Castor (Ricinus communis L.) and Cucurbits Relay Intercropping System for Enhancing Resource Conservation and Productivity

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
P. Veeramani 1
H. Chandrasekaran 2
S. Kasirajan 3
R. Venugopal 1
S. Ayyaswami 1
M. Sengodan 1
1 Tapioca and Castor Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu, India.
2 Regional Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu, India.
3 Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India.
10.22034/JAST.27.3.677
Abstract
Sustainable improvements in agricultural production and productivity necessitate efficient resource utilization and relay intercropping to improve crop yield and land productivity while using fewer inputs. Thus, in a 3-year field trial, different cucurbit vegetable crops were tested to see if they were suitable for relay intercropping with castor (Ricinus communis L.). These treatments encompassed various intercropping strategies involving castor, each paired with a different cucurbits such as bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula), snake gourd (Trichsanthus cucumerina), bottle gourd (Legenaria siceraria), coccinia (Trichsanthus dioica), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus). The results showed that the castor and cucumber relay intercropping systems produced the highest castor equivalent yield (1,701 kg ha-1), followed by castor and ridge gourd (1,596 kg ha-1). Among all the cucurbit intercropping systems, the castor+cucumber relay system had the highest productivity (4.66 kg ha-1 d-1), profitability (4.07 $ ha-1 d-1), and relative economic efficiency (198.5%). The best moisture-use efficiency was achieved by castor and bitter gourd relay intercropping (6.58 kg/ha/mm), followed by castor and bottle gourd relay intercropping (6.35 kg ha-1 mm-1). There was a higher net return for relay intercropping of castor and cucumber ($ 1,483.9 ha-1), followed by castor and ridge gourd ($ 1,446.2 ha-1). Sole castor produced 1312 kg ha-1, despite its low monetary returns of $ 501.6 ha-1. It has been found that relay intercropping between castor and ridge gourd (3.29), followed by castor and bitter gourd (3.29), produces the highest benefit-cost ratio. As a result, the relay intercropping system, which determines the competitive interaction and productivity of castor and cucurbits, can provide the greatest benefits.

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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 27, Issue 3
May and June 2025
Pages 677-688