Vegetable Crops Grown Between Strips of Arachis pintoi

Lantapan, Bukidnon in Mindanao. Philippines is famous for its yearround vegetable production due to favorable climate and use of suitable technologies. Tomato, bell pepper, cabbage, Chinese cabbage and carrots, grown
widely in Lantapan, were evaluated as to their growth and yield performance
in live Mulch and drip irrigation. Arachis pintoi, a perennial legume, was used
as live mulch. Drip irrigation uses a specially designed low-cost material that
supplies water drip after drip to plants. Vegetable crops were transplanted 6
months after A. pintoi establishment. A. pintoi grew well on acid soils and has
a potential to be used as live mulch in intensive vegetable production as it
covers the soil with dense neat of stolons protecting soils from all forms of
erosion. The growth of tomato, Chinese cabbage and carrots, however, were
negatively affected by A. pintoi but bell pepper and cabbage growth were not.
Yields of vegetable crops except bell pepper were also negatively affected by
A. pintoi. Bell pepper, known to withstand water logging may have played an
important role in this wet season. The use of live mulch in tomato, cabbage,
Chinese cabbage and carrot production is not advisable during wet season but
may be advantageous during dry season. Growing A. pintoi in bell pepper
production is a good option as it did not affect its growth and yield. Proper
management of A. pintoi may lessen, if not eliminate, the detrimental effect to
crops during wet season.