Effect of Different Managements of Tillage and Legume Cover Crop on Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) Yield in Additive Intercropping with Green Bean

The effects of different tillage practices, cover crop and intercropping on yield and yield components of pumpkin by factorial split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design with three eplications was studied at the Experimental Field of Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan. Treatments comprised three levels of tillage practices including NT: no tillage, MT: minimum tillage (chisel plow + disk), and CT: Conventional tillage (moldboard plow + disk); and two levels of cover cropping including C1: Lathyrus sativus as a cover crop and C2: no cover crop and three levels of cultivation systems as I1: additive intercropping of 50% green bean+pumpkin, I2: pure green bean, and I3: pure pumpkin. The results showed that seed yield, number of seeds per fruit, fruit diameter, fruit weight, fruit yield, seed weight of pumpkin as well as green bean yield were affected by management practices. The highest amounts of these traits were revealed at pure standing of each crop under conservation tillage with using legume cover crop. For example, pumpkin seed yield (121.40 g.m-2) in pumpkin sole crop treatment was significantly more than the treatment of 50% green bean+pumpkin (127.60 g.m-2). Minimum tillage and chickling pea cover crop treatment showed the highest amount of pumpkin seed yield (138.3 g.m-2), but, minimum tillage and chickling pea cover crop treatment had no significant difference with no tillage and chickling pea cover crop treatment for this triat. The lowest pumpkin seed yield (110.2 g.m-2) was achieved at conventional tillage and no chickling pea cover crop treatment. In general, according to the LER index, the best management was the additive intercropping of green bean with pumpkin under using conservation tillage and legume cover crop.