiment was arranged based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the experimental farm of faculty of agriculture Cairo University at Giza, Egypt during two seasons of 2015 and 2016. The experimental treatments were planting patterns (sole crop of rye or fenugreek and intercropping ratios of 1 rye: 1 fenugreek, 2 rye: 1 fenugreek and 1 rye: 2 fenugreek). Results showed that intercropping system had positive effects on ryegrass yield. Moreover, the planting ratio of 2 rye: 1 fenugreek gave the maximum values of ryegrass fresh and dry yield in both cuts compared with the other treatments of the sole crop and the other intercropping ratios in the first and second season, respectively. The application of sole crop had the highest fenugreek fresh and dry yield and seed yield too in both seasons compared with other treatments, respectively. While, the maximum significant levels of chemical contents (oil and protein percentage) of fenugreek seeds were found with the sole fenugreek crop and the intercropping ratio of 1 rye: 2fenugreek, respectively as compared with the other treatments but the differences between the fenugreek sole crop and the other studied intercropping system in the percentage of trigoniline were insignificant in both seasons, respectively. The maximum significant values of competitive ratio (CR) and aggresivity (A) for rye grass crop was found in the pattern ratio of 1rye: 2 fenugreek in both seasons, respectively. While the same situation was recorded with fenugreek crop in the pattern ratio of 2 rye: 1 fenugreek in both seasons, respectively. The highest total land equivalent ratio (LER) (3.08 and 2.98 for the first and second seasons, respectively) was obtained by sowing the crops in the intercrop ratio of 2 rye: 1 fenugreek and the lowest total LER (2.57and 2.48 in both seasons, respectively) was obtained by using the intercrop ratio of 1 rye: 1 fenugreek. In addition, all intercropping treatments in both seasons, respectively gave values of LER for rye grass or fenugreek or both of them more than one. These findings suggest that intercropping of fenugreek and ryegrass increased the total productivity per unit area.