EFFECT OF SOWING DATE AND INTERCROPPING SYSTEM OF SUNFLOWER WITH SUGAR BEET ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF BOTH CROPS.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Oil Crops Res. Dept., Field Crops Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, Egypt

2 Crops Intensif. Res. Dept., Field Crops Res. Inst., ARC. Giza, Egypt

Abstract

A field study was conducted during 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasonsinItay EL-Baroud Agric. Res. Station,Beheira Governorate, Egypt, to study the effect of three sowing dates of sunflower (simultaneously with sugar beet (T1), twenty one days after sowing sugar beet (T2) andthirty five days after sowing sugar beet(T3)) and three intercropping systems(25% (S1),33.3% (S2)and 50% (S3)of sunflower plant density + 100% sugar beet)on yield and yield components of both crops.A split plot design with four replications was used. Results showed that all studied characters of sugar beet were significantlyaffected by sowing dates and intercropping systems of sunflower. Intercropping system (S1)significantly increasedall characters of sugar beet at T3over the other treatments. Early sowing date(T1)significantly accelerated days to 50% of flowering and maturity date and recorded the highest values for each of growing degree days (GDD) andseed yield and its componentsof sunflower. Significant differences were recorded for sunflower studied traits as affected by the intercropping systems. The highest seed and oil yields/fad., were achieved with sole sunflower followed byS3system at T1 compared with the other treatments. The highest land equivalent ratio (LER)value 1.46 was recorded at T2 with S3, followed by 1.44 with T2 x S1, as average of both seasons.While T2 x S1 had the highest relative crowding coefficient (RCC) and net return. It can be concluded that T2 x S1 had the highest sugar yield valued 4.74 ton/fad.,increased net return by 28.30% and produced 26.10 ton sugar beet plus 444.63kg seed of sunflower compared to sole sugar beet which had 26.91 ton sugar beet.

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