ISSN: 0041-3216
Tropical Agriculture
ISSN: 0041-3216
(Online), 0041-3216 (Print)
Volume 82 Number 3
Research Papers
Performance of irrigated monocropped versus intercropped 'Nagpur' mandarin orchards on basalt derived tropical soils. (159)
Pooled data analysis for intercropped versus monocropped 'Nagpur' mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) orchards showed superiority of monocultured (68.5 kg tree-1) over intercropped (51.4 kg tree-1) orchards. But intercrop specific analysis revealed that citrus orchards with legumes as intercrop (soya bean and gram), produced significantly (P < 0.05) higher fruit yield (72.2 kg tree-1) compared to orchards without intercrops (68.5 kg tree-1). These legume-based intercropped orchards maintained a much higher level of nutrients in leaf [2.35% N, 0.12% P, 2.08% K, 86.5 parts per million (ppm) Fe, 70.6 ppm Mn, 22.2 ppm Cu, and 22.0 ppm Zn] than the orchards without intercrops (2.29% N, 0.13% P, 2.47% K, 79.2 ppm Fe, 63.8 ppm Mn, 21. 7 ppm Cu, and 23.2 ppm Zn). Intercrop specific yield prediction models in relation to leaf nutrient status, were further suggested.
Keywords: Citrus; Intercropped; Monocropped; Nutrients; Yield