Effect of Gmelina arborea (Khamhar) bund based Agroforestry system on growth performance of paddy crop

Abstract

Present study describes the effect of Gmelina arborea bund based Agroforestry system on growth performance of paddy crop. An experiment was conducted on the farmer’s field in the Rudri village of Dhamtari block of Dhamtari district (C.G.) during the kharif season (July-November) of the year 2022-23. Experiment was conducted in randomized block design (RBD). The biometry of trees was studied. DBH is 20.7, 23.68, 22.62 cm and crown width 3.22, 5.2, 4.26 m. Samples were taken at the distances of 1 m, 3 m, 5 m, 7 m, and 9 m from the tree trunk and >15 m for the control. The result indicated that the Gmelina arborea bund agroforestry had a negative impact on paddy growth, which varied depending on the DBH and crown width of the tree row and distance from the tree bund. The growth of paddy, as measured by the number of hills and the number of tillers was significantly stunted by the wider crown and proximity to the tree. The number of hills and tillers were lowest between 1-3 m. from the base of tree and the highest number of hills was (14 quadrate-1) and number of tiller hill-1 were 9.58 and average shoot length was 99.33 cm, average ear length 25.29. Thus, it is concluded that Gmelina arborea trees with minimal crown width and increasing distance from the tree line had less harmful impact on the growth and production of paddy than trees with maximum crown width and close proximity to the tree or tree line.