Abstract

Field experiments were conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Farm, Coimba- tore for three years from 1985 to 1988 to study the performance of forage legumes in grain sorghum as inter crops and their residual effect on the subsequent wheat crop. The results revealed that sword bean and greengrarn markedly affected the sorghum grain yield. Sword bean was the best suited intercrop for fodder yielding 6.13 t.ha and it out yielded the other forage legumes. Highest net return and B: Cratio were obtained when sorghum was intercropped with sword bean and cowpea. Fodder value of cowpea was the highest with the crude protein content of 28.76 percent. Sorghum intercropped with forage legumes produced significantly higher grain yield of succeeding wheat over sole crop of sorghum.

Keywords: Sorghum, Intercropping, Forage legume, wheat, Residual Effect.