COMPONENT INTERACTIONS IN MANGO BASED AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM IN THE SUB-TROPICS OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

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Date
2018
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Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu
Abstract
The present investigation, “Component interactions in mango based agroforestry system in the sub-tropics of Jammu and Kashmir” was conducted at Udheywalla Farm of SKUAST-Jammu, during the years 2015 and 2016. The study was aimed to explore the possibilities of successfully integrating intercrops namely Ginger (Zingiber officinalis),Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) and Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) under the canopy of 29 years old mango orchard. The effect of light intensity and spacing on growth, physiology and yield of intercrops and effect of tree-crop interaction on soil physico-chemical properties, soil carbon and microbial count has been studied to work out the optimum tree-crop combination with respect to growth and yield. The findings indicated that the mango orchard selected for the study had a very dense canopy and the interception of light was only upto the extent of 30-40 percent than that in the open. The shade had profound influence on the survival percentage and growth parameters like plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches/tillers per plant and leaf area per plant of ginger, turmeric, stevia and kalmegh. Among the four crops, stevia had a very low survival percentage under mango as compared to that in the open. Likewise ginger had a poor survival percentage in the open compared to that under the mango canopy. The height of the intercrop was significantly affected due to overhead shade of the trees and different spacing of the intercrops. Maximum height increment was observed in the treatments with closer spacing. Under shade, the higher values for number of leaves, number of tillers and leaf area per plant were recorded in ginger and turmeric as compared to stevia and kalmegh. A marked increase was seen in the growth parameters at wider spacing of 30cm x 30cm and 30cm x 40cm in all the crops. The economic yield of the four crops varied as per the crop habit. Fresh rhizome weight was taken for ginger and turmeric, dry leaves for stevia and dry above ground biomass for kalmegh. It was found that (1) the yield, in general, decreased under mango trees as compared to the open for all the crops under study, (2) ginger performed very poor under open conditions and (3) stevia was not suitable for intercropping under intense overhead shade. The yield was higher at closer spacing of 30cm x 20cm in all the crops except stevia under mango and ginger in open. Amongst the physiological parameters like Relative Growth Rate (RGR), Net Assimilation Rate (NAR), total chlorophyll content, carotenoid content and the average leaf area of the crop under open had high RGR and NAR values than as intercrop. Crops planted at close spacing (S1- 30cm x 20cm) had a lower RGR and NAR both in the open and in the intercropping. The total chlorophyll (at vegetative and reproductive stage) and carotenoid content was more under mango than in open. Crops allocated maximum assimilates towards leaf and branch both in open and under shade and the distribution was 1.5 to 2.0 times higher towards above ground biomass in intercrops compared to sole crop. Regarding the root characteristics, turmeric, stevia and kalmegh had higher number of roots and subsequently higher root dry weight in the open/ sole crops compared to under shade. Number and dry weight of roots/rhizomes increased with spacing. Root growth potential had negative values for all crops except ginger. Irrespective of the crop and spacing, improvement in the physico-chemical properties of soil was observed. The microbial population was low under mango compared to that in the open for all the crops and at both the depths (0-15cm and 15-30cm). Amongst the fungal species isolated from the soil at two depths under mango and in sole cropping, Alternaria sp., Paecilomyces sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp. and Aspergillus sp. were found to be the most prominent out of the nine species isolated. The cost of cultivation, gross returns and net return of the system (with and without mango) decreased with the increase in spacing for the intercrops. The value of Benefit Cost Ratio (B:C ratio) of mango+intercrops varied in 2015 and 2016 due to the alternate bearing character of mango. In general, ginger, turmeric and kalmegh under mango had higher BC ratio in both the years. In stevia, gross returns were higher on account of yield of mango which inflated the B:C ratio of stevia+mango treatment combination. The value of Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was highest in mango+ginger and minimum in mango+stevia. In case of ginger, the yield was very poor under open conditions which inflated the value of LER and the crop stevia was almost a failure under mango leading to the low LER values. The findings of the present investigation indicated that ginger, turmeric and kalmegh can be grown successfully as intercrops in the old mango orchards under the subtropical conditions of Jammu. Though the growth was more at wider spacing but the yield was maximum at closer spacing. Thus, it can be deduced that all the crops except stevia can be integrated in mango orchards (>20 years of age) which can improve livelihood, and can add monetary value to the farming business.
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