Assessment of the efficacy of various mulch materials on improving the growth and yield of ginger (Zingiber officinale) under bamboo-based agroforestry system in NW-Himalaya

Agroforestry as a smart agriculture practice has started to get global attention nowadays. The present investigation is based on bamboo-ginger intercropping research carried out on a field near Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. Randomized Complete Block Design experiment was employed with two bamboo species (Dendrocalamus asper and Bambusa balcooa) and a sole cropping system (open field condition) intercropped with ginger crop (Zingiber officinale) treated with mulches;T₁:Toona ciliata + Farmyard manure (FYM) + Recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF); T₂: Artemisia vulgaris + FYM + RDF; T₃:Ulmus villosa + FYM + RDF;T₄: Celtis australis + FYM + RDF; T₅: Pinus roxburghii + FYM + RDF; T₆:FYM + RDF; T₇:Control (no application). Intercropping with bamboo species was observed to enhance ginger yield and oleoresin contents by 10.5–15.6 and 14.45–28.61 percent over sole cropping, respectively. The gingers crop traits such as rhizome sprouting (%), number of rhizomes per plant, rhizome fresh weight (g), yield (qha⁻¹), and oleoresin content (%) exhibited maximum values with T₁ treatment. Intercropping with D. asper showed better results for ginger yield traits than B. balcooa and/or sole cropping. At the termination of the experiment, organic carbon (OC) and available N showed maximum values in T₃ (U. villosa + FYM + RDF). However, the maximum available P was recorded in T₁ (T. ciliate + FYM + RDF), while the available K was found maximum in T₄ (C. australis + FYM + RDF). Furthermore, the soil moisture content (%) under the canopies of bamboo species was higher than that under sole cropping. The Light Transmission Ratio (LTR %) was reduced by about 40 per cent beneath the bamboo canopies. The present study observed that ginger performs better in a bamboo-based agroforestry system (AFS) than under sole cropping system and the application of green mulches have demonstrated efficacy in enhancing ginger yield and quality, soil health, soil moisture and weed suppression.