Study on production of several soybean varieties with corn intercropping system on dry land in East Lampung, Lampung Province

Abstract

Soybean is a commodity which is less desirable for farmers to be planted yet it has an increasing high demand for processed food products made from soybean (tofu, tempeh, soy sauce, soy milk, etc.). As a strategic commodity,innovations are needed to provide solutions in order to maintain soybean production, especially in dry land. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of production of several soybean varieties grown using the intercropping system (turiman) with corn on suboptimal dry land. The study was conducted in East Lampung during the 2nd planting season from December 2019 to March 2020. The soybean varieties planted are Dena, Devon, Anjasmoro, and the local one (Tanggamus). The varieties of corn planted are the local existing one. The intercropping system used a corn-soybean pattern of 2 rows of corn and 7 rows of soybeans (Jale 2-7). The corn planted with zigzag pattern. The land area used for intercropping crops is 1 ha. The results showed that the intercropping system between soybeans and corn provided optimal soybean and corn production. The average soybean production was 1.548 kg/ha. The highest soybean production was the Devon variety (2,141 kg/ha) intercropping with corn (BS-18). Meanwhile, the Anjasmoro variety yielded 1.249-1.775 kg/ha, Dena variety yielded 1.428-1.541 kg/ha, and the local Tanggamus variety yielded 971-1.790 kg/ha. Corn production was 11.879-18.672 kg/ha of wet shelled corn. The average corn production was 15.110 kg/ha. The corn-soybean (Jale 2-7) intercropping system was able to optimize the use of dry land based on rainwater irrigation. This innovation contributed to the improvement of the cropping index from CI = 100 to 150-200.