Orchard Management (1+1)

EXERCISE 7

EXERCISE 7: ORCHARD SOIL MANAGEMENT- MIXED CROPPING IN FRUIT ORCHARDS

Mixed cropping: is a growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. It is also known as multiple cropping. This type of cropping leads to an improvement in the soil fertility and hence, increase in crop yield because when the two crops are preferably choosen, the products and refuse from one plant help in the growth of the other crop plant and vice versa. Adoption of mixed cropping is also an insurance against crop failure due to abnormal weather condition.

Aims: To increase productivity per unit area and time.

Some successful Mixed Cropping practices are:

Soyaben +Pigeon pea
Maize+udad dal (black gram)
Groundnut+sunflower
Sorghum+Pigeon pea
Wheet+chickpea
Barleg+chickpea
Wheat+Mustard
Cotton+groundnut.

Mixed crop has proved successful because of the right selection of the crops.

Criteria for relation of crops: Followings are the important considerations to be undertaken in selecting crops

i. Duration of crops: One crop is long duration and other is short duration.
ii. Growth habit: The two component crops grow to different height with different canopy.
iii. Root Pattern: One crop component is deep rooted, other is shallow rooted.
iv. Water weed: one cover crop required comparatively lesser water.
v. Nutrient Demand: one requires more and other require less nutrients. Mixed cropping is done to reduce the competition between component crops for light, nutrients and water. If one crop fails due to shortage of moisture or insufficient availability of nutrients, the other crop can cover the risk of complete failure.

Advantage of Mixed Cropping:

1. No risk of crop failure: The risk of total crop failure due to uncertain monsoon is reduced if two crops of different nature are grown simultaneously as mixed crops.
2. Variety of produce: A variety of produce can be obtained from a single crop to meet the varying requirement of the family like cereals, pulses, vegetables etc.
3. Increase in yield: Component crops have a complimentary effect on one another for e.g. ligulae Crops have beneficial effects on the cereal or non-legume crops as they help in fixing N in the soil. There is higher yield by this method.
4. Improvement in soil fertility: The growth of cereal crops depletes the soil on nutrients. Growing legumes will help increase the N content of soil. Thus, by right choice of component crops soil fertility is improved.
5. Minimizing Pest Damage: Crop of a particular sp. are more prone to a particular type of pest (weed, insects, diseases infestation .When different crops are grown together, chances if pest infestations are reduced or diluted.

Due to increasing needs and reducing land resources, traditional mixed cropping has been retailored and the system of intercropping has been introduced in fruit orchards. Inter cropping is a specified mixed farming wherein two or more crops are grown simultaneously in the same field in definite rows. They are grown in the ratio of 1:1; 1:2; 1:3.

Therefore mixed cropping is also known as inter-cropping or co-cultivation, which is a type of agriculture that involves planting of two or more of plants simultaneously in the same field. In general, the theory is that planting MC at once will allow the crops to work together. Possible benefits of MC are to balance input and outgo of soil nutrients to keep down weeds and insect-pest, to resist climate extremes (wet, dry, hot, cold), to suppress plant disease to increase overall productivity and to use scarce resources to the fullest degree.

Exercise:

i. Maize, beans and cucurbits (squash and pumpkins) as mixed crops. All these are plated in the same hole. The maize provides a stalk for the beans to climb on and the beans are nutrient rich to offset that taken out by the maize and the squash grow low to the ground to keep weeds down and water from evaporating from the soil in the heat.

ii.Maize and pole beans as mixed crops: Sow maize seeds in well prepared field in the month of May-June at 60-90cm x 25-30 cm spacing. Simultaneously sow seeds of pole beans as per local recommendations in 2-3 rows between the rows of maize. Maize plants will act as staking support for the climbing beans and leguminous pole beans will provide fixed nitrogen to the maize crop Plate 7.1). Therefore, growing of these crops as mixed crops will be beneficial to both the crops and ensure cover in case of failure of any one of the crop.

Plate 7.1. Intercropping of pole type bean and sweet corn for seed production.

Precautions:

i. Be careful while selecting component crops, which should not be competitive but rather should be complimentary to each others.
ii. Component crops should be of different duration, have different water and nutrient requirements.

Observations:

i. Record yield of the component crops.
ii. Calculate income of the component crops separately.
iii. Calculate profit or loss of mixed crops as compared to single crop cultivation.