Sustaining turmeric productivity and resource use efficiency under compatible intercropping systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25081/josac.2026.v35.i1.10138Keywords:
Turmeric, Intercrops, Area Time Equivalent Ratio (ATER), Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), Turmeric Equivalent Yield (TEY)Abstract
Turmeric is a slow-growing crop in its initial stages so it does not rapidly cover the soil and solar energy remains underutilized leading to weed growth. Hence, it offers ample scope for growing intercrops. Therefore, a field study was conducted to assess the compatibility of intercrops on turmeric productivity. The study comprised eight treatment combinations viz., T1 - Turmeric as a sole crop (control), T2 - Turmeric + fenugreek, T3 - Turmeric + french bean, T4 - Turmeric + aggregatum onion, T5 - Turmeric + vegetable soybean, T6 - Turmeric + coriander, T7 - Turmeric + sweet corn and T8 - Turmeric + marigold. Intercrops were grown as sole crops for evaluating the intercropping systems (T9 to T15). Results showed that, turmeric with aggregatum onion as intercrop produced the highest yield (35.08 t ha-1) compared to pure crop of turmeric (32.36 t ha-1). Turmeric intercropped with vegetable soybean (Land Equivalent Ratio [LER] 2.06 and Area Time Equivalent Ratio [ATER] 1.44) and aggregatum onion (LER 1.85 and ATER 1.37) exhibited significantly higher land use efficiency. Turmeric with aggregatum onion achieved the highest Turmeric Equivalent Yield (10.12 t ha-1), followed by marigold (8.85 t ha-1) and vegetable soybean (8.18 t ha-1). The highest B:C ratio (2.06) was in turmeric with aggregatum onion, while the lowest B:C (0.90) was found in turmeric intercropped with french bean, emphasizing the enhanced profitability of intercropping turmeric with aggregatum onion.
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Copyright (c) 2026 P Sachithanantham, B S Harish, B N Maruthi Prasad, R L Raghunatha Reddy, K Padmanabha, B R Premalatha
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