EXERCISE 5

EXERCISE 5: ORCHARD SOIL MANAGEMENT- INTER-CROPPING IN FRUIT ORCHARDS

Intercropping: This involves growing of annual crops in between the tree row (Plate 5.1). Sometimes short duration fruit crops are also raised as intercropping and are refund as fitter. The fruit plant used as a fitter may be a tree, a shrub or a herb but that should not be very low height like pineapple, strawberry, cope-gooseberry etc.

 Aim
1. Intercropping in the young orchard help to utilize the vacant space in a productive manner.
2. Give additional income to the farmers until the main fruit crop comes into bearing.
3. Give food to the human being or domestic animals.
4. Intercropping control weed growth.
  • When intercropping are grown intensively by applying adequate inputs like fertilizers and irrigation, fruit plants are also benefited indirectly.
  • The roots of the inter-crops after harvest are decomposed and thereby, improve textual condition and fertility of the soil. Besides, leguminous crops like pea when are grown as intercrop, sufficient nitrogen is also added by the intercrops as effective covering as well, to check soil erosion.
Crops grown as intercrops/fillers:
  • Vegetables, conditions, species, pulses, fodders crops, fiber crops, necrotic crops, medicinal and aromatic crops, floricultural crops, some cereals and millets. Short duration and low height fruit crops like pineapple, strawberry, Cape gooseberry.
  • Fillers: Papaya, Peach /nectarine etc.
The following intercrops/fillers can be grown successfully in the fruit orchards.
Fruit crops Fillers/Intercrops
Mango, Litchi, and pear Peach, phalsa, papaya

Intercrops near cities:
Cauliflower, cabbage, radish, carrot and tomato

Far from the market:
Onion, potato, chilies, peas

Leguminous inter-crops:
Gram, cowpeas, peas, and Guar

Pulses:
Mung, mash, gram and cowpeas

Procedure: During the juvenile period of fruit plants from 4-10years, the vacant areas between the true utilized for growing the intercrops or fillers. The crops selected for the purpose should not be exhaustive in nature; rather they should improve the soil fertility status. It is always proper to choose crops with quick growing and easily bearing habits. Suitable crops for this purpose includes papaya, pineapple ,banana, guava, phalsa, peach, vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, peas, tomato, melons, beans, brinjal etc and spices like chilli, ginger, turmeric etc.

5.1
Plate 5.1: Growing of Raj mah in young apple orchard (Courtesy: Dr K Thakur)

The inter crops are sown in well prepared space between the rows. The filler are planted in the diagonal system of layout, i.e. in the middlemost position of each individual square in the square system where two opposite diagonal lines intersect. Pits used for the fillers plants are of the same dimension as the main plants. 20-30 kilograms of well rotten farm yard manure (FYM) and ½ kg of single super phosphate thoroughly mixed in the soil and filled in the pits prior to planting.

Observations to be recorded:
Record observations on the growth of fruit trees and work out the income from intercrop.
Last modified: Saturday, 7 January 2012, 7:26 AM