The principles and practice of intercropping sugar cane with maize
| MSI99P0187 | |
| Govinden, N. | |
| The principles and practice of intercropping sugar cane with maize | |
| Gelaw, N. (ed)., Towards self sufficiency. Proceedings of the Second Eastern, Central and Southern Africa Regional Maize Workshop, Harare, Zimbabwe, March 15-21, 1987 | |
| Book chapter | |
| 1988 | |
| p.289-308 | |
| 0 86925 872 9 | |
| En | |
| En | |
| One of the strategies for diversifying agriculture and increasing food production on sugar cane lands in Mauritius is to intercrop the cane with food crops such as maize. If this practice, which is quite successful in Mauritius, were to be generalized in other sugarcane growing areas, it would lead to substantial increases in maize, a much-needed foodcrop on lands that are at present devoted to the production of sugarcane, a cash crop. Intercropping of sugarcane with maize is advantageous in a number of ways. It is more productive and yields higher returns that sole cropping. The production of maize in addition to sugarcane provides the farmer with food and c ash and reduces the risks of total loss from crop failure. Moreover, the cash flow is improved. The success of intercropping sugarcane with maize depends on the exploitation of the differences in temporal use of resources by the two crops. The fast growing maize is planted in between the wide cane rows and is harvested before the cane canopy closes. Both plant and ratoon cane can be intercropped. In many instances, the maize reduces sugarcane yield probably because of shading, but the overall productivity may nevertheless be higher. After years of research and practice, a package of technology for intercropping sugarcane with maize has been developed and successfully transferred to the cane producers in Mauritius. It includes appropriate maize varieties and cultural practices. These are briefly described. The specificity o f the Mauritian context and areas where caution must be exercised are underlined. | |
| SUGARCANE MAIZE INTERCROPPING DIVERSIFICATION | |
| MAURITIUS | |
| Agricultural diversification | |
| Intercroppping sugarcane/maize | |
| 1992-02-13 | |
| En | |
| Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute | |
| FC | |
| CAT | |
| 1 | |
| FC |