Growth, Yield, Soil Properties, and Economic Performance of Pea under Integrated Nutrient Management in a Plum-Based Agroforestry System in Kullu Valley, India

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.