TITLE:
Evaluation of Weed Incidence and Biomass in Coffee Intercropped with Oil Palm in Avenue and Hollow Square Arrangement in Nigeria
AUTHORS:
A. O. Famaye, S. A. Adeosun, K. O. Ayegboyin, K. B. Adejobi, O. S. O. Akanbi, A. F. Okunade
KEYWORDS:
Evaluation, Weed, Incidence, Biomass, Coffee, Intercropped, Oil Palm, Hollow Square, Avenue Arrangement
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.11 No.2,
February
28,
2020
ABSTRACT: Weed incidence and biomass
in tree crop plantations are mainly influenced by environmental, farm
management practices and cropping systems. Manipulation of intercropping
systems to improve weed management in coffee intercropped with oil palm
requires a better understanding of spatial and temporal dynamics of weeds. To evaluate the effect of weed incidence and
biomass in coffee intercropped with oil palm in avenue and hollow square
arrangement, a study was carried out in Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) in two locations. The locations are
Idi-Ayunre (7°25'N, 3°24'E) (an alfisol) and Uhonmora (6°5'N, 5°50'E) (ultisol) in rainforest and derived savannah parts of Nigeria respectively. The experiment had three
treatments comprising coffee sole (control), coffee with oil palm (Hollow
square) arrangement and coffee with oil palm (Avenue) planting. Coffee was
planted 3.0 m apart while oil palm was planted 9 m apart. Equal size of land area was used for coffee in each treatment. The experimental
design was Randomized Complete Block
(RCBD) with three replicates. Data on vegetative growth of coffee, weed
incidence and biomass were taken at three-monthly intervals. The result showed that coffee/oil palm (Hollow Square) had the least
weed incidence and biomass closely followed by coffee/oil palm (Avenue)
planting. The control had the highest weed biomass which was significantly
different from Hollow square and Avenue planting at P ≤ 0.05. The morphological parameters on coffee
followed the same pattern but Hollow square arrangement was significantly higher than Avenue and control at P ≤ 0.05.