Agro-economic Performance of Tomato Intercropped with Vegetables and Legumesunder Different Plant Population

A field experiment was conducted at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Cumilla, during the Rabi season of 2025–26 to evaluate the agro-economic performance of intercropping short-duration vegetables and legumes with Tomato. The study was designed in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications and six treatments viz., T1 (Tomato + French bean), T2 (Tomato + Garden pea), T3 (Tomato + Red Amaranth), T4 (Tomato + Spinach), T5 (Tomato + Danta) and T6 (Sole Tomato). The results showed that the intercropping combinations influenced growth, yield attributes and economic returns. The highest tomato fruit yield was achieved with T6 (66.03 t ha−1), which was not significantly different from T4 (63.33 t ha−1). In contrast, tomato yield reduction was the highest with T3 (47.33 t ha−1) because of more competition at early stage. The intercrop yield of T5 (Danta) was maximum (14.53 t ha−1) followed by T4 (Spinach) (12.23 t ha−1). In the economic aspect, T4 (Tomato + Spinach) system was the most profitable system with the highest Tomato Equivalent Yield of 81.68 t ha−1 and the highest Gross Return (Tk. 816,750.00 ha−1), maximum Gross Margin (Tk. 610,200.00 ha−1), and the highest Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) of 3.95. T2 (Tomato + Garden pea) was the next closest with a BCR of 3.72. In contrast, the lowest economic return was obtained with T3 (Tomato + Red Amaranth) with a BCR of 2.85, which was lower than the sole tomato crop (BCR of 3.06). Therefore, intercropping of BARI Tomato-15 with Spinach (T4) or Garden pea (T2) could be suitable for the Cumilla region for better land-use efficiency and profitability of smallholder farmers. Bangladesh Agron. J. 2026, 29(1): 71-75