Response of Row Ratio in Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) + Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) Intercropping on Growth, Yield of Crops, System Productivity and Economics

Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) as oilseeds and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) as pulses are very popular and potential crops but there is lack of research work on mustard + faba bean intercropping system. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to study the effect of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) + faba bean (Vicia faba L.) intercropping system on growth, yield of crops, economics and system productivity.

The study was carried out for three consecutive years during rabi seasons of 2015–16 to 2017–18 at the Research Farm of Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi under Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar. Treatments comprised of Sole mustard, Sole faba bean, Mustard + Faba bean (1:1), Mustard+Faba bean (1:2), Mustard + Faba bean (1:3), Mustard + Faba bean (1:4), Mustard + Faba bean (1:5), Mustard + Faba bean (2:4), Mustard+Faba bean (2:5) and Mustard + Faba bean (2:6) under replacement series.

This study finds that significantly higher number of branches/plant (5.0), number of pods/plant (30.9), number of grains/ pod (2.21), 100-grain weight (28.94 g) of faba bean were recorded in 2:5 row ratio than sole faba bean, sole mustard, intercropping systems of faba bean with mustard in 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 row ratios while plant height (134.4), number of branches/plant (10.93), number of pods/plant (170.6), number of grains/pod (9.95), 100-grain weight (0.49 g) of mustard were also found better in all the row ratios of mustard + faba bean intercropping system than sole mustard. Maximum faba bean equivalent yield (3802 kg /ha) and net return (Rs. 92470/ha) were recorded under faba bean intercropped with mustard in 2:5 row ratio although it was found at par with mustard+faba bean in (1:5), (2:4) and (2:6) row ratios. Therefore, mustard and faba bean intercropping system in row ratio of 2:5 may be recommended.