A field experiment was carried out for two consecutive seasons of 2005–06 and 2006–07 at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Bijapur, Karnataka with an objective to findout the suitable intercrop for castor to obtain higher productivity and profitability per unit area per unit time by efficient utilization of natural resources on vertic inceptisol under rainfed conditions. There were thirteen treatments consisting of eight intercropping systems viz., castor with pearlmillet, seteria, sesamum, niger in 1:2 and 2:4 row proportions in additive series and five sole crops of the component crops involved in intercropping systems. The experiment was laidout in RBD with three replications. The mean results of 2 years revealed that, among the various intercrops tried with castor in 1:2 and 2:4 row proportions, castor noticed higher mean castor yield of 1291 and 1085 kg/ha with seteria and pearlmillet, respectively. Among the intercrops, pearlmillet recorded higher grain yield of 1398 and 1202 kg/ha at 1:2 and 2:4 row proportions, respectively as compared to other crops. The performance of various intercrops tested with castor crop excelled in 1:2 row proportions than in 2:4 row proportions. Castor equivalent yield was significantly higher with castor + pearlmillet in 1:2 and 2:4 row proportions (1678 and 1510 kg/ha, respectively). Similarly, intercropping of castor + pearlmillet in 1:2 and 2:4 row proportions was more remunerative with a net returns of Rs. 17,069 and Rs. 14,572/ha, respectively over other intercropping systems. The benefit cost ratio was also significantly higher with castor + pearlmillet in 1:2 and 2:4 row proportions (3.76 and 3.31) over sole castor (3.18) as well as other intercropping systems. Intercropping of castor + pearlmillet in 1:2 and 2:4 row proportions recorded significantly higher Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) of 1.80 and 1.56, respectively.
Castor, intercrops, intercropping system, Vertic Inceptisol, Rainfed conditions
