Production Potential of Taro and Vegetables Intercropping Systems Under Rainfed Upland Agro‐Ecosystem of Eastern India

Taro, a long‐duration tuber crop grown at wider spacing, provides ample scope for intercropping in high rainfall region of eastern India. Despite its adaptability and importance, sole taro cultivation often results in suboptimal resource utilization and limited economic returns, especially for smallholder farmers who are vulnerable to income instability. Intercropping has been widely recognized as an efficient strategy to enhance land use efficiency, improve system productivity, and stabilize farm income under such conditions. However, there is limited systematic evaluation of suitable intercrop combinations with taro under rainfed ecosystems of eastern India. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the productivity, resource use efficiency, and economic viability of taro‐based intercropping systems. Hence, a field experiment was conducted for three consecutive years (2021–2023) to investigate the potential of taro and vegetable intercropping systems at the Regional Centre of ICAR‐Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, under rainfed conditions. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with seven treatments and three replications. In intercropping systems, the additive series was followed. The results revealed that the system productivity was found higher with T 6 (22.6 t ha −1 ), showing a 29.9% increase over sole taro (T 1 ), followed by T 7 (18.7 t ha −1 ) with a 7.5% increase over sole taro (T 1 ). The treatment T 6 resulted in highest cormel equivalent yield (21.0 t ha −1 ), gross return (US$ 3425.00 ha −1 ), net return (US$ 2077.17 ha −1 ), and benefit to cost ratio (B:C ratio, 2.54). The land equivalent ratio (LER) of T 5 , T 6 , and T 7 was found >1. The area time equivalent ratio (ATER) of treatments T 6 and T 7 was found >1, whereas T 5 was found <1. The aggressivity of intercropping systems (T 5 , T 6 , and T 7 ) was negative, which indicated that all intercrops were dominant. The aggressivity of vegetable cowpea in the treatment T 6 was found to be comparatively lower aggressivity value than other intercrops. Post‐harvest soil analysis indicated improvement in soil fertility under legume sole (T 3 and T 4 ) as well as intercropping (T 6 and T 7 ). The highest soil organic carbon and available nitrogen were recorded under the treatment T 4 , while available potassium was highest under the treatment T 7 . Thus, vegetable cowpea can be included as an intercrop in taro for higher system productivity, income, and soil health under rainfed conditions of eastern India.