In an experiment commenced at the Central Experiment Station of the Rubber Research Institute of India in 1993, rubber was planted in paired rows 9.0 m apart. The distance within the paired rows was 5.1 m. The number of rubber plants per hectare was 406. Diverse annual, short term and perennial crops (banana, pineapple, amorphophallus, dioscorea, colocasia and arrow root, coffee and pepper) were planted in the wider inter row spaces. Legume ground cover Pueraria phaseoloides was established in the narrow inter row spaces. Teak and fodder grass were grown along the boundaries. Intercrops were grown during the entire immaturity period of rubber. Growth of rubber was significantly superior in this system compared to the monoculture. An increase in soil available P and K status was noticed after six years. Leaf analyses indicated competition for K at certain stages. Benefit cost ratios of growing banana, pineapple, amorphophallus, dioscorea, colocasia, arrow root and fodder grass along with rubber were 2.58, 2.65, 1.91, 1.27, 0.94, 1.14 and 1.94 respectively. Performance of perennial crops was poor. Light infiltration studies indicated that the availability of photosynthetically active radiation dropped dropped to 14.1 per cent of the open area at the end of six years.