2. Presentation on,
Arecanut based Mixed &Intercropping systems
Shivanand. M.R
UHS11PGM143
2
KITTUR RANI CHANNAMMA COLLEGE OF HORTICULTURE, ARABHAVI 591 310

3. Introduction
• Areca nut is primarily grown for its kernels which is
chewed by people in different stages.
• It is one of the important cash crops of our country.
• The betel nut tree is called Areca catechu botanically and
belongs to the palm tree species and family of
Arecaceae.
• The tree is a tall, single stemmed palm reaching up to a
height of around 30 meters that bears an orange colored,
egg shaped nut having a hard single seed.
• This crop is grown best under mixed cropping for
supportive income to the grower.

4. Multiple cropping
• Multiple cropping is the practice of growing two
or more crops in the same inter spaces during
main crop growing season and which includes
inter & mixed cropping.
• The biological efficiency is increased
considerably in multiple cropping systems.

5. • The utilization of resources mainly light, water
and nutrients is enhanced through a
distribution of crop species in time and space.
• The long pre-bearing age of Arecanut has
prompted farmers to grow different annual or
biennial crops for economic sustainability

6. • This initial period of 5-6 years is ideal for
growing short duration crops.
• In later years, as the Arecanut canopy increases
in height, mixed cropping with other shade
tolerant perennial crop species are used.
• Thus there is an excellent opportunity for a
temporal and potential distribution of crop
species in Arecanut gardens.

7. • For the process of multilayer cropping,
cropping combinations are done in such a way
that main crops and intercrops grow
comfortably without having adverse effect on
each other, on the contrary, helping each other
to achieve better growing conditions.
• There are two types of competitions amongst
plants: one for sunlight and second for
absorbing water and nutrients.

8. Competition in soil
For this, we have to study the root growth
habit of each crop and their active feeding root
zone.
Crops like Coconut and Arecanut have shallow
root zones and it allows the root space for
other crops like Spices, Tubers and Corms.
 Creepers like Black Pepper, Beetle Leaves
and Vanilla can be grown with the support of
any plant, whereas Corms like Elephant Foot
Yam is grown underground.

9. Competition for light
 For this, we have to consider height and canopy spread
of the plant.
 Crops like Pineapple and Colacasia have height less
than 2 ft which allows us to do other cultural operations
in orchards/ plantation.
 Seasonal crops like leguminous vegetable help in
improving the soil quality and also add nitrogen fixing
agent in the soil.
 Flower crops like Marigold help in controlling
nematodes.
 Ultimately, prime importance must be given to the main
crop.
 Also, consider the space required for intercultural
operations, harvesting and cleaning of the plot.

10. Criteria’s for selection of inter or mixed crops,
• Crop should be selected according to their shade
tolerance and amount of solar radiation
available.
• It should not be growing as tall as main crop.
• It should not be more susceptible than main crop
for insect pests & diseases.

11. • It should not require harvesting as other
operations that would damage the main crop or
include soil erosion or damage soil structure.
• It should not have an economic life longer than
main crop.
• Its root system exploits different soil horizons or
zones.

12. • Crop should be selected according to the soil
type, rain fall pattern or irrigation facilities &
climatic conditions.
• Availability of marketing or processing facility
& labour availability.
• It should be high biomass yielding per unit area.

13. Pure planting,
Usually planted during May-June & September-October.
Pits of 60x60 cm and dug at a distance of 2.7 x 2.7 m.

14. Intercropping,
Planted May-June & September-October.
Pits of 60x60 cm, distance of 4 to 5m x 2 to 2.5m.
Black pepper, 20cm from palm, northern aspect

15. Inter cropping in Arecanut
• The practice of growing any economic crop in alley
spaces of the Plantation trees in the first few years
or in the' unoccupied spaces of the long duration
crop in the early periods is referred as
Intercropping.
• Inter cropping as a means of productive land use
system has received much attention in the recent
past.

16. • It is practiced mainly through use of interspaces
for growing other crops of shorter duration
which effectively utilize the soil moisture at
different depths of soil and intercept solar energy
at different height.
• Leaving 1.0 m radius around the arecanut palm,
the interspaces are prepared for cultivation of
intercrops during the pre-monsoon period.
• Banana is preferred intercrop in all arecanut
growing regions.

17. • It also provides good shade during early growth of
arecanut plants.
• Intercrops differed in yield response to plant
densities of arecanut and intercropping intensities.
• According to Nellliat and Iyer (1977), intercropping
as applied to plantation crops is growing annuals or
biennials in the interspaces of the main crop.
• A larger number of crops like paddy, sorghum,
cowpea, vegetables, yams, pineapple, banana, etc.
are grown by the farmers as intercrops in Arecanut
gardens.

18. • Crops like cowpea, corn, sorghum, and groundnut
are sown in furrows.
• Pits or trenches are taken up for crops like
dioscorea, elephant foot yam, taros, pineapple
and banana.
• Crops like ginger, turmeric, arrowroot, chilies,
etc. are planted in raised beds of convenient size
and are recommended for the particular locality.

19. • Muralidharan and Nyer (1979) indicated that
intercropping in Arecanut was not harmful to the
main crop.
• Banana is a very popular intercrop in Arecanut
gardens.
• Long term effects of intercropping banana in
Arecanut garden planted at 2.7x 2.7M did not
show any significant difference due to
intercropping with banana under different
intensities of planting.

20. • In turmeric yield increased with narrower
spacings while in sweet potato wider
spacings were optimum in enhancing yield
attributes and yields. Cowpea yielded
better at wider spacing’s (Sannamarappa &
Shivashankar, 1988).

24. Mixed cropping in Arecanut
• Growing of perennials in the interspaces of
perennials is known as mixed cropping.
• Nelliat and Iyer (1977) stated that in Kerala,
especially in southern districts, arecanut is rarely
grown as a pure crop.
• A large number of tree crops are grown with it
due to compelling socio-economic situations
resulting in over- populated poly culture.

25. • Preliminary studies initiated during 1964 at
CPCRI Regional Station Vittal indicated that
cocoa is an ideal combination with arecanut
(Bhat and Leela, 1968).
• The mean yield per arecanut palm in the mixed
cropping experiment (arecanut and cocoa at
50:50) was higher than that of arecanut as a
monocrop (Bhat,1979).

26. • Among the many perennial crops grown with
arecanut, black pepper and cardamom are very
important.
• In many parts of kerala and Karnataka, Arecanut
palms is used as live standards for training black
pepper.

27. • When black pepper is grown on Arecanut, the
manorial and fertilizer dose applied to Arecanut
should be doubled.
• Each palm should receive in addition to its
normal recommended dose of 10kg of farm yard
manure or compost 100g N, 40g P2O5 and 140g
K2O and equal additional dose of manures and
fertilizers to support the pepper from the third
year of planting.

28. • The advantage of multiple cropping in Arecanut
is the ability to provide substantial increase per
unit area through better utilization of resources
like land and light.
• Bhat and Leela (1968) found that more than
80% of the roots of Arecanut are within a radius
of 75cm from the base in palms spaced at
2.7x2.7m.

29. • The normal cultural operations are also confined
within about 75-85cm radius from the base.
• Thus the Arecanut palms exploit only 2.27 Sq.
m. of (r=0.85m) land area at out of 7.29 Sq. m.
(2.7X2.7m) land available to each palm.
• The estimates indicate that about 68.9 % of land
is not effectively utilized.

30. • Cardamom is also planted under the shade of
arecanut in the lower valleys of certain
cardamom plantations at 1.5-2 m apart in
between arecanut palms.
• Muralidharan (1980) reported that 32.7-47.8 %
of incident light rays pass down through the
canopy of a 14 years old arecanut garden
depending on the energy reaches the ground and
wasted.
• Multiple cropping in arecanut garden can
advantageously utilize this energy.

31. • The tremendous potentialities of multiple
cropping in arecanut plantations are there to
generate employment opportunities for
improving the quality of rural life.
• Apart from increasing the production of
additional crops and employment potential,
multiple/ mixed cropping system can acts as a
social security against instability of yield such as
crops loss due to severe incidence of Mahali.

41. Benefits of cropping systems
• Maximum utilization of available land in plantation
• Effective utilization of solar radiation
• Efficiency in water use
• Enrich in fertility status of soils
• It play important role in controlling soil erosion
• It adds organic matter to the soil

42. • Effective utilization of leaching materials
• It provides additional income
• It provides additional employment opportunities
• It helps in effective weed control
• It provides partial guaranty against market glut
of single commodity
• It increases the total biomass per unit area

43. Constraints in Multiple cropping systems
• Drought conditions.
• Lack of funds.
• Lack of technical knowledge of cropping systems.
• Timely unavailability of inputs.
• Pest & disease incidents.
• Lack of irrigation facilities.
• Lack of labour availability.

44. References
Shanmugavelu, K.G., Kumar, N. & Peter, K.V.,
2002, Production Technology of Spices and
Plantation Crops, Pp: 368-369.
Internet source