1Department of Agroforestry, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab-141004, India
2Department of Floriculture and Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh-791102, India. nilay_fpr@rediffmail.com
3Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Environmental Sciences, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chattishgarh-495009, India
An experiment was conducted to study the effect of Leucaena based hedge row intercropping on forage crops viz. Napier bajra hybrid (PBN-233, perennial), maize (J-1006) + cowpea (Cowpea-88) and Berseem (BL-10) + Rye grass (Rye grass No.1). The three varieties of Leucaena viz. K-8 (L. leucocephala), K-156 (L. diversifolia) and K-743A (L. leucocephala x L. diversifolia) were grown between the rows of forage crops. The results confirm that there was no effect of Leucaena varieties on the total production of forage crops as the effect of different sources were found nonsignificant for the yield of forage crops except for the Berseem + Rye grass combination. However, K-8 performed best giving 19.70 and 2.20 tonnes/ha of green and dry biomass yield respectively with Berseem + Rye grass combination. It also gave better results in comparison to control proving that such silvipastoral system is likely to improve the quality and quantity of forage/fodder crops and will simultaneously improve the social and economic status of the farmers also.
Fodder crops, silvipastoral, hedge row system, intercropping, forage crops
