Growth, Yield, Soil Properties, and Economic Performance of Pea under Integrated Nutrient Management in a Plum-Based Agroforestry System in Kullu Valley, India
Abhijeet Singh *
Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Manoj Kumar Thakur
Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
K. S. Pant
VCSG Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Bharsar, UK, India.
Prem Prakash Sharma
Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Nisha Thakur
Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Prakash
Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Integrated nutrient management may improve the productivity and soil performance of fruit-tree-based agroforestry, but crop responses depend on resource availability beneath the tree canopy. A field experiment was conducted during the winter 2021–2022 season at Diyar, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India, to evaluate pea (Pisum sativum L.) under a plum (Prunus salicina Lindl. ‘Mariposa’)-based agroforestry system and sole cropping. Twelve nutrient treatments were evaluated in a factorial randomized block design with three replications. The treatments comprised the recommended dose of fertiliser (RDF), farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC), goat manure, Jeevamrut, combinations of organic sources with 50% RDF, and an unfertilised control. Sole cropping produced higher mean plant height, pod length, pod width, pods per plant, pod yield, and biological yield than the plum-based system. Across planting conditions, 50% RDF + 50% VC produced the highest pod yield (18.5 t ha⁻¹) and biological yield (45.1 t ha⁻¹), whereas the control produced the lowest values. Post-harvest soil means under the agroforestry system showed slightly lower bulk and particle density and slightly higher soil organic carbon and available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium than the sole-cropping system. Despite lower pea yield beneath plum, the agroforestry system recorded a higher mean net return (US$4,535ha⁻¹) and benefit:cost ratio (3.39) because the whole-system appraisal included the tree component. The results indicate a trade-off between understory pea yield and whole-system economic performance. Under the conditions of this experiment, integrating 50% RDF with 50% VC provided the most favourable combination of pea growth, yield, and economic return.
Keywords: Agri-horticulture, farmyard manure, garden pea, soil fertility, vermicompost, whole-system profitability