Abstract
A field experiment was conducted at Kerala Agricultural University, India, to compare the performance of five legumes intercropped with cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). They were cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), urd bean (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) and soya bean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill). Three years' results showed that cowpea may be the most remunerative intercrop for cassava in similar high rainfall Oxisols (laterite soils) of the humid tropics. The yields of cassava in monoculture and mixed culture were similar. The cost of weeding could be reduced by ? 50% by growing cowpea as an intercrop with cassava. Organic matter depletion was slow in intercropped plots. Total N, available P and K contents were higher in intercropped plots. The height, number of leaves, number and DM content of tubers were not significantly influenced by the intercrops.
