On-farm evaluation of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajana L. Millsp.) - neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) agroforestry systems in the Deccan Plateau

The performance of neem based agroforestry system was studied during 2016-17 under rainfed ecosystem on farmers’ fields on participatory mode in Yadagir district in the North-eastern dry zone (Zone II) of Karnataka. Grain and biomass yields and harvest index of pigeonpea did not vary significantly among the agroforestry systems. However, significantly lower grain (1192 kg ha-1) and biomass (5563 kg ha-1) yields of pigeonpea were recorded at 5 m distance away from the neem tree line (P=0.05) compared to the distances of 10 m ( 1450 and 6942 kg ha-1, respectively) and 15 m (1449 and 6720 kg ha-1, respectively) away from the tree line. Significantly higher grain yield (1520 kg ha-1) was observed in control without any proximity of trees compared to the agroforestry systems which accounted for a mean reduction of 11 per cent in yield. Among different agroforestry systems, significantly higher tree height was recorded in bund planting (7.61m) followed by boundary planting (7.38 m) and scattered planting (6.46 m) whereas the crown spread recorded was significantly lower in bund planting (6.27 m) followed by scattered planting (6.38 m) and boundary planting (6.68 m). There also existed non-significant difference in girth, volume and biomass of neem trees grown in different agroforestry systems. Further, the physicochemical properties of soil were found improved in agroforestry systems compared to control and the trend varied among the different agroforestry systems