Growth performance of Arbi (Colocasia esculenta) under Eucalyptus tereticornis-based agroforestry system in plains of Chhattisgarh

Abstract

The experiment, conducted during 2019-20 at Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, studied the yield performance of Arbi (Colocasia esculenta) under Eucalyptus tereticornis-based agroforestry system in Chhattisgarh. It evaluated the effects of Eucalyptus on growth and yield of two Arbi varieties (Indira Arbi-1 and Arbi CG-II) and assessed the growth behavior of Eucalyptus. Two treatments, T1 (recommended dose of fertilizers: N:P:K- 80:60:60) and T2 (no fertilizer), were applied in a factorial randomized block design and replicated five times. Growth and yield attributing traits were observed in which Colocasia growth parameters were found maximum for for T-1 x V-1 interaction T-1 RDF (N:P:K- 80:60:60) and V-1 (Indira Arbi-1) yielded superior results across plant height (84.78 cm), leaf number (9.54), leaf length (33.04 cm), leaf width (29.22 cm), and Leaf Area Index (1.598). Eucalyptus growth attributes such as the tree height increased by 0.69 m with (mean annual increment (MAI) of 1.06 m, and the diameter at breast height (DBH) grew by 0.67 cm (MAI: 1.20 cm) during the year. During the research work Challenges faced such as reduced transpiration, increased relative humidity under the canopy, and efficient utilization of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) by the Colocasia crop under the canopy of eucalyptus tree. Study has implications for the cultivation of shade crops such as Arbi and Haldi under agroforestry systems.