POTENTIALITY OF LITCHI-FODDER BASED AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Agroforestry and Environment Research Field, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur during July to September 2013 to investigate the potentiality of three napier fodder varieties under Litchi (Litchi chinensis) orchard. The experiment was consisted of 2 factors Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replications. Among the two factors, factor A was two production systems; S,= Litchi + fodder and S, = Fodder (sole crop); another factor B was three napier varieties: V;= BARI Napier -1 (Bazra), V2= BARI Napier - 2, (Arusha) and V3= BARI Napier -3 (Hybrid). The experimental results revealed that the main effect of variety on growth and yield of napier fodder was significantly varied among different varieties. The maximum number of leaf plant “'(46.65, 54.65 and 66.98 at 1°, 2"¢ and 3“ harvest ) was recorded in variety Bazra (V;)whereas the minimum number of leaf plant “' (27.20, 34.20 and 46.20 1‘, 2™ and 3™ harvest) was recorded in napier hybrid variety (V3).Consequently, the maximum leaf length (75.28, 84.85 and 89.11 cm at 1%, 2" and 3 harvest) was recorded in Bazra (V,) whereas the minimum leaf length (50.73, 55.84 and 66.98 cm at 1*, 2™ and 3™ harvest) was recorded in napier hybrid variety . Significantly the highest yield (13.75, 14.53 and14.84 tha’ at 1‘, 2"! and 3 harvest) was recorded in variety Bazra whereas the lowest yield (5.89, 6.36 and 9.11 tha’! at 1“, 2"? and 3™ harvest) was recorded in Hybrid variety. The fodder yield was also influenced by the production system. The maximum number of leaf plant “' (60.09,73.34 and 80,71 at 1%, 2™ and 3" harvest) was recorded under Litchi based AGF system, where as the minimum number of leaf plant “' (25.44,37.10 and 42.36 at 1“, 2" and 3" harvest) was recorded in open condition .On other hand, maximum leaf length (76.59,85.31 and 98.82 cm at 1‘, 2" and 3“ harvest) was recorded under Litchi based AGF system, where as the minimum leaf length (67.03,73.41 and 84.38 cm at 1*, 2"! and 3" harvest) was recorded in open condition.Significantly the highest yield (12.00, 12.35 and 13.31 tha” at 1“, 2"? and 3 harvest) of napier was recorded under Litchi based AGF system where as the lowest yield (9.73, 10.47 and 11.66 tha” at 1‘, 2" and 3™ harvest) was recorded in open condition i.e. napier in sole cropping. Moreover the interaction effect of different napier fodder varieties and production system on the growth and yield of napier fodder was found significantly different at different harvest. The maximum number of leaf plant “! (22.93 , 29.17 and 35.53 at 1“, 2™ and 3™ harvest respectively) of napier was recorded under Litchi based AGF systems with Bazra variety whereas the minimum number of leaf plant “' (22.17, 27.93 and 33.53 at 1“, 2™ and 3™ harvest) was recorded in open condition. Subsequently, the maximum leaf length (90.35, 94.86 and 102.0 cm at 1%, 2"4 and 3 harvest) was recorded in Litchi based AGF systems with Bazra (V2) whereas the minimum leaf length (38.07, 51.29 and 59.50 cm at 1“, 2"! and 3" harvest) was recorded in open condition with hybrid variety. The highest yield (14.42, 16.14 and 16.15 tha” at 1, 2"¢ and 3 harvest respectively) of napier was found under Litchi based AGF systems with Bazra variety. The lowest yield (5.33, 5.79 and 8.48 tha’! at 1‘, 2" and 3 harvest) was found in open condition i.e. sole cropping with hybrid variety. Therefore, the suitability of napier production under Litchi based AGF system may be ranked as Bazra > Arusha > Hybrid variety. Finally the economic analysis showed that maximum BCR (5.20) was found in the Litchi based AGF systems over sole cropping (BCR=4.38). From the findings, it may be concluded that the cultivation of Bazra napier variety in the floor of Litchi orchard ensures higher revenue to the farmers compared to it’s sole cropping.