Advantages of Intercropping system are:
- Reduction in soil runoff and controls weeds;
- Intercropping with cash crops is higher profitable;
- It acts as an insurance against failure of crops in abnormal year;
- Inter-crops maintain the soil fertility as the nutrient uptake is made from both layers of soil;
- Inter-cropping gives additional yield income/unit area than sole cropping;
- It helps to avoid inter-crop competition and thus a higher number of crop plants are grown per unit area;
- Inter cropping system utilizes resources efficiently and their productivity is increased (Reddy and Redid: 1991);
- Intercrops provide shade and support to the other crop.
Disadvantages of Intercropping system are:
- Yield decreases as the crops differ in their competitive abilities;
- Management of I/c having different cultural practices seems to be difficult task;
- Harvesting is difficult;
- Higher amount of fertilizer or irrigation water cannot be utilized properly as the component crops vary in their response of these resources;
- Improved implements cannot be used efficiently.