Can medicinal plants provide sustainable economic security to dry land farmers?

Abstract

This study was conducted on intercropping of medicinal crops viz., ashwagandha, garden rue, roselle and holy basil with pigeon pea and nipped castor in alfisols of eastern dry zone of Karnataka in kharif 2012. Intercropping of ashwagandha significantly reduced the growth and yield of field crops. The pigeon pea /castor + garden rue system performed better than sole crops of field crops. The yield of medicinal crops reduced due to intercropping. Sole crop of garden rue recorded significantly higher dry herb yield (1.43 t ha-1). Sole crop of roselle recorded highest fresh calyx yield (3.37 t ha-1) followed by pigeon pea intercropping (2.94 t ha-1) and castor intercropping (2.47 t ha-1). Pigeon pea + garden rue recorded maximum LER, ATER and net returns of 1.98, 1.82 and ` 29533.00 ha-1, respectively with a B: C ratio of 0.89.