Effect of inter-cropping on plant and soil of Mosambi sweet orange orchard under rainfed conditions

Abstract

An inter-cropping trial was conducted on 3-year-old Mosambi sweet orange orchard planted at 5 m × 5 m spacing and growing under rainfed laterite soil to identify the suitable and profitable intercrops. The intercrops grown were cowpea, ridge gourd, groundnut, radish, black gram, okra, amaranthus and cluster bean. The results of three years of investigation indicated that number of fruits was maximum in Mosambi with groundnut followed by okra. Fruit weight was highest with cowpea closely followed by groundnut and black gram. Fruit quality and N, P and K values in leaves of Mosambi did not significantly differ among the intercrop treatments. Highest net return was calculated from Mosambi + groundnut combination (Rs. 35,820.0/ha) followed by Mosambi + okra (Rs. 22,520.0/ ha) and Mosambi + cowpea (Rs. 22,420.0/ha). Highest bio-mass was obtained from cowpea (68 q/ha) followed by groundnut (54 q/ha) and black gram (35 q/ha). Nitrogen concentration in the orchard soil was improved due to growing of leguminous crops while phosphorus and potassium were depleted in all the cases.