ROW CONFIGURATION AFFECTS YIELD AND SYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY OF MAIZE-BEAN INTERCROPPING UNDER VARIED NITROGEN LEVELS IN KASHMIR TEMPERATE CONDITIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/abr.2026.28.01.32Keywords:
Intercropping, land equivalent ratio, maize-equivalent yield, nitrogen management, nutrient use efficiency, system productivityAbstract
Cereal legume intercropping is considered as promising cropping system to surge crop productivity. A field trial was conducted during summer 2023 in a randomized block design with three replications to evaluate maize-bean intercropping under different nitrogen levels. The experiment comprised of 10 treatments involving sole maize, sole beans, maize-bean intercropping in 1:1 (IC-I) and 1:2 (IC- II) row ratios, each supplied with 0, 60 and 120 kg N ha⁻¹, along with sole bean at the recommended NPK dose. Maize growth, yield, nitrogen use efficiency and system productivity were significantly influenced by row arrangement and nitrogen level. The 1:1 intercropping arrangement with 120 kg N ha-1, though statistically comparable with IC-II, recorded highest maize yield of 8.78 t ha-1, while bean seed yield was highest under IC-II at the same N level. Maize equivalent yield (MEY) and land equivalent ratio (LER > 1) confirmed a consistent advantage of intercropping over sole cropping. These results indicate that maize-bean intercropping in 1: 2 row arrangement with 120 kg N ha-1(IC-II + N2) is an optimum treatment for enhancing system productivity and land use efficiency, while IC-I + N2 is the best treatment for maize yield under temperate agro-ecosystems.
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