Impact of agro-input use in integrated rice (Oryza sativa L.) farming system

A field experiment was carried out at farmer's holdings of Sathamangalam village, Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu during Samba season 2018 and 2019 with 'BPT (5204)' rice (Oryza sativa L.), to optimize the agro input use in integrated rice farming system and to study the impact of component technologies on integral enterprizes of fish and poultry and vice-versa. The treatments comprised 4 different combinations of agro-input use, viz. inorganic fertiliser + chemical pest control, inorganic fertilizer + organic pest control, organic manuring + chemical pest control and organic manuring + organic pest control, under 2 different systems, viz. sole cropping of rice and integrated rice + fish + poultry farming system. The results indicated that, integrating fish culture and poultry rearing offered a sustainable option in rice farming interms of enhanced returns, manurial addition, diversified farm produces and reduced pest incidence. The results also indicate the use of organic manures and organic pest control for sustainability. However inorganic inputs for rice crop were also shown to be compatible in this integrated farming system (IFS) without much deleterious effects.