Efficacy of Edible Bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) Based Agroforestry to Aid Socio-economic Status in Red and Lateritic Belt of Eastern India

Bamboos are gaining importance in farming systems due to their ability to thrive under water scarcity and poor nutrient conditions, requiring less intensive management than annual crops. Bamboos have tremendous potential to generate employment and income for farmers. An eight-year-old plantation of Dendrocalamus asper, raised through tissue culture, was intercropped with colocasia, ginger, ragi and turmeric during the kharif season. Although the absolute yield of crops decreased under agroforestry systems due to competition, the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was 1.57 in bamboo/ginger, followed by 1.39 in the bamboo/turmeric models. The economic evaluation also indicated marginal profitability of bamboo + ginger and bamboo + turmeric systems over monocropping systems. This research might be pivotal in popularizing the bamboo-based agroforestry system among rural communities in the future.