Journal of Agricultural Science; Vol. 4, No. 7; 2012 ISSN 1916-9752 E-ISSN 1916-9760 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 154 Response of Intercropping and Integrated Nutrition on Production Potential and Profitability on Rainfed Pigeonpea Narendra Kumawat 1 , Rajendra Prasad Singh 1 , Rakesh Kumar 2 , Anupma Kumari 3 & Pramod Kumar 4 1 Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005, Uttar Pradesh, India 2 ICAR RC NEH Region, Nagaland Centre, Jharnapani, Medziphema- 797106, Nagaland, India 3 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Vaishali, Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur 848 125, India 4 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jagannathpur 833203, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, India Correspondence: Rakesh Kumar, Scientist (Agronomy), ICAR RC NEH Region, Nagaland Centre, Jharnapani, Medziphema 797106, Nagaland, India. E-mail: rakeshbhu08@gmail.com Received: March 20, 2012 Accepted: April 5, 2012 Online Published: May 25, 2012 doi:10.5539/jas.v4n7p154 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jas.v4n7p154 Abstract A field experiment was conducted during kharif season 2008-09 and 2009 - 10 to evaluate the response of pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] + blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) intercropping system to integrated nutrient levels. Intercropping failed to influence the dry matter production /plant, CEC of roots, root N content, yield and quality parameters of both crops. Both the intercropping system gives significantly higher uptake of N, P and K when compared to sole pigeonpea. The available soil N, P, K after harvest of crop (s) was maximum observed under sole pigeonpea followed by normal intercropping and lowest inpaired intercropping. Application of 100% RDF+50% RDN+5 kg Zn/ha significantly increased the dry matter production /plant,CEC of roots, root N content, grain yield, protein content, protein harvest (kg/ha) and nutrient uptake (NPKS and Zn) in pigeonpea and black gram cropping system. Integrated use 100% RDF with 50% RDN and 5 kg Zn/ha also significantly improved the available N, P and K soil after harvest during both the years.The maximum net return (Rs. 117010) was obtained with combination of normal intercropping system + 100% RDF+50% RDN+5 kg Zn/ha followed by normal intercropping system + 50% RDF+100% RDN+5 kg Zn/ha (Rs. 115102). Keywords: intercropping, rainfed pigeonpea, integrated nutrient management 1. Introduction Grain legumes are important source of protein in the diets of a large section of vegetarian population in the developing countries in general and India in particular. Even though India has the largest area under pulses in the world, the average productivity is low and the production is not sufficient to meet the caput requirement. Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is an important pulse crop of dry land agriculture because of its ability to produce economic yield under limited moisture condition. It occupies an area of about 3.86 m ha with a total production 2.9 mt with an average productivity of 751 kg/ha (Anonymous, 2011). Pigeonpea has slow initial growth and is planted at wide spacing so a lot of space between rows remains utilized during the initial crop growth period. This space can be utilized for growing short duration intercrop. Growing of blackgram as intercrop helps to sustain the productivity of the system. Therefore, to increase the productivity of the pulses per unit area particularly in rainy (kharif) season, intercropping of short duration crops seems an alternative (Willey, 1979). When crops are intercropped by increasing the overall density, nutritional deficiency is likely to occur. The optimum dose of nutrients and their sources play important role in increasing the productivity of these crops. Since fertilizer nutrients constitute a major costly production inputs, exploitation of yield potentiality of this crop depend on how effectively and efficiently this input is managed. Moreover, high fertility levels not only put a heavy financial burden to the growers but gradually decrease the partial productivity and thereby, jeopardize the sustenance of the basic system of production. On the other hand, the large scale use of only chemical fertilizers as a source of nutrients has less use efficiency. Besides low, variable and generally unbalanced nutrient contents, it is difficult to provide the proper nutrientbalance to meet crop requirements with bulky organic manure (Kumar et al., 2009). Organic manures with recommended dose of fertilizers have been reported to be beneficial in augmenting