Performance of Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) Based Agroforestry System Under North Eastern Coastal Plains of Odisha

The experiment was carried out during the years 2021–23 at the experimental plot of All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Agroforestry, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design, replicated thrice with seven numbers of treatments having combination of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) fruit tree and seven intercrops such as Brinjal (Solanum melongena), Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum), Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonolobaI) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata ) to study the impact of biometrics of Moringa i.e., plant height, basal girth , crown spread and yield attributes on intercrops. The result depicted that Moringa oleifera with Vigna unguiculata recorded highest plant height (7.7 m), basal girth (36 cm) of the Moringa tree. The crown spread of Moringa oleifera was found maximum (3.4 m) in the treatment T₁ (Moringa oleifera + Solanum melongena). The growth characters of the intercrops such as number of leaves per plant (32.5 to 38.9), branches per plant (30.3 to 41.2) were highest in the same treatment T₃ (Moringa oleifera + Solanum lycopersicum) at an interval of 90 to 150 days after planting (DAP). The intercrop plant height (65.6 cm) was highest in T₆ (Moringa oleifera + Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) at 150 DAP. The maximum Moringa fruit yield of 36.5 q/ha was recorded in the treatment T₇ (Moringa oleifera + Vigna unguiculata). The intercrop yield was noted highest in T₃ (Moringa oleifera + Solanum lycopersicum) i.e. 120.6q/ha with net benefit cost ratio of 1.22.