Abstract

Little information is available regarding the population density of basil, which can be used as a component crop of green hot peppers for intercropping. Therefore, an experiment was conducted under field conditions of Hawassa Green Mark Herb with two varieties of green hot pepper (Melka Shote and Melka Awaze) and four basil population densities (100%, 75%, 50% and 25%), with their respective soles used as a check to determine the optimal population densities of basil for intercropping within green hot pepper varieties and to assess the yield advantage and economic returns of the system. The study was arranged factorially and laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. For both crops, data on growth, yield components, and yield parameters were collected and analyzed using SAS software. The variance analysis showed that the intercropping of the Melka Awaze variety with 50% density of basil resulted in the maximum total LER (1.86) and MAI (251,525 ETB ha-1) values, while the intercropping of Melka Shote with 50% and 75% densities also resulted in the maximum total LER (1.78) and (1.74), as well as MAI (240,755 ETB ha-1) and (242,385 ETB ha-1) values, respectively. The intercropping with the highest (100%) basil population among the green hot pepper varieties resulted in a significantly higher mean essential oil yield (14.73 kg ha-1). Therefore, intercropping a basil population density of 27,778 plants ha-1 with the Melka Awaze variety and 41,667 plants ha-1 with the Melka Shote variety was recommended