THE INFLUENCE OF TREE THINNING ON GRAIN YIELD AND BIOMASS OF MAIZE IN TREE INTERCROPPING SYSTEMS OF SEMI-ARID ETHIOPIA
Abstract
This study evaluated adaptation of agroforestry trees and simultaneously studied the effect of thinning on maize yield and biomass. Treatments were Faidherbia albida, Moringa stenopetala, Acacia nilotica, Cordia africana, tree mix and sole crop planted in RCBD with four replications. Thinning was applied on Acacia nilotica and Cordia africana which were found fully stocked at six years. Maize (Zea mays L.) was intercropped to study if thinning influences maize yield and biomass. Grain yield was significantly (a<0.05) affected by thinning and tree species. Thinning Cordia africana significantly influenced maize yield with 36.4% increase in yield. Maize yield and biomass under thinned Cordia africana was significantly higher (a<0.05) compared to un-thinned plots. Maize grain yield and biomass under un-thinned Acacia nilotica was significantly lower than the yield under un-thinned Cordia africana and crop alone plots. Thinning Acacia nilotica brought no significant increase in grain yield and biomass. Significantly higher yield (a<0.05) of maize was observed under plots of thinned Cordia africana compared to thinned Acacia nilotica. Crop alone plots produced higher yield though the difference was statistically non-significant compared to thinned Cordia africana. Thinning Cordia africana to 130 trees/ha (25% thinning intensity) is recommended to significantly increase maize yield and biomass.
Copyright (c) 2023 Wondwossen Gebretsadik
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The papers published in the journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Open Access Journal: The journal allow the author(s) to retain publishing rights without restrictions. Authors are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
