2024, Vol. 7, Issue 12, Part D

author(s)
S Santhosh, Malavika G, Rajasree G, Shalini Pillai P, Usha C Thomas and Pratheesh P Gopinath

abstract
The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different cropping geometries on productivity, yield, and biological efficiency of red gram [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp] and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) intercropping system under Southern Lateritic conditions of Agroecological Unit (AEU) 8 at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The experiment, laid out in factorial randomized block design with seven treatments and three replications included sole crops and intercropping systems with varying red gram and groundnut row ratios (1:4, 1:6, 1:8, 2:4, and 4:5). Among different cropping geometries, T5 (red gram + groundnut in 4:5 ratio) recorded significantly the highest red gram seed yield (1113.49 kg ha-1) compared to other intercropping treatments though the sole crop produced higher seed yield (1305.44 kg ha⁻¹) than the crop under intercropping. While the highest kernel yield of groundnut (1186.36 kg ha⁻¹) was observed with sole crop, the highest kernel yield among the intercropping treatments was recorded with 1:6 ratio (1050.11 kg ha⁻¹). The red gram + groundnut in 1:6 ratio (T2) resulted in the highest red gram equivalent yield (REY) of 1751.10 kg ha⁻¹, demonstrating optimal resource utilization. Land equivalent ratio (LER) values exceeded 1 in all intercropping treatments, with T2 (1.37) showing the greatest advantage. Intercropping in 1:6 ratio enhanced the productivity, profitability, and sustainability by leveraging spatial and temporal resource complementarities. These findings highlighted the potential of intercropping red gram with groundnut for enhancing land-use efficiency and crop yields, making it a viable strategy for rainfed farming systems of Kerala.