Productivity and profitability of 'turmeric (Curcuma longa) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)' intercropping system for marginal farmers in North-Western part of Bangladesh
2021
Islam, M.R. | Kamal, M.M. | Hossain, M.F. | Hossain, J. | Azam, M.G. | Islam, M.S.
The agroecological practice of intercropping, meaning farming of two or more crop simultaneously in the same field has recently reaped renewed interest for developing more sustainable cropping and food systems. This technology gained immense interest to marginal farmers of Bangladesh for better economic return from small parcel of their cultivable land. This study evaluated the variants of intercropping system of turmeric (Curcuma longa) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) having yield advantage and profitability. The study was conducted during the crop season of 2017 and 2018 at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, BARI, Ishurdi, Pabna, Bangladesh. Five intercropping combination, viz T1 = Turmeric 100% + okra 100%, T2 = Turmeric 100% + okra 90%, T3 = Turmeric 50% + okra 50%, T4 = Sole turmeric (100%), T5 = Sole okra (100%) were studied. The performance of various treatments combination was evaluated based on land equivalent ratio (LER), competitive ratio (CR), monetary advantage index (MAI) and system productivity index (SPI). The findings revealed that intercropping of okra did not affect the rhizome development stage. The T1 and T2 treatment gave 21.85 and 21.59 t ha-1 rhizome yield of turmeric, respectively. Besides, intercropping of okra @ 100 and 90% population (T1 and T2) enhanced 13% and 11% rhizome yield, respectively than the monoculture yield (19.38t ha-1 ). However, the turmeric 100% + Okra 100% intercropping system exhibited maximum turmeric equivalent yield (35.43t ha-1 ), LER (2.12), MAI (4558.61 US$ ha-1) and SPI (44.39). Intercropping indices recommended a positive association of turmeric and okra crops. The study discovered that okra could be introduced as an intercrop with turmeric to increase cropping area and enhance profitability of marginal growers.
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