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Effect of Monocropped or Intercropped Legumes and Cereals on Succeeding Maize and Soybean Monocrops
Thesis Abstract:
A field experiment was conducted at the Central Experiment Station ofthe University ofthe Philippines Los Banos from November 1988 to May 1989 to determine the performance of monocropped maize and soybean planted after seven types of cropping: intercrop of rice+ legume (cowpea or mung bean), monocrop of rice, maize, or legume (cowpea or mung bean), and control (fallowed for four planting seasons).
Residues of previous crops were incorporated into the succeeding crop by disking, while inorganic fertilizer was applied on control plots. The experiment was designed to verify ifthe type of previous cropping and incorporation of residue into the soil have an immediate effect on the succeeding crop, and how this practice compares with a system where no previous crop was grown for some time and where inorganic fertilizer was used.
Soil analysis for organic matter (OM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), pH, and some macronutrients (P, K, Ca, and Mg) did not reveal significant differences among plots, including control, at any stage of production. However, significant differences among treatments were found for some crop characters, indicating that previous croppings had an immediate effect on the next season's crop of maize and soybean.
Maize and soybean in control plots had higher dry matter production (DMP), crop growth rate (CGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), leaf area index (LAI), and specific leaf weight (SL W). Control plants also took shorter time to flower, tassel, and silk, but were four days delayed in maturity compared to plants grown in plots previously cropped and with residues. Grain yield of maize and soybean planted in the control plots were also approximately 80 and 20 percent higher, respectively, than those in plots previously cropped.
Among previously cropped treatments, maize planted after legume monocrop had the highest DMP, CGR, NAR, LAI, and grain yield. In contrast, soybean planted after legume monocrop had lower DMP, CGR, LAI, NAR, and grain yield than that planted after a previous cereal monocrop. This indicates that the effect of previous cropping and its residue was dependent on species of the previous and the succeeding crop, and planting of unrelated crops seems more beneficial. Specifically, maize benefited more than soybean when planted after a legume crop. Effects of previous crops could already be demonstrated during the next cropping.
Differences in yield and growth traits among treatments, including control, may possibly be due to individual or combined effects of residues, some soil properties that were undetermined in this study, and inorganic fertilizer.