Assessment of Casuarina clones and intercrops in agroforestry

AbstractCasuarinas is one of the most important tree species ideal for agroforestry due to its nitrogen-fixing ability, desirable stem form, fast growth and light crown characteristics. Identification of suitable tree-crop combinations is important for maximizing the resource use efficiency of the components. In the present study, we assessed the growth performance of Casuarina clones and yield performance of intercrops for agroforestry. The field experiment consists of eight Casuarina hybrid clones planted ain row-column design with a spacing of 3 m × 2 m in three replications. Horse gram and cowpea were intercropped between tree rows during October 2021 and April 2022. Clone CH2 recorded a higher height and girth at breast height (8.41 m and 25 cm, respectively) at the end of experiment. The clones CH2, CH4 and CH5 performed better in quantitative parameters compared to the clones HPF, CJ9 and MTP. The green pod yield and biomass yield of cowpea were found higher in sole crop (8235 kg ha− 1and 5840 kg ha− 1) and it was lower under CH1 (2763 kg ha− 1and 1683 kg ha− 1). It was evident that the yield of intercrops was lower under the clones which performed well with respect to growth parameters. This may be attributed to the shade effect caused by the Casuarina trees on the intercrops.