Maize-French Bean intercropping system
Farmers' way of improving soil health in Nagaland

Harendra Verma / Shisarenla Aier / Christy Sangma / Romen Sharma / DJ Rajkhowa *

Fast degradation of natural resources is one of the main and global issues for sustaining soil health and food security in hill ecosystems. In North Eastern hill region, shifting cultivation (locally known as jhum) is the traditional way of farming, which is ecologically unsustainable due to loss of top fertile soil, biodiversity and other useful flora and fauna.

This practice could not be eliminated as it is highly imbibed with their culture. During the course of such farming practices, farmers knowingly or unknowingly, have been evolving and practicing a number of self-sustaining farming practices for conserving the resources, besides meeting the food and nutritional security.

One such farming practice is intercropping of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaries L.) with maize in jhum fields. Maize is an exhaustive and high nutrient demanding crop, therefore over a period of time farmers of Nagaland evolved and practicing maize-French bean intercropping system to maintain soil fertility level in jhum fields.

French bean, being a leguminous crop has tap root system, reduces soil erosion, and improves soil structure, porosity, organic matter content and water retention capacity of soil. Cultivation of French bean maintains the soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen and also helps in phosphorus mobilization.

In this cultivation system fibrous shallow root system of maize and deep tap roots of French bean utilizes the nutrients uniformly at different soil depths and thus maintains the soil fertility. Further, the system also reduces the incidence of diseases and weeds.

French bean is a major pulse crop of Nagaland and it is grown on an area of 15,040 ha which is 40% of the total pulse area in the state. French bean commonly known as Kidney Bean, Common Bean and Rajmah and locally known as ‘Kholar’ ‘Khobok’ and ‘Kütishe’ in Kiphire, Tuensang and Phek districts respectively.

Among these local names ‘Kholar’ is most popular throughout the state. There is huge diversity of this crop in the state, with high variability in colour, shape and size of the seeds as well as variation in growing season, duration, plant type and biomass production. French bean, a multi utility crop contributes to preferred diversified diet and significantly to the nutritional security of the people.

Tender pods (55- 65 days of sowing) are also used as vegetables and plant biomass is a good source of fodder for the livestock. It is a potential source of proteins, carbohydrates and minerals. It contains about 17.5 - 28.7% protein in dry seeds (1.0 - 2.5% protein in green pods), 61.4% carbohydrates, 3.2 - 5.0% minerals, 4.2 - 6.3% crude fiber and 1.2 - 2.0% crude fat.

French beans of Nagaland are known for their unique taste, softness and uniform boiling. It fetches the highest price among the pulses and thus is economically a remunerative crop in Nagaland. Among traditional landraces of French beans yellowish colored pods is mostly preferred for its taste and accrues highest price in the market.

This crop is cultivated as kharif (AugustDecember) and zaid (March to June) crop in jhum fields located in cooler areas of Khiphire and Tuensang and as a rabi (November- February) crop in warmer areas, viz., Dimapur and Peren districts of Nagaland.

In Khiphire and Tuensang districts maize- French bean intercrop cultivated in zaid season followed by sole French bean as kharif crop. French bean is harvested in the month of May-June and used as a vegetable, and maize cobs are harvested in the month of July-August.

After harvest of cobs, dried maize stems are maintained in field to be used as staking material for kharif season French bean. Maize is also a multipurpose crop used not only as food but also as feed for the livestock.

French bean is sown early in high altitude area as compared to low lying areas, because low temperature reduces the germination percentage and crop stand. Therefore, in high altitude areas, French bean is sown from July to mid-August to get good crop growth stand in fields, whereas in low altitude areas, it is sown from mid-August to mid-September.

Crop planted in the month of July-August is mainly used as dried seed, whereas, zaid season crop is mainly grown for green tender pods.

Intercropping of French bean with maize results not only in improvement of soil health condition, but also provides nutritional security and enhanced farm income. Indeed, this is a wonderful intercropping system which can be replicated in other districts of Nagaland for improving farm income.

In view of higher monetary advantage, huge domestic market demand, ecological sustenance and relatively free from pests incidence, there is need to replicate the systems in other ecologically fragile ecosystems of the state.

For further details contact :
Public Relations & Media Management Cell,
CAU, Imphal.
Email: [email protected]