Performance of intercropping in pre-bearing mango orchards under drip irrigation in a degraded land

A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of pre-bearing mango plantation with different intercrops (papaya, pineapple and combination of papaya and pineapple) in a sandy clay loam soil on a degraded land under drip irrigation at ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar, Odisha during 2017-18. Different intercrops planted in the mango (cv. Amrapali) were (i) two rows of papaya (cv. Red lady) in either side of mango plants, (ii) two paired rows of pineapple (cv. Queen) in either side of mango plants and (iii) one row of papaya and one paired row of pineapple in either side of mango plants with and without paddy straw mulch. All plants were irrigated by drip irrigation (DI) system. The amount of water used in mango–papaya cropping system (1220 mm) was higher than that in mango-pineapple cropping (975 mm). The volumetric soil water content in top 0.60 m soil in mango, papaya and pineapple were 20-23%, 21-24% and 22-24%, respectively. The vegetative growth parameters (plant height, canopy diameter and trunk girth) of young mango plants were not affected significantly either by papaya or pineapple intercropping. Straw mulch enhanced the growth parameters of mango plants by 8-12%. Similarly, growth parameters of papaya and pineapple were not affected significantly either by intercrops or by straw mulch. The highest yield (17.5 t/ha) and water productivity (21.1 kg/ha.mm) were observed in mango–pineapple system with straw much. The net profit from pineapple intercropping with straw mulch was highest (Rs. 140000/ ha) with benefit-cost ratio of 1.67, followed by papaya-pineapple intercropping with straw mulch in mango. Overall, the study reveals that mango intercropped with pineapple under drip irrigation with rice straw mulch can be practiced in pre-bearing mango orchards of Eastern India