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A field experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farms of The Federal University of Technology Akure to evaluate the responses of cassava varieties to time of planting in plantain-based intercropping system in the rainforest zone of Nigeria. The objectives were to identify the more compatible cassava variety for intercrop with plantain examine e the appropriate time to introduce cassava varieties into plantain/cassava intercrop and to identify the more compatible cassava variety for intercrop with plantain. The experiment involved the use of two varieties of cassava (TME 419 non branching and TMS 98/0581 moderately branched) planted at spacing of 1 x 1 m into the alleys of false horn plantain variety space at 3 x 2 m. The treatments were sole plantain, sole cassava varieties (TME 419 poorly branched variety and TMS 0581 branching variety), plantain + he respective cassava varieties (TME 419 and TMS 98/0581) at the same time, and plantain + the respective cassava varieties (TME 419 and TMS 98/0581) at 4 weeks after planting>the treatment plot size was 9 m x 6 m. The plantains and the two cassava varieties were planted sole as the control treatments. The introduction of cassava into plantain as intercrop was carried out at different times which were; at the same time with plantain, and at four (4) weeks after planting plantain. Data on growth parameters such as; plant height, pseudo-stem girth, number of leaves were taken for plantains, while plant height, stem girth, number of leaves, number of branches, height at branching were taken for cassava at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks after planting (WAP). Yield parameters such as; bunch weight, number of fingers, number of hands, length of fingers, girth of fingers, weight of hands, weight of fingers were taken for plantains while number of tubers, weight of tubers, girth of tubers, length of tubers, fresh root yield, shoot biomass, were taken for cassava at harvest. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. The results showed a higher growth and yield performance for TME419 (49.2 t/ha) and TMS98/0581 (45.7 t/ha) planted sole, and TME 419 (39.5 t/ ha) intercropped at planting compared to TMS 98/0581 (24.4 t/ha) intercropped at planting, TME 419 (21.7 t/ ha) and TMS 98/0581 (15.7 t/ha) intercropped at 4 week after planting (WAP), respectively. But there was no significant difference (P<0.05) recorded for the growth of plantain, whereas the yield of sole plantain was higher and differed significantly (P<0.05) from the yields of intercropped plantain. All the treatment combinations had land equivalent ratio (LER) and area time equivalent ratio (ATER) greater than 1. Plantain + TME 419 intercropped at the same time recording the highest LER and ATER (1.48 and 1.5) while plantain + TMS 98/0581 had the least 1.11 and 1.14 respectively. The cost benefit analysis for the treatment combinations showed that TME 419 planted sole had the highest return of ₦3.567 per ₦1 invested, TME 419 intercropped at the same time gave a return of ₦3.416 per ₦1 invested, which was greater than other intercropped treatments. Intercropping cassava with plantain at the same time, as well as the use of TME 419 variety gave the best performance in terms of growth, yield, land equivalent ratio, area time equivalent ratio and returns on investment. This combination are recommended for plantain-based intercropping system involving cassava in the study area. DOI: 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-19-2967 Freely Available Online www.openaccesspub.org | JAR CC-license DOI : 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-19-2967 Vol-2 Issue 2 Pg. no. 2 Introduction The English word plantain apparently was derived from the Spanish plátano 2, . Plantains resemble bananas but are longer in length, have a thicker skin, and contain more starch. They are also a major staple food in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. They are usually cooked and not eaten raw unless they are very ripe. Plantains are more important in the humid lowlands of West and Central Africa. One hundred or more different varieties of plantain grow deep in the African rainforest 4, 5, . The area harvested of plantains in West Africa increased fairly steadily and nearly doubled between 1990 and 2011, from approximately 955,000 hectares (ha) to 1,700,000 ha In 2011, 12.46 million metric tons (MT) of plantains were produced, representing 32.0% of worldwide production . They rank as the fourth most important global food commodity after rice, wheat and maize in terms of gross value of production 5, 8. Plantain is a carbohydrate source and the vitamin C content of plantain is very similar to those of sweet potatoes, cassava, though the concentration may vary with the crop, maturity at harvest, soil and farming conditions . Prominent among major characteristics of plantain is its ability to survive extended periods of drought unlike most other crops. It can also grow well under a wide range of soil conditions, with its fruits being produced almost all year round. Almost all parts of the plant have one economic use or another and may be harvested for household use or sale to raise income. Plantain also co-exists well with a wide range of plants and trees, except allelopathic plants and is traditionally grown in mixed cropping systems 10 . Cassava (Manihot esculenta L. Crantz) is a dicotyledonous plant growing 1-3 m high and belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae (Spurge) the Manihot genera. Cassava is a perennial woody shrub with an edible root, which grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world ( IITA, 2009). The tuber flesh is composed of about 62 % water, 35 % carbohydrate, 1-2 % protein, 0.3 % fat, 1-2 % fibre and 1 % mineral matter . It is an important subsistence crop for many communities with flexible planting and harvest times . Due to ever increasing human population especially in Africa leading to diminishing agricultural land sizes, intercropping, with its advantages of risk minimization, reduction of soil erosion, increased food security should be practiced. Most crops can now be intercropped including fruit trees, and therefore farmers with small pieces of land should no longer worry 14, . However research still needs to be carried out particularly with respect to row orientations and light interception and the economic benefits as more horticultural crops are intercropped 16, . Therefore in this project the type of intercrop used based on spatial arrangement is the “row intercropping” where the two crops were simultaneously planted in a well defined row arrangement. Meanwhile the intercropping system used is the plantain based intercropping system where the plantain was intercropped with cassava a tuber crop. In the tropics, farmers use any available cassava variety when intercropping with plantains and some of these varieties may suppress the growth and yield of plantain; hence there is a need to identify a more compatible variety to farmers.\and determine the best time to introduce cassava into plantain plantation so that the component crop yield will not be affected negatively. The objectives of the experiment are to determine the appropriate time to introduce cassava varieties in a plantain/cassava intercrop and Identify a Corresponding author: Agele S.O, Department Crop, Soil & Pest Management, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, Email: soagele@futa.edu.ng

Growth, Yield and Varietal Responses of Cassava to time of Planting into Plantain Stands in a Plantain/Cassava Intercrop in Akure, South-West Nigeria