Organic nutrient integration and mulching as sustainable strategies for maize and cluster bean intercropping

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the summer season of 2025–26 to evaluate the effects of integrated organic nutrient management, mulching and organic foliar sprays on growth, physiological traits and productivity of the maize-cluster bean intercropping system. The experiment was conducted in a split-plot design with 3 replications, comprising different mulching practices combined with enriched vermicompost and humic acid, along with various organic foliar formulations. Observations on plant height, dry matter production, leaf area index (LAI), soil plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll content and yield parameters were recorded. Results revealed that spread mulching combined with enriched vermicompost and humic acid (M1) significantly improved the plant height (216.7 cm) at harvest, LAI (2.74) at 90 days after sowing (DAS), SPAD (53.09) at 90 DAS, dry matter production (15321 kg ha-¹) at harvest and grain yield (5508 kg ha-1) in maize compared with other treatments. Among organic foliar treatments, 3 % organic formulation (1 : 1 : 1) mixture of Panchagavya, fermented egg extract (FEE) and fermented fish extract (FFE) (S4) registered superior performance with maximum plant height (237 cm), LAI (2.44), SPAD value (53.82) and grain yield (6064 kg ha-¹) compared with other treatments. A similar trend was also observed in cluster bean under integrated organic nutrient management and foliar spray treatments. The main effects of mulching and organic foliar spray treatments were significant; however, their interaction was non-significant. The findings demonstrate that enriched organic nutrient sources, mulching and organic foliar formulations is an effective and sustainable strategy for improving productivity and resource-use efficiency in maize-cluster bean intercropping systems.