PERFORMANCE OF SESAME VARIETIES (Sesamum indicum L.) TO SOWING DATES ON GROUNDNUT (Arachis hypogaea) BASED INTERCROPPING IN MAIDUGURI, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

A field study conducted during the 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons at the Lake Chad Research Institute, Maiduguri, Nigeria, evaluated the performance of sesame varieties under varying sowing dates in a groundnut-based intercropping system. The objective was to determine the optimal sowing date for sesame and varietal suitability using yield parameters and Land Equivalent Ratio (LER). The experiment adopted a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and nine treatment combinations, involving two sesame varieties (Ex Sudan and Kenana) and two sowing dates on groundnut based intercrop. Results revealed significant varietal and temporal differences. Ex Sudan outperformed Kenana, recording higher mean yields of 1551.9 kg (2017) and 2840.7 kg (2018), compared to Kenana with 1335.2 kg and 2320.4 kg, respectively. Early sowing (first date) produced higher yields in 2017 (1585.2 kg), while late sowing exhibited competitive yields in 2018 (2535.2 kg), suggesting seasonal variability in sowing date efficacy. Sole groundnut plots consistently yielded higher than intercropped systems. However, intercropping enhanced land productivity, with LER values exceeding 1.0 in both seasons. Kenana sown late in the intercropping system demonstrated the highest land-use efficiency, achieving LERs of 1.24 (2017) and 1.17 (2018), indicating a 24% and 17% land advantage, respectively. The study concludes that while sole groundnut maximizes individual crop yield, intercropping with Kenana under delayed sowing optimizes land productivity in semi-arid environments. These findings is signifying for selective sowing schedules and varietal choice to improve resource efficiency for subsistence farmer.