Intercropping refers to growing more than one crop in the same land area in rows of definite proportion and pattern

Sorghum intercrop with pigeonpea Maize intercrop with pigeonpea Soya beans intercrop with pigeonpea Pigeonpea in between banana plantation

In the traditional intercropping systems, pigeonpea is grown in association with cereals (Sorghum, Millet and Maize), oilseeds, short-duration grain legumes (pulses), or cotton.   An ideal intercropping should aim to:   produce higher yields per unit area through better use of natural resources. offer greater stability in production under biotic and abiotic stresses. meet the domestic needs of the farmer. provide an equitable distribution of farm resources. Pigeonpea-cereal intercrop is most common practice. Sorghum, pearl millet, maize, finger millet are intercropped with tall, and medium- to long-duration pigeonpea cultivars. Pigeonpea-oilseed intercroppping is becoming popular. Groundnut, soybean, and sesame are the oilseed crops. Pigeonpea is intercropped with a short-duration pulse crop (mung bean, cowpea, black gram, chickpea) both with early- and late-maturing pigeonpea cultivars. Pigeonpea is also intecropped with plantation crops (mango, citrus, banana, sugarcane, coconut)

Intercropping of pigeonpea with different crops

Inter crop	Sowing pattern	Ratio of component crops
Cereal combinations
Sorghum + Pigeonpea	Paired rows at 30:30:60 cm.	2:1
Pearl millet + Pigeonpea	Paired rows at 30:30:60 cm.	2:1
Maize + Pigeonpea	Paired rows at 40:40:80 cm. or Uniform rows at 60 cm.	2:1
Pigeonpea + upland Rice	Uniform rows at 60-75 cm.	2:2
Legume combinations
Pigeonpea + Groundnut	Uniform rows at 75-90 cm.	2:2
Pigeonpea + Soybean,Mung Bean or Black Gram or Chickpea	Uniform rows at 75 cm. or Uniform rows at 50 cm.	2:1

         Sunflower inctercrop with pigeonpea                 Pigeonpea in between mango orchard

    Pigeonpea grown under coconut plantation                       Ginger under pigeonpea