2

University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot

Arecanut based Mixed &Intercropping systems

Presentation on,

Shivanand. M.R

UHS11PGM143KITTUR RANI CHANNAMMA COLLEGE OF HORTICULTURE, ARABHAVI 591 310

Introduction

• Areca nut is primarily grown for its kernels which is chewed by people in different stages.

• It is one of the important cash crops of our country. • The betel nut tree is called Areca catechu botanically

and belongs to the palm tree species and family of Arecaceae.

• The tree is a tall, single stemmed palm reaching up to a height of around 30 meters that bears an orange colored, egg shaped nut having a hard single seed.

• This crop is grown best under mixed cropping for supportive income to the grower.

Multiple cropping

• Multiple cropping is the practice of growing two or more crops in the same inter spaces during main crop growing season and which includes inter & mixed cropping.

• The biological efficiency is increased considerably in multiple cropping systems.

• The utilization of resources mainly light, water and nutrients is enhanced through a distribution of crop species in time and space.

• The long pre-bearing age of Arecanut has prompted farmers to grow different annual or biennial crops for economic sustainability

• This initial period of 5-6 years is ideal for growing short duration crops.

• In later years, as the Arecanut canopy increases in height, mixed cropping with other shade tolerant perennial crop species are used.

• Thus there is an excellent opportunity for a temporal and potential distribution of crop species in Arecanut gardens.

• For the process of multilayer cropping, cropping combinations are done in such a way that main crops and intercrops grow comfortably without having adverse effect on each other, on the contrary, helping each other to achieve better growing conditions.

• There are two types of competitions amongst plants: one for sunlight and second for absorbing water and nutrients.

Competition in soil

For this, we have to study the root growth habit of each crop and their active feeding root zone.

Crops like Coconut and Arecanut have shallow root zones and it allows the root space for other crops like Spices, Tubers and Corms.

Creepers like Black Pepper, Beetle Leaves and Vanilla can be grown with the support of any plant, whereas Corms like Elephant Foot Yam is grown underground.

Competition for light

For this, we have to consider height and canopy spread of the plant.

Crops like Pineapple and Colacasia have height less than 2 ft which allows us to do other cultural operations in orchards/ plantation. 

Seasonal crops like leguminous vegetable help in improving the soil quality and also add nitrogen fixing agent in the soil.

Flower crops like Marigold help in controlling nematodes.Ultimately, prime importance must be given to the main

crop. Also, consider the space required for intercultural

operations, harvesting and cleaning of the plot.

Criteria’s for selection of inter or mixed crops,

• Crop should be selected according to their shade tolerance and amount of solar radiation available.

• It should not be growing as tall as main crop.

• It should not be more susceptible than main crop for insect pests & diseases.

• It should not require harvesting as other operations that would damage the main crop or include soil erosion or damage soil structure.

• It should not have an economic life longer than main crop.

• Its root system exploits different soil horizons or zones.

• Crop should be selected according to the soil type, rain fall pattern or irrigation facilities & climatic conditions.

• Availability of marketing or processing facility & labour availability.

• It should be high biomass yielding per unit area.

Pure planting,Usually planted during May-June & September-October.

Pits of 60x60 cm and dug at a distance of 2.7 x 2.7 m.

Intercropping,Planted May-June & September-October.

Pits of 60x60 cm, distance of 4 to 5m x 2 to 2.5m. Black pepper, 20cm from palm, northern aspect

Inter cropping in Arecanut

• The practice of growing any economic crop in alley spaces of the Plantation trees in the first few years or in the' unoccupied spaces of the long duration crop in the early periods is referred as Intercropping.

• Inter cropping as a means of productive land use system has received much attention in the recent past.

• It is practiced mainly through use of interspaces for growing other crops of shorter duration which effectively utilize the soil moisture at different depths of soil and intercept solar energy at different height.

• Leaving 1.0 m radius around the arecanut palm, the interspaces are prepared for cultivation of intercrops during the pre-monsoon period.

• Banana is preferred intercrop in all arecanut growing regions.

• It also provides good shade during early growth of arecanut plants.

• Intercrops differed in yield response to plant densities of arecanut and intercropping intensities.

• According to Nellliat and Iyer (1977), intercropping as applied to plantation crops is growing annuals or biennials in the interspaces of the main crop.

• A larger number of crops like paddy, sorghum, cowpea, vegetables, yams, pineapple, banana, etc. are grown by the farmers as intercrops in Arecanut gardens.

• Crops like cowpea, corn, sorghum, and groundnut are sown in furrows.

• Pits or trenches are taken up for crops like dioscorea, elephant foot yam, taros, pineapple and banana.

• Crops like ginger, turmeric, arrowroot, chilies, etc. are planted in raised beds of convenient size and are recommended for the particular locality.

• Muralidharan and Nyer (1979) indicated that intercropping in Arecanut was not harmful to the main crop.

• Banana is a very popular intercrop in Arecanut gardens.

• Long term effects of intercropping banana in Arecanut garden planted at 2.7x 2.7M did not show any significant difference due to intercropping with banana under different intensities of planting.

• In turmeric yield increased with narrower spacings while in sweet potato wider spacings were optimum in enhancing yield attributes and yields. Cowpea yielded better at wider spacing’s (Sannamarappa & Shivashankar, 1988).

Mixed cropping in Arecanut

• Growing of perennials in the interspaces of perennials is known as mixed cropping.

• Nelliat and Iyer (1977) stated that in Kerala, especially in southern districts, arecanut is rarely grown as a pure crop.

• A large number of tree crops are grown with it due to compelling socio-economic situations resulting in over- populated poly culture.

• Preliminary studies initiated during 1964 at CPCRI Regional Station Vittal indicated that cocoa is an ideal combination with arecanut (Bhat and Leela, 1968). 

• The mean yield per arecanut palm in the mixed cropping experiment (arecanut and cocoa at 50:50) was higher than that of arecanut as a monocrop (Bhat,1979).

• Among the many perennial crops grown with arecanut, black pepper and cardamom are very important.

• In many parts of kerala and Karnataka, Arecanut palms is used as live standards for training black pepper.

• When black pepper is grown on Arecanut, the manorial and fertilizer dose applied to Arecanut should be doubled.

• Each palm should receive in addition to its normal recommended dose of 10kg of farm yard manure or compost 100g N, 40g P2O5 and 140g K2O and equal additional dose of manures and fertilizers to support the pepper from the third year of planting.

• The advantage of multiple cropping in Arecanut is the ability to provide substantial increase per unit area through better utilization of resources like land and light.

• Bhat and Leela (1968) found that more than 80% of the roots of Arecanut are within a radius of 75cm from the base in palms spaced at 2.7x2.7m.

• The normal cultural operations are also confined within about 75-85cm radius from the base.

• Thus the Arecanut palms exploit only 2.27 Sq. m. of (r=0.85m) land area at out of 7.29 Sq. m. (2.7X2.7m) land available to each palm.

• The estimates indicate that about 68.9 % of land is not effectively utilized.

• Cardamom is also planted under the shade of arecanut in the lower valleys of certain cardamom plantations at 1.5-2 m apart in between arecanut palms.

• Muralidharan (1980) reported that 32.7-47.8 % of incident light rays pass down through the canopy of a 14 years old arecanut garden depending on the energy reaches the ground and wasted.

• Multiple cropping in arecanut garden can advantageously utilize this energy.

• The tremendous potentialities of multiple cropping in arecanut plantations are there to generate employment opportunities for improving the quality of rural life.

• Apart from increasing the production of additional crops and employment potential, multiple/ mixed cropping system can acts as a social security against instability of yield such as crops loss due to severe incidence of Mahali.

Benefits of cropping systems

• Maximum utilization of available land in plantation

• Effective utilization of solar radiation

• Efficiency in water use

• Enrich in fertility status of soils

• It play important role in controlling soil erosion

• It adds organic matter to the soil

• Effective utilization of leaching materials

• It provides additional income

• It provides additional employment opportunities

• It helps in effective weed control

• It provides partial guaranty against market glut

of single commodity

• It increases the total biomass per unit area

Constraints in Multiple cropping systems

• Drought conditions.

• Lack of funds.

• Lack of technical knowledge of cropping systems.

• Timely unavailability of inputs.

• Pest & disease incidents.

• Lack of irrigation facilities.

• Lack of labour availability.

References

Shanmugavelu,  K.G., Kumar,  N. &  Peter, K.V., 2002, Production Technology of Spices and Plantation Crops, Pp: 368-369.

Internet source