Economic Feasibility of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) under Multitier Agroforestry Systems in South Gujarat

Economics of Finger Millet Eleusine coracana Gaertn. under the multi-tier bamboo-malabar neem (Melia dubia) and bamboo–mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) agroforestry system was evaluated during kharif – 2022 and 2023 at Hill Millet Research Station, Waghai, Dang's, Navsari Agricultural University, Gujarat. The two multi-tier agroforestry systems namely bamboo-malabar neem (M1) and bamboo-mahogany (M₂) were considered as main plot treatments and four finger millet varieties GN-5 (V1), GNN-7 (V2), GN-9 (V3), and GN-10 (V4) were selected as sub-plot treatments. The experiment followed in a split-plot design, with three replicates. Agroforestry system bamboo-malabar neem-GN-7 was the best multi-tier agroforestry combination achieving the highest grain yield (2,659 kg ha⁻¹), straw yield (4,279 kg ha⁻¹), gross return (₹1,62,878 ha⁻¹), net return (₹82,550 ha⁻¹) and benefit to cost ratio (2.03). The lowest economic gains were from bamboo-mahogany-GN-9, with a grain yield of 1,860 kg ha-1 and B:C ratio of 1.45.