Effect of Planting Density of Lima Bean (Phaseolusl Lunatus L.) On The Performance and System Productivity of Maize (Zea Mays L.)-Lima Bean Intercropping In South West Ethiopia

Abstract

The gradual decrease in land holdings for food production is alarming over time to meet the increasing food demand of the increasing population all over the world particularly in developing nations like Ethiopia. Cultivating multiple crops together (intercropping) is one of the feasible options to maximize crop yields per unit area. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum planting density of Lima bean when intercropped with maize for greater yield and system productivity of the associated crops. The experiment was conducted at two sites (Seka and Dimtu) of Jimma zone, Southwestern Ethiopia in the 2022/23 cropping season. The experiment consisted of treatments: sole maize (T1), sole Lima bean (T2), Lima bean intra row spaced at 35cm and intercropped with maize (T3), Lima bean intra-row spaced at 50cm and intercropped with maize (T4), Lima bean intra-row spaced at 65cm and intercropped with maize (T5). The analysis of variance showed that the effects of component population densities on phenology of maize and Lima beans were statistically not significant (p>0.05) except only for days to physiological maturity (P<0.05) at Dimtu site. Intercropping treatments showed significant differences on yield performance of maize and lima bean. Among the intercropping systems lima bean intra-row spaced at 65cm and intercropped with maize gave the highest grain yield of maize (4.83 and 4.53 t ha-1), Land equivalent ratio (1.68 and 1.63), maize equivalent yield (MEY: 7.95 and 8.0 t ha-1) and lima bean equivalent yield (LBEY: 4.40 and 4.3 t ha-1) at Seka and Dimtu sites, respectively. The intercropping maize with lima bean was advantageous than sole cropping of each crop. The findings showed that intercropping maize and Lima beans provided more yield per unit area. Therefore, planting lima bean with a density 20,512ha-1 at spacing of 75*65cm could be recommended for intercropping with maize in the target areas, spacing of 75*50cm also could be recommended as an option.