Productivity and economic advantages of flower crops in coconut based intercropping system

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the performance of flower crops as intercrop in coconut, during the year 2013 to 2015 at Coconut Research Station, TNAU, Aliyarnagar. The five flower crops viz., Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora), Celosia (Celosia sp.), Marigold (Tagetes erecta), Zinnia (Zinnia sp.) and Gomphrena (Gompherena globosa) were planted in the coconut garden to identify the most suitable flower crops for growing as intercrop in adult coconut garden and to evaluate the economic viability of the cropping system. Results showed that in a Coconut + Marigold (Tagetes erecta) intercropping system, an average flower yield of 6,053 kg ha-1 was recorded from marigold with a net income of Rs. 2,54,983 /ha and B:C ratio of 1.87 followed by Coconut + Gomphrena (Gomphrena globosa) with a net income of Rs. 2,40,458/ha and B:C ratio of 1.85. Based on economics, it is recommended that Marigold and Gomphrena were the remunerative flower crops in a 24 year old coconut gardens as intercrops without reduction in nut yield.