A Systematic Design to Examine Effects of Plant Population and Spatial Arrangement in Intercropping, Illustrated by an Experiment on Chickpea/Safflower

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Abstract
SUMMARY: An intercropping experiment is described, using a parallel-row systematic design, to examine four plant populations of chickpea in all combinations with 15 systematically arranged populations of safflower in 1:1 and 2:1 row arrangements; four populations of the sole crops were included. Safflower was usually dominant and increasing the total population (i.e. both crops combined) made it more so. Safflower yield was little affected by changes in its own population and was independent of changes in the chickpea population. Chickpea yield increased with increase in its own population and it was the dominant crop at high chickpea/low safflower populations. An initial increase in safflower population caused an increase in chickpea yield at the 1:1 row arrangement; otherwise increasing safflower population decreased chickpea yield. LERs at 2:1 indicated no real evidence of yield advantages for intercropping. At 1:1 advantages ranged up to 19%, with a maximum where the highest chickpea population was combined with a low safflower one. This optimum combination could not have been identified with earlier designs.