1JRO, GBPUAT, HREC and KVK, Jeolikot, Nainital
2Professor (Agronomy), Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
3SRF (Agronomy), GBPUAT, HREC and KVK, Jeolikot, Nainital
4JRO, Soil Science, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
5Assistant Professor, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
6SRF (Agronomy), Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
7SMS (Agronomy), Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
8Subject Matter Specialist, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Horticulture Research and Extension Centre and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jeolikote, Nainital, Uttarakhand-263 127
*Corresponding author's Email: dkonweb@gmail.com
Online published on 11 October, 2017.
A field experiment was conducted at farmers’ fields in the district Nainital, Uttarakhand, during 2011–12 and 2012–13, to find out the alternate efficient cropping systems for rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum (L.) emend. Fiori & Paol.) system in western Himalayas. Five cropping systems including the existing rice-wheat were tested at 24 farmers’ fields as researcher designed farmer managed trials. The rice equivalent yield of rice-chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)-vegetable cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) was the highest (23.7 t/ha), followed by rice-wheat-vegetable cowpea (19.3 t/ha), rice-vegetable pea (Pisum spp.)-maize for cob (Zea mays L.) (17.4 t/ha) and rice-lentil (Lens esculenta (L.) Moench)-maize (fodder) (16.2 t/ha) systems. Existing rice-wheat system recorded rice equivalent yield of 11.8 t/ha, which is 50% lesser than rice-chickpea-vegetable cowpea system. The rice-chickpea-vegetable pea cropping system also recorded the highest net returns (222.2×103/ha) followed by rice-wheat-vegetable cowpea (203.6×103/ha) and rice-vegetable pea-maize (cob) (194.1×103/ha) systems. The highest benefit: cost ratio (1.91) was recorded with the rice-chickpea-vegetable cowpea system owing to its lower cost of cultivation and higher returns. Highest energy-use efficiency ratio (5.25) was recorded with the rice-lentil-maize (fodder) system. This system also produced second highest energy input-output efficiency (0.62MJ/ha/day), which is very close to the highest energy input-output efficiency (0.63 MJ/ha/day) of traditional rice-wheat system.
Diversification, Energetics, Productivity, Rice-wheat cropping system
