Indian Journal of Agricultural Research
SCOPUSWeb of Science
  • Year: 2026
  • Volume: 59
  • Issue: 7

Evaluation of Rabi Maize-based Intercropping System for Augmenting the Productivity and Profitability of Rabi Maize under Irrigated Conditions of Bihar

  • Author:
  • A.K. Mauriya1, Mohammad Hashim2*, R.B. Verma3, Pankaj Kumar4, Mamta Kumari4, Raghubar Sahu5, R.K. Verma6, V.K. Maurya7
  • Total Page Count: 5
  • Page Number: 1131 to 1135

1Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bihar Agricultural University, Araria-854 312, Bihar, India.

2ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur-208 024, Uttar Pradesh, India.

3Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture, Bihar Agricultural University, Bhagalpur-813 210, Bihar, India.

4Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bihar Agricultural University, Bhagalpur-813 210, Bihar, India.

5Veer Kunwar Singh College of Agriculture, Dumraon, Buxar-802 136, Bihar, India.

6Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bihar Agricultural University, Madhepura-852 113, Bihar, India.

7Department of Agriculture, Akabarpur-224 122, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Corresponding Author: Mohammad Hashim, ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur-208 024, Uttar Pradesh, India. Email: hashimagronomy@gmail.com

Abstract

A combination of maize and legume, cabbage and potato in intercropping benefits the agricultural production system due to different peak period of growth and synergistic effects, which reflected into yield advantage. In order to reduce nutritional competition and the yield gaps between actual production and production potential for both crops in the intercropping system, more information is required for the optimization of maize-based intercropping systems. So, keeping above fact in mind, the present study was undertaken to find out the suitable rabi maize based intercropping system for augmenting productivity and profitability of maize.

A field experiment was conducted on the farmer’s field of selected villages of KVK Bhagalpur (on-farm trials) during the winter (rabi) season of 2020–21 and 2021–22 on rabi maize to validate, refine and popularize the technology developed at Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur (Bihar) and ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR), Ludhiana, for enhancing the productivity and profitability of rabi maize. The experiment, comprising four treatments, viz., sole rabi maize (farmer’s practice), maize + potato (1:1 row ratio), maize + vegetable pea (1:2 row ratio) and maize + cabbage (1:1 row ratio), was arranged in a randomized block design (RBD) with five replications. All five farmers selected for experimentation were treated as replications.

Experimental results revealed that all three intercropping associations of maize + vegetable pea (1:2 row ratio), maize + potato (1:1 row ratio), maize + vegetable pea (1:2 row ratio) and maize + cabbage (1:1 row ratio) produced significantly higher maize equivalent yields than the sole crop of rabi maize. However, among the intercropping systems, maize + vegetable pea (1:2 row ratio) produced the highest maize equivalent yield (241.0 q/ha) and significantly incurred the highest net return (322093 ₹ /ha), as well as a higher B: C ratio (6.04) than the rest of the intercropping systems as well as sole crop of rabi maize.

Keywords

Cabbage, Intercropping, Maize equivalent yield, Maize, Potato, Vegetable pea