Evaluation of leafy vegetable crops under Ailanthus excelsa based silvihorticulture system in North Eastern Zone of Tamil Nadu

Field experiments were conducted in north eastern zone of Tamil Nadu to develop 3 year old Ailanthus excelsa based silvihorticulture system with 5 leafy vegetables for higher productivity. Green leafy vegetable crops viz., Chinese amaranth, spleen amaranthus, tropical amaranth, Chinese spinach and palak were intercropped with 3 years old Ailanthus excelsa to study the growth and productivity of the seinter crops and their effect on the growth of the tree. The growth and yield of intercrops were reduced in association with Ailanthus when compared to sole cropping. Among the test crops, palak was most affected and Chinese spinach was least affected. The benefit cost ratio from the crop was highest with Chinese spinach (3.45) and the lowest with tropical amaranth (1.77) under intercropping. Growth of Ailanthus was influenced due to intercropping with palak. The tree height and DBH of Ailanthus were observed highest when intercropped with palak (19.51% and 20.50% increase over tree alone and the lowest was observed with Chinese spinach (4.9% and 6.0% increase over tree alone).