Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted during 2021-2022 at Norman E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre, G.B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, U.S Nagar, Uttarakhand, India to evaluate the impact of diversification and intensification in rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) on productivity and profitability. The experimental field soil was loam in texture, high in organic carbon, low in available nitrogen, high in phosphorus and medium in potassium with neutral pH. Ten cropping sequences were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replications. The study formed part of a long-term trial initiated in 2017–18 under AICRP–IFS. Results revealed that the rice–vegetable pea–mentha cropping sequence recorded the highest system productivity (239.7 q REY/ha), production efficiency (66.4 kg REY/ha/day) and relative production efficiency (148.1%), outperforming the conventional rice–wheat–fallow sequence. Napier grass + fodder cowpea–napier grass + berseem–napier grass + fodder cowpea cropping recorded the highest land use efficiency (99.4%), where as nutrient productivity was recorded highest in rice–vegetable pea–black gram and rice–vegetable pea–mentha cropping systems mainly due to higher productivity of vegetable pea (133.4 and 121.5 q REY/ha, respectively The presence of high-value crops (mentha and vegetable pea) contributed to the superior performance of diversified systems. Overall, diversification of conventional RWCS with legumes, vegetables and fodder crops substantially enhanced productivity, system efficiency, resource use efficiency and economic profitability. Under the Tarai conditions of Uttarakhand, the rice–vegetable pea–mentha sequence proved to be the most productive and remunerative option among the tested cropping systems.