Intercropping in Fruit crops in India
Intercropping involves cultivating two or more crops in a field simultaneously and it has been practiced by farmers for many years in various ways. When two or more crops are growing together, each crop has adequate space to maximize cooperation and reduce competition between them. This is accomplished by different factors like the spatial arrangement, plant density, maturity dates of the crops grown, and plant architecture.
The intercropping in fruit crops must be stopped when trees develop a wide canopy and less space is available between two rows for raising secondary crop and trees have shading effects on the secondary crop. Then, green manuring or cover cropping should be only practiced. It can be concluded that intercropping of short duration vegetables in fruit orchard not only maximize the resource utilization in terms of land, labor, and other inputs but also play a major role in minimizing the risk of crop failure by ensuring and enhancing the net income per unit of area. Intercropping mainly includes the growing of two or more cash crops together. Also, it includes the growing of a cash crop with a cover crop or other non-cash crop that provides benefits to the primary crop or the overall farm system.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Intercropping in Fruit Crops in India
