Indian Journal of Agricultural Research

SCOPUSWeb of Science
  • Year: 2025
  • Volume: 59
  • Issue: 8

Assessing the Influence of Crop Diversification of Intercrops with Cotton on Growth and Yield Characteristics of Cotton

  • Author:
  • D. Lakshmi Kalyani1,*, M. Siva Rama Krishna2, K. Mohan Vishnu Vardhan3, K. Venkataramanamma4, B.V. Ravi Prakash Reddy3, N.C. Venkateswarlu2, Y. Lavanya1
  • Total Page Count: 6
  • Page Number: 1280 to 1285

1Department of Agronomy, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Nandyal-518 502, Andhra Pradesh, India

2Department of Entomology, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Nandyal-518 502, Andhra Pradesh, India

3Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Nandyal-518 502, Andhra Pradesh, India

4Department of Pathology, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Nandyal-518 502, Andhra Pradesh, India

*Corresponding Author: D. Lakshmi Kalyani, Department of Agronomy, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Nandyal-518 502, Andhra Pradesh, India, Email: d.lakshmikalyani@angrau.ac.in

Online published on 9 March, 2026.

Abstract

Intercropping cotton with pulses and millets, forming a multi-tier system, has the potential to shift the cost-intensive cotton production system towards a more profitable and sustainable approach. The study aimed to explore suitable intercrop combinations for multitier cultivation in cotton under rainfed conditions.

The experiment involved seven multi.tier Bt cotton intercropping systems and two sole Bt cotton treatments with different spacing tried in a randomized block design with three replications during the kharif seasons of 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The study showed significant effects of various multi-tier cropping systems on cotton’s growth attributes, yield traits and yield. Seed cotton equivalent yield varied between 864 to 1401 kg/ha in different intercropping systems. In comparison, sole Bt cotton yielded 1103 kg/ha and the farmer’s practice resulted in 827 kg/ha.

Keywords

Cotton, Growth, Intercrops, Yield attributes, Yield