干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

A field experiment was conducted for 2 years (1995-96) on a red loamy sand soil at Hyderabad to evaluate the performance of short duration pulses, viz. greengram (Phaseolus radiatus L.), blackgram (Phaseolus mungo L.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) intercropped with African winterthorn (Faidherbia albida Del.) trees at 2 densities, viz 625 and 156 plants/ha. The results indicated that seeds yields of greengram and blackgram were higher under low tree density (156 trees/ha) than that in sole and under high tree density, whereas cowpea seed yield were lower under the trees at both the densities compared to the sole cropping. The equivalent yield and net monetary returns were higher with blackgram under low tree density, followed by greengram. Soil fertility improved with trees. The tree diameter at breast height was better in the lower tree density. The results clearly indicate that short duration legumes can be successfully intercropped with F. albida at low tree densities.