Effect of Intercropping on the Yield Components of Rice, Mungbean, Soybean, Peanut and Blackgram

Abstract

AbstractAn experiment with sixteen cropping systems (pure and intercroppings) was conducted during the kharif season of 1985 and 1986. The sixteen cropping systems were: sole rice, sole mungbean, sole soybean, sole peanut, sole blackgram, rice + mungbean (2:1), rice + mungbean (4:1), rice + mungbean deferred (2:1), rice + soybean (2:1), rice + soybean (4 : 1), rice + soybean deferred (2 : 1), rice + peanut (2:1), rice + peanut (4 : 1), rice + blackgram (2:1), rice + blackgram (4:1) and rice + blackgram deferred (2:1). Sole crop of rice always recorded higher number of effective tillers/m2, however, it was observed that legumes had an influence on the number of filled grains per panicle and thousand grain weight of rice in rice + legume combinations. Among legumes, pure crops of soybean and peanut always gave rise to increased number of yield components than the other crops grown in association with rice. In case of mungbean, number of pods per plant and thousand seed weight was higher in pure crops though number of seeds per pod was more with rice + mungbean combination. Deferred sown blackgram in association with rice yielded greater number of seeds per pod and thousand seed weight though sole crop of blackgram significantly produced higher number of pods per plant.