Abstract:
A field experiment was conducted at Gobardhansul village of Baripada block,
Mayurbhanj, during kharif season of June, 2014 to study the performance of bamboo
based agri-silvicultural systems in north Odisha. The silvicultural component Bambusa
vulgaris was grown at three different spacings (5×5 m2, 8×5 m2 and 8×8 m2) and four
intercrops (cowpea, rice bean, turmeric and yam) were taken up within the interspaces
in a randomized block design with 3 replications. Cowpea (Var: Utkalmanika), rice
bean (var: SRBS-35), turmeric (var. Surama) and yam (var: Orissa Elite) were sown
on 2nd July 2014 with recommended agronomic management practices and received
963.4 mm rainfall during the growing season. Maximum clump height, clump girth,
total numbers of culms/clump and canopy diameter were recorded in bamboo at
8×8 m2 spacing followed by 8×5 m2 spacing. The narrowest spacing of 5×5 m2 had
the lowest values of all growth parameters during the period of study. Irrespective of
the spacing, cowpea and rice bean intercropped with bamboo recorded significantly
more growth of bamboo as compared to turmeric and yam. All the intercrops yielded
maximum at wider spacing and yield decreased progressively with decrease in spacing
from 8×8 m2 to 5×5 m2. The decrease in bamboo yield obtained from 8×8 m2 spacing
was to the extent of 15.57 and 6.80%, respectively over the narrower spacing of
5×5 m2 and 8×5 m2.
