Agronomic Performance of Sorghum and Groundnut Cultivars in Sole and Intercrop Cultivation under Semiarid Conditions

The performance of sorghum and groundnut cultivars was studied in sole cropping and intercropping systems at Babile in the semiarid area of eastern Ethiopia in 1996, 1997 and 1999. On average, late‐maturing cultivars of groundnut and sorghum gave higher dry pod yield and grain yield, respectively, when intercropped with early‐maturing cultivars of the associated crops. The significant variation among groundnut cultivars in yield and yield components under intercropping with sorghum cultivars revealed that sole cropping may not provide the appropriate environment for selecting varieties intended for use in intercropping. The productivity of intercropped groundnut and sorghum cultivars, as determined by total land equivalent ratios (LER), was higher than sole cropping, indicating the presence of temporal complementarity in the use of growth resources. A mean yield advantage of 32 % was obtained under intercropping.