1. Introduction Nepal with a net area of 1, 47,181 square kilometer is an agricultural country, where 65% of total population depends on agriculture. It is the main source of income and livelihood of the major segment of population in Nepal which contributes 34% to National GDP (MOAC, 2010). Rice, Maize, Wheat, Finger millet and food legumes are major crops grown in Nepal. Maize based cropping pattern is crucial for food security in the mid hills of Nepal where agriculture is the mainstay for livelihood. Stagnation in the productivity of maize in these areas and limited use of cultivable land available has created a situation of food shortage and low economic income of the farmers in this region. Intercropping has several benefits to the farmers including a reduction in farm inputs, diversification of diet, addition of cash crops, increased labor utilization efficiency and reduced risk of crop failure. Objective Major objective of this research was to find out the best possible combination of maize varieties and intercrop combination that can be proved beneficial both for sustaining soil fertility and to improve farm income. Methodology The field experiment was conducted at local farmers field at Jugedi of Kavilas V.D.C during the spring of 2012. The experiment consisted of 12 treatments with combination of three maize varieties namely Arun-2 (90 DAS), Mankamana-1 (120 DAS) and Poshilo Makai-1 (140 DAS) in the main plots and four intercrops including legume and non legume namely Blackgram (Kalu, 50 DAS), Greengram (Pratikshya, 60 DAS), Cowpea (Surya, 110 DAS) and Millet (Dalle Kodo, 120 DAS) in the sub plots. Strip plot design was used for the research layout. PERFORMANCE OF MAIZE CULTIVARS INTERCROPPED WITH LEGUMES AND NON LEGUMES UNDER MIDHILLS OF NEPAL S. Dhakal 1, N. K. Chaudhary 2, and K. R. Pande 3 Table 1: Yield of different maize varieties in response to intercrops Result and Discussion The yield of long duration variety Posilo makai-1 was found to be significantly higher (4.718) than that of short and medium duration variety Arun-2 (2.816) and Mankamana-1 (3.515) respectively. The maize showed better results with the intercropping of legume i.e. Blackgram, Greengram and Cowpea as that with non-legumes i.e. Millet. There was no significant difference in yield of maize when intercropped with legumes i.e. Blackgram (3.955), Greengram (3.827) and Cowpea (3.972) however the yield (2.978) was significantly lower when intercropped with non legume i.e. millet (2.978) (Fig 1). Treatment Yield of maize Mg ha-1 Yield of intercrop Mg ha-1 Main factor Arun-22.816 B 0.485 Manakamana-13.515 AB 0.471 Posilo Makai-14.718 A 0.451 SEM± 0.35850.0127 LSD1.408NS Sub factor Blackgram3.955 A 0.2556 C Greengram3.827 A 0.2667 C Cowpea3.972 A 0.52 B Millet2.978 B 0.83 A SEM± 0.13780.0105 LSD0.47700.364 CV25.35%13.02 The yield of the intercrops was found to be higher in short duration maize variety i.e. Arun-2 (0.485) than with medium duration variety i.e. Manakamana-1 (0.471) and long duration variety i.e. Posilo Makai-1 (0.451). However the difference in yield was not found significant. (Fig 1). Among the intercrops, the non legume component i.e. Millet yielded significantly higher (0.83) than that of Legume component i.e. Cowpea (0.52), Greengram (0.267) and Blackgram (0.256). Figure 1 Yield of maize varieties and intercrops, field experiment, Chitwan, Nepal, 2012 Conclusion In maize, longer duration varieties have greater yield potential than short duration varieties however the benefit of short duration varieties can be best achieved while intercropping, where intercrop yield is higher than in long duration varieties. Acknowledgement: SMARTS/University of Hawaii, IAAS/TU 1 M.Sc.Ag(Agronomy),IAAS (dhakalsuman4@gmail.com), 2 Prof.,IAAS/TU, 3 Assoc. Prof. IAAS/TU