Co-cultivation of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) with fodder and vegetable crop for enhancing productivity and resource use efficiency

Abstract

To test this hypothesis in a representative location of the western Himalayan region, we study the intercropping of fodder and vegetable crops with basil. This experiment was laid out at CIMAP research Centre Purara, Bageshwar, Uttarakhand, during the years 2020-21 and 2021-22. Maize, sorghum, and pearl millet were cultivated as fodder crops, and okra and coriander were grown as vegetable crops with basil as an intercrop during both years. The biological efficiency of the intercropping system was assessed using LER, ATER, aggressivity, competitive ratio and relative crowding coefficient (K). It was found that sole basil had the highest yield, with 378.01 q ha-1 of fresh and 98.28 q ha-1 of dry herbs, followed by the intercrop of basil + coriander, with 218.19 q ha-1 of fresh herb and 56.73 q ha-1 of dry herb. The basil + coriander intercrop showed the highest LER (1.29), followed by basil + okra (1.27). Basil + okra had the highest MAI value of ₹ 129517.30 ha-1, suggesting that the intercrop combination was the highest gainer, followed by basil + fodder maize combination with an MAI value of ₹ 92203.66 ha-1. Basil + okra had the highest B:C ratio of 4.89 and the highest NR of ₹ 391497, followed by sole basil with an NR of ₹ 297655 and a B:C ratio of 3.72. Keywords: Basil, Fodder crop, Intercropping, Vegetable crops, Western Himalayas