Effect of Sowing Dates on Performance of Pepper and Cowpea in a Pineapple-based Intercropping System

The effects of time of sowing cowpea into pineapple-pepper intercrop on growth and yields of cowpea and pepper in a pineapple-pepper intercropping system was investigated during the rainy and late seasons of 2011 and 2012 in Akure, a humid rainforest zone of Nigeria. The additive series of intercropping experiments were laid out in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Experimental treatments were based on varying time of sowing cowpea at three weeks intervals into pineapple-pepper intercrop in addition to the sole crop components. In the rainy-season planting, cowpea seed yields declined significantly by 80% with delayed sowing (at 6 and nine weeks) into the intercrop. In the late-season, cowpea seed yields dropped by over 50% with delayed planting. Pepper fruit yields also declined by 95% when cowpea was sown at the time of transplanting pepper in both the rainy and late season experiments. Cowpea yield components declined with delayed sowing while pepper yield components increased possibly via enhanced competition between pepper and cowpea. Sowing cowpea at the time of transplanting pepper lowered pineapple fruit yield. Land equivalent ratio values were more significant than one (>1) for all species mixtures indicating enhanced returns and complementarities among component crops.