Department of Botany, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma Edo State, Nigeria, West Africa.
Cowpea (Ue brown) and Tomato (Esan local) varieties were grown at the following replacement ratios (l00/0, 67/33, 50/50, 33/67 and 0/100) in a randomized complete block design to evaluate their growth, yield and monetary returns from their pure and mixed cultures. The different planting ratios significantly (P≤0.05) affected plant growth in cowpea but in tomato, growth was similar at all combinations. Growing cowpea and tomato at 33/67 ratio respectively gave a higher yield and consequently, greater monetary returns than all other planting ratios tested. In the mixtures, yields of tomato were consistently greater in plots containing higher and equal proportions of tomato with cowpea, while cowpea yield was highest in its sole crop and also performed well when combined 67% cowpea with 33% tomato, it is more economical to intercrop cowpea and tomato at 33/67 ratio respectively.
