VEGETABLE PRODUCTION ON THE AILS OF RICE FIELD AND ITS EFFECTS ON RICE CROP

Abstract

Seven experiments were conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh for two consecutive years in Boro and Aman seasons starting from January 2004 through December 2005 with a view to observing the performance of different species of trellis-grown vegetable on the ails of rice field with regard to both productivity and profitability. The results showed that vegetable crops on the trellis had reduced grain yield of rice up to a maximum of 25%, although the added vegetable yields were of major concern. Ail grown bottle gourd gave the highest vegetable yield in all the experiments for both the seasons followed by white gourd. Ail cultivation of yard long bean and snake gourd were moderately suitable and others were found less suitable. The bigger width of trellis (W3) produced the highest grain yield of rice and the lowest grain yield was received from smaller width of trellis (W,). On the other hand, rice + bottle gourd and rice + white gourd crop combinations produced their superiority with the highest rice equivalent yields compared to sole rice cropping. Light intensity measurement showed that the incoming solar radiation ranging from 7.0% to 13.0% only was intercepted by different trellis-grown vegetable crop combination treatments. Among nature of trellises, except flat trellis, the differences between treatments were not much remarkable. T-trellis with 180 cm breadth appeared as the best. When the breadth of T-trellis extended (240 cm), it gave the lowest grain yield of rice. There was compensation in vegetable yield with respect to nature of trellis. Regarding vegetable yield, ‘T-trellis and flat trellis (180 cm breadth) produced the highest vegetable yields. As a result, these two types of trellises were found equally good in terms of producing higher rice equivalent yields. The results also showed that 50 to 60 cm width of ails were adequate to grow all the vegetable crops successfully under study along with rice crop. It appears that root growth and development of vegetable crops were much better in broader ails than that of narrower ones. Rice cultivation alone, because of its high input cost, is comparatively less profitable (BCR = 1.77). On the contrary, rice cultivation may be made profitable up to 400% (BCR = 4.00) by simultaneously growing bottle gourd as vegetable on the ails of rice plots.