EVALUATION OF CROPS IN AGROFORESTRY WITH TEAK (<em>TECTONA</em> <em>GRANDIS</em>), MAHARUKH (<em>AILANTHUS</em> <em>EXCELSA</em>) AND TAMARIND (<em>TAMARINDUS</em> <em>INDICA</em>) ON RECLAIMED SALT AFFECTED SOILS

Abstract

To identify suitable crops for growing in interspaces of six-year-old teak (Tectona grandis), maharukh (Ailanthus excelsa) and tamarind (Tamarindus indica) plantations on reclaimed salt affected soils, various combinations of crops, viz. rice-berseem, rice-wheat, pearl millet-mustard, pearl milletlentil, and sorghum-gram were examined during kharif and rabi seasons for two years in 1990-92. There was a reduction in yield of all the crops interplanted in the plantations as compared with the control (outside plantation), but the reduction was minimum with tamarind because of less canopy. Lentil, gram, sorghum, berseem, wheat and rice could be grown successfully with tamarind without much reduction in yield, but with teak only berseem and gram could be grown, while with maharukh only gram could be grown with 25% reduction in yield. All the tree species benefitted by growing all the interspace crops because additional water was made available to them through irrigation. However, with tamarind the advantage of growing rice, wheat, and berseem was minimum as compared to sorghum, lentil and gram. Regression equations were derived to calculate the aerial biomass of trees after harvesting five to eight trees of each species. Annual litter productions with maharukh, teak and tamarind were 8215, 4538 and 3629 kg ha^-1 respectively and maximum litter was produced from January to April. Nutrient concentrations of P,K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in the litter of all plantations are also discussed.