Efeito do cultivo consociado de amendoim (arachis hypogaea l) e LAB LAB (dolichos lab-lab) ] na produtividade e incidência de pragas da cultura do algodão (gossypium hirsutum l.)

Abstract

In Mozambique, cotton is grown under rainfed conditions and predominantly as a sole crop, which facilitates field management. However, it faces yield losses of 50% to 70% due to pests and diseases, whose effects are intensified by the low diversity of crops in the field. With the aim of evaluating the response of intercropped cotton with different cover crops, this study assessed the impact of intercropping cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) with peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and lab-lab (Dolichos lab-lab) on productivity and pest incidence in cotton cultivation. To this end, an experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the Catholic University of Mozambique during the 2023/2024 growing season. The experiment included three treatments (pure cotton; cotton + lab-lab; cotton + peanut) and was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and a one-factor scheme (intercropping). The main variables of the study were pest incidence levels and cotton productivity, which were subsequently subjected to normality testing and variance analysis at 5%, followed by the Tukey test for mean comparison. The yield variable, expressed in kilograms per hectare (kg/ha), revealed significant differences, indicating that the cropping systems applied in the study impacted productivity. The cotton + peanut system achieved the highest yield of 1,769.319 kg/ha, followed by cotton + lab-lab with 909.932 kg/ha, while the sole cotton system had the lowest yield of approximately 783.3908 kg/ha. Regarding pest infestation levels, Aphis gossypii, Emposca fascialis, and Diparopsis castanea had a significant effect on incidence rates in non-intercropped systems, with the following percentages: (11.2%, 15.82%, and 8.24%) in sole cotton; (6.35%, 5.17%, and 3.47%) in cotton intercropped with peanut; and (8.75%, 8.39%, and 4.57%) in cotton intercropped with lab-lab. The study results suggest that farmers could be recommended to adopt the cotton + peanut intercropping system