INTERCROPPING OF FORAGE SORGHUM IN PIGEONPEA UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS IN SEMI -ARID REGION

摘要

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif season for three consecutive years (2000 to 2002) to evaluate the effect of intercropping of forage sorghum in pigeonpea for economic viability under dryland conditions in semi-arid region. The results revealed that intercropping of forage sorghum in pigeonpea at row spacings of 100 and 75 cm caused reduction in fodder yield of sorghum and grain yield of pigeonpea over the sole stands of these crops However, fodder equivalent yield was significantly higher in case of intercropping of pigeonpea spaced at 100 cm with one to three lines of sorghum than the sole stands of the component crops Economic analysis also indicated highest net monetary return and monetary advantage with pigeonpea spaced at 100 cm +one line of forage sorghum, closely followed by pigeonpea spaced at 100 cm + three lines of forage sorghum. Land equivalent ratio (LER) clearly exhibited superiority of intercropping pigeonpea planted at 100 cm with one line of forage sorghum (LER = 1.28), closely followed by pigeonpea planted at 100 cm + two lines of sorghum (LER = 1.21) over the sole stands.