Effects of Various Tillage Practices on the Performance of Forage Sorghum and Cowpea Intercropping

Tillage play an important role to effect on yield and quality. Intercropping effect on the quality of fodder. A field trail to evaluate the effect of various tillage practices on the performance of different seed ratios on intercropping of forage sorghum and cowpea was conducted at Agronomic research Farm, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan during Kharif season, 2013. The experiment conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with split plot arrangement. The experiment comprised of two factor. Factor A. Tillage (Main plots), T1 (Conventional Tillage), T2 (Deep Tillage) and Factor: B. Seed Ratios (Sub plots) S 1 (Sole Sorghum), S 2 (Sole Cowpea), S 3 (Sorghum 60% + Cowpea 40%) S 4 (Sorghum 70% + Cowpea 30%) and S 5 (Sorghum 80% + Cowpea 20%). Both the factors, tillage and seed ratios, significantly affected the yield and quality related parameters of forage sorghum and cowpea intercropping. In the case of sorghum maximum plant height 273.7 cm and green forage yield 59.9 t ha -1 was obtained with treatment S 1 and T 2 . In quality parameter of sorghum crop maximum dry matter yield 15.1 t ha -1 and crude fiber 38.27% was obtained in treatment S 1 and T 2 . In the case of cowpea T 2 showed highest plant height (220.33 cm) with treatment S 3, S 4 and T 2 . In cowpea maximum green forage yield (35.6 t ha -1 ) and dry matter yield (5.4 t ha -1 ) was obtained in treatment S 2 and T 2 . Maximum mixed green forage yield (73 6 t ha -1 ) and total dry matter yield (17.1 6 t ha -1 ) was obtained in treatment S 4 and T 2 . So it is concluded that seed ratios S 4 give maximum yield with deep tillage T 2 .