1Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, CCS HAU, Hisar, Haryana, 125 004
2Dean, College of Agriculture, CCS HAU, Hisar, Haryana, 125 004
3Professor and Associate Dean, Postgraduate Studies, CCS HAU, Hisar, Haryana, 125 004
4Ph.D scholar, Department of Agronomy, BCKV, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal-741 252
5Wheat Agronomist, CCS HAU, Hisar, Haryana, 125 004
6Professor & Head, Department of Agronomy, CCS HAU, Hisar, Haryana, 125 004
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana-125 004
*Corresponding author Email: dhakaanilkumar@yahoo.in
Online published on 5 May, 2014.
A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) seasons of 2010 and 2011 at Hisar, to evaluate the intercropping of pearlmillet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] in prickly sesban or dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) grown for seed. Yield of dhaincha was not affected by sowing it at 60 or 45 cm row spacing. Among intercropping systems in spite of 11.6% reduction in dhaincha seed yield compared with sole crop at 45 cm spacing, the highest Sesbania seed yield (0.92 t/ha) along with an additional pearl millet yield of 0.74 t/ha was obtained with 1:1 row ratio of Sesbania and pearlmillet at 45 cm spacing. Two rows of pearlmillet in between Sesbania sown at 120 cm spacing was found best not only for pearlmillet but also for maximum land-equivalent ratio (1.38), highest competition ratio (2.75), maximum monetary advantage index (7,048/ha), maximum system productivity index (1.49 t/ha), highest Sesbania (1.38 t/ha) equivalent yield, highest net returns of 10,768/ha and maximum benefit: cost of 1.39. Hence for seed production Sesbania be sown at 120 cm spacing intercropped with 2 rows of pearlmillet to supplement the income of farmers.
Agrobiology, Crop production, Intercropping, Monetary advantage index, Pearlmillet, Sesbania
