Abstract

Media Summary

Introduction

Toshky region is located far in the south of Egypt, south of Aswan, in an area estimated to be 3 million acres. It is considered torrid, arid and hyperthermic. The soil is sandy with limestones. But the most striking effect on agriculture, there, is the sharp, marginal and fluctuated weather. Toshky area is very dry with long hot summer. Maximum air temperatures ranges from 40 ^oC- 50 ^oC (June- August), whereas, minimum air temperature ranges from 4 ^oC - 25 ^oC (December- February). Humidity of air ranges from 13-45%, with lower humidity in winter. Evapotranspiration is estimated at about 30m per day. Under these condition, cropping during summer is difficult. However, the inclusion of some new agrotechniques may help to provide a green cover most of the year, increasing agricultural production and diversification of cropping.

In the old land, new agrotechniques in transplanting cotton in Egypt were studied (Kamel et al. 1991). These included seeding in plastic bags or in separate paper pots with different sizes or in trays filled with peat moss or clay. The results indicated poor stand, lower yield and uneasiness as compared with direct seeding method. Some factors affecting transplanting cotton was studied by (Kamel et al. 1994). Young transplants (30 day old) and increasing transplant density in field up to 64600/acre yielded the best. Delaying time of transplanting diminished yield of cotton (Sherif et al. 1995), revealed that same factors affected seeds, fiber properties of transplanting cotton in the same pattern. Serag El-Din (2000), studied transplanting sugar beet. He revealed that this method impaired beet quality, although, yielding was as in direct seeding methods. (El-Sahrigi et al. 2001), found that cotton transplanted by semi-mechanical transplanter out-yielded manual transplanting and consumed irrigation water less than direct seeding. (Abd El- Aal and Zohry 2003) intercropped tomato with maize as a protective measure from summer heat in upper Egypt. They also revealed increases in land utilization and improved tomato yield and fruit quality.

Methods

Two crop rotations were carried out in horticultural farm in Toshky region in 2002 and 2003 year to study the possibility of growing two crops per year instead of the conventional cropping system (one crop/year).

First crop rotation:

Cotton cv.Giza 83 as early summer crop was followed by tomato intercropped with grain sorghum as a shade crop in the late summer. Cotton was grown by transplanting and direct seeding methods at three dates, i.e, 1^st February, 15^th February and 1^th March. The design of the experiment was split plot design. Method of planting was arranged in the main, whereas, date of planting occupied the sub-plots. Sub-plot area was 40 m^2. After picking cotton, all plots were seeded by grain sorghum cv. Giza 15 at 20cm apart on ridges one week befor transplanting tomato at each date. Tomato transplants cv. Strain B were transplanted at three dates, i.e, 1 ^st Juny 15 ^th June and 30 ^th June on other side of ridges. Intercropped treatments were checked with pure stand grain sorghum and tomato and were assigned in complete randomize block system. Intercropping was evaluated by land equivalent rate (total LER) according to (Willey and Osiru 1981)

Second crop rotation:

Sugar beet cv Gitan as the winter crop was followed by cotton cv. Giza 83 in the late summer. Resemblance to the first rotation was the techniques that followed in this rotation. Sugar beet was grown by both methods; transplanting and direct seeding method at three dates of planting 1^st November, 15 ^th November and 15 ^th December. Transplanting by paper pot in expanda was used in seedbeds under tunnel. After harvesting the beet, cotton was planted in the field plots at three dates; 1 ^st June, 1 ^st July and 15 ^th July. Yield of cotton, and grain sorghum, and marketable yield of sugar beet and tomato were determined on plot basis, and converted to t/ha the combined data of the two seasons. Data obtained were statistically analyzed according to the procedures outlined by (Snedecor and Cochran 1981).

Results

First rotation

Data in table 1 showed regular and consistent trend in cotton yield per ha as well as the yield components as affected by date and method of planting. There were gradual decreases in values of all these traits with delaying time of seeding, except the average number of unopened bolls which increased in the later planting dates. Earliest date of transplanting resulted in highest values of these traits with significant differences compared with the other two dates. Earliest date of direct seeding method ranked the second. Interpretation of these results might owe much to the increases in the total growing degree (GDD) until picking cotton whether in case of direct seeding or transplanting (Kamel et al.1994 and CIPR 2001) supports these results. Cotton when transplanted at 1^st February yielded more than grown by direct seeding. Weather fluctuation may have had deleterious effect on cotton germination and seedling survival when grown by direct seeding.

Table 1. Effect of method and date of planting on yield and some yield components of cotton

grown at early summer season(Av. of 2002and 2003)

Data in table 2 indicate the beneficial effect of intercropping tomato with grain sorghum as a shade crop. Intercropping resulted in yield advantage at any date of planting. The shade crop reduced air temperatures surrounding intercropped tomato canopy to as less 5-7 ^oC as compared with the pure stand tomato. These observations were in agreement with those obtained by (Sahar-Ibrahim 2000). Decreases in yield of both the over and under story crops were also evident with delaying time of transplanting tomato. It is also evident that intercropped tomato yielded more than tomato grown soley at any date of transplanting tomato. The data also revealed that highest value of land utilization was associated with the second date (approximately 3 fold sole cropping). These results might be due to the favourable micro-environmental factor (particularly the thermal index) which prevailed at this period. Intercropping tomato as protective measure from heat waves in summer was also demonstrated by (Abd El-Aal and Zohary 2003).

Table 2. Yields and yield advantage of marketable tomato intercropped with grain sorghum in summer season (Averages of 2002 and 2003)

Second rotation

Direct seeding and transplanting method did not result in significantly different sugar beet yield as compared with method. Serag El-Din (2000) results were concordant with these results. The data also evidenced that planting sugar beet in 15^th November (the moderate date of planting) resulted in highest yield/ ha owing the favourest micro environmental factors which led to the highest yield of tuber/ ha as compared with the other two dates of planting. The effect of method and date of planting on other yield components followed the same trend as the yield was influenced. From another angle of data higher values of tuber weight were associated with lower values of total soluble sugars, which led to impair tuber quality. The data revealed that all values of total soluble sugar were below the standard (16%). It seemed that the nature of virgin soil as well as the relatively high dose of nitrogen in fertilization rate could be the cause and effect (Zohary 1994). The data also revealed that transplanting increased the average number of dual roots as compared with direct seeding method, over all three planting dates. Root injury owing to trans planting might be also the cause and effect. However, transplanting might be more beneficial when growing sugar beet as early as possible to enable more intensive cropping (3 crops per year), i.e., add another crop between beet harvest and plan ting cotton. Growing cotton at late summer was distinctive and different from the early summer crop.

Table 3. Effect of method and date of planting on yield and some yield componants of sugar beet grown in winter season (Av. of 2002/2003)

The objective of growing cotton at the late summer was to establish the basic vegetative structure of the crop prior to virtual cessation of growth during the very cold winter season (from December to February) and hence the crop was expected to enter the fruiting stages, flower and produce bolls ready for harvesting before the onset of excessively high temperatures. Good yield was obtained when the crop was planted in June. However, delaying the planting resulted in yield losses. Delaying planting to June resulted in yield reduction by one third to half, as number of bolls that failed to open increased in the later planting. Transplanting did not have significantly different effects from direct seeding.

Table 4. Effect of method and date of planting on yield and some yield components of cotton

grown at late summer season (Av. of 2002/2003

Conclusion

This study has found that there are many ways to improve crop productivity in an area with marginal condition of upper Egypt. The data obtained indicate that transplanting cotton in early summer season is advisable, since there are frequent cold nights and storms at the beginning of the season. Thence it is recommended that cotton transplants be raised in protected seedbeds instead of direct seeding. Although, data revealed that growing cotton at late summer season out yielded the early season, however, the area time equivalent ratio should be considered. In concern with trans planting sugar beet, the data indicate that transplanting early in the winter season enable the farmers to increase the rate of intensification. Intercropping gave advantage in yield and fruit quality to the under-story crop of tomato. Good yield was also obtained from late summer planting of cotton. However, delaying planting after June resulted in yield losses because of the number of bolls that failed to open. There was no significant difference between the effects of transplanting and direct seeding of the later summer cotton.

References

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