Relay Intercropping of Sunflower with Onion to Improve Productivity and Economic Return

A field experiment was conducted during the two winter seasonsof 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 at Sers El-Layan Research Station, El-Minufiya Governorate, Egypt, to evaluate the effect of relay intercropping of some sunflower cultivars with onion under different sunflower plant densities on productivity and economic return. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block designed with a split-plot arrangement and three replications. The main plots were assigned to two sunflower cultivars (Sakha 53 and Giza 120), while, the subplot were allocated to five sunflower plant densities (100%, 75%, 50%, 33.3% and 25% of the recommended sole crop density). The results indicated that intercropping 100% onion with 25% sunflower density produced higher onion yields compared to intercropping with 100% sunflower density. Conversely, the highest seed and oil yields of sunflower were obtained from the 100% sunflower density intercropped with 100% onion. Giza 120 outperformed Sakha 53 in terms of plant height, stem diameter, head diameter, seed yield per plant, 100-seed weight, and seed and oil yields per feddan, while Sakha 53 recorded a higher oil percentage. Additionally, increasing sunflower plant density led to an increase in the land equivalent ratio (LER). Intercropping sunflower at 100%, 75% and 50% densities with 100% onion resulted in higher net return compared to sole onion cropping. In conclusion, relay intercropping of sunflower at 100% plant density with 100% onion using the Giza 120 cultivar demonstrated superior performance in terms of productivity and economic return.