Effect of Potato (Solanum tubersum L.) and Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa willd.) Intercropping and Weed Management on Yield and Quantitive Traits of Potato

To evaluate the additive effect of intercropping of potato and quinoa, and weed management on yield and quantitive traits of potato, this study was conducted in a split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications at Jiroft and Kahnooj regions. Weed management treatments (control, without controlling weeds), paraquat herbicide (3 liter per hectare) and manual weeding, were considered as the main plot, and additive intercropping patterns (potato: quinoa in density levels of 5:15, 5:20 and 5:30 plants.m-2) and potato sole cropping (5 plants.m-2) were assigned to sub-plots. Based on the results, intercropping cultivation had significant effects on reducing weed densities and increasing plant height, leaves number per plant, leaf area index, tuber number per plant, tuber yield and marketable tuber yield. Increased densities of quinoa in intercropping cultivation caused an enhancing trend in potato plant height (4.2-9.1 %), leaves number per plant (7.9-16.6 %) and leaf area index (5.6-12.7 %) as compared to potato sole cropping treatment (control). Manual weeding, also decreased in weed density (16.1 %), and increased leaves number per plant (3.7 %), tuber number per plant (9.4 %), tuber yield (6.3 %) and marketable tuber yield (9.8 %) in comparison to that of paraquat herbicide treatment. The highest mean tuber number (7.5 number.plant-1) was observed in the 5:20 intercroping treatment, which resulted in 7.1% increase in the tuber number as compared with the control treatment. Highest tuber yield (4.54 kg.m-2) and marketable tuber yield (4.01 kg.m-2) were also obtained with the 5:20 intercroping treatment under manual weeding at Kahnooj region, and resulted in 69.4 and 20 % increases in tuber yield and marketable tuber yield respectively, as compared with the potato sole cropping without weeding (control treatment) in this region. Generaly, the best results were obtained in potato and quinoa intercropping with density of 5:20 plants.m-2 under manual weeding at Kahnooj region