1Department of Applied Plant Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Vidya-Vihar, Rae Bareli Road, Lucknow
2Department of Fruits and Orchard Management, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India, 741252
*Email – majisutanu@gmail.com
Online published on 23 November, 2013.
The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the cultivation of suitable intercrops in young guava orchard grown under new alluvial condition of West Bengal. The results showed that intercropping in general improved the flowering and fruiting of guava without affecting their own production potentiality. The proportion of flowering shootlets production was higher under intercropping system as compared to monocropping of guava. Among various intercrops, i.e. cabbage, brinjal, elephant-foot yam, chilli, turmeric and coriander, brinjal and cabbage considerably produced more flowering shootlets as well as maximized the initial fruit setting than others. But at the later stage of fruit growth of guava intercropping with chilli considerably decreased fruit drop percentage and expectedly the final fruit retention was observed the highest under intercropping with chilli. As a result, guava + chilli intercropping produced maximum yield as compared to other intercropping systems. Therefore, chilli has been found as the most promising intercrops among intercrops in young guava orchard without any deleterious effect under new alluvial zone of West Bengal.
Guava, intercropping, flowering, fruiting, fruit drop, yield
