2023 年 92 巻 2 号 p. 142-150
Papaya cultivators in northeast Thailand deal with dry conditions that dramatically affect growth, yield, and fruit quality. The use of intercropping fruit crops, especially banana, should improve papaya production. This study evaluated intercropping papaya and banana in terms of papaya growth, fruit quality, and nutrient content. Experiments were conducted at the Fruit Tree Experimental Field, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University between January 2019 and July 2020. The mono-papaya and intercropped papaya with banana used 3 × 2 m spacing, and the intercropped papaya used 1 row of banana with 3 rows of papaya. Plant growth was analyzed between the 5th and 19th month post-transplantation, while fruit yield and nutrient status were evaluated between the 14th and 19th month after transplantation. Plant height, number of leaves, and girth were not different between mono- and intercropped papaya. All plant growth patterns were sigmoidal, reaching stable growth rates between the 15th and 19th month after transplantation. Fruit numbers were not significantly different, but banana-intercropping with papaya increased papaya yield through fruit length and pulp thickness. Nutrient levels in all plant parts were not significantly different. In addition, nutrient analysis identified that papaya fruit extracted N, K, and B at higher levels than other parts, while P and Ca were the highest removed by the stem.
