Planting Distance Effects on Mango-sweet Gourd Agroforestry System in the Mymensingh District of Bangladesh

Aims: To evaluate the growth performance of sweet gourd (Cucurbita moschata) under 3.5 years old Mango (Mangifera indicia L.) tree at planting different distances.

Study Design: The experiment was laid out following the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) arrangement with three replications.

Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted at the Kalibari char which is situated by the side of Brahmaputra River adjacent to the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, during the period of November 2013 to March 2014.

Methodology: The experiment consisted of five different treatments viz. T0 (sole sweet gourd and sole mango trees), T1 (Sweet gourd grown 0- 0.5 m distance from the tree), T2 (Sweet gourd grown 0.5- 1.0 m distance from the tree), T3 (Sweet gourd grown 1.0-1.5 m distance from the tree) and T4 (Sweet gourd grown >1.5 m distance from the tree) and ten mango tree yield.

Results: The result showed that different morphological characteristics of sweet gourd were increased gradually with increasing distance from the tree base. The highest yield of sweet gourd was 25.8 t/ha obtained from treatment T0 (Sole sweet gourd). Among the different distances, the highest yield of sweet gourd was 23.7 t/ha in T4 (>1.5 m distances from the tree base) and the lowest was 16.2 t/ha in T1 (0-0.5 m distances from the tree base). On the other hand the best fruit yield of mango (8.6 t/ ha) was recorded in without sweet gourd association. In association with sweet gourd the fruit yield of mango was recorded (5.9 t/ha).

Conclusion: The yield of sweet gourd as a vegetable under sole cropping condition gives the best result in association with mango trees, the further the distance from the tree, the higher the yield of sweet gourd.