Performance of Medicinal Plant-based Cropping System and Changes in Soil Fertility Status of Aquic Hapludoll of Uttarakhand

Field experiment was conducted to study the changes in yield, economics and soil fertility status in different medicinal-plant-based cropping systems on Aquic Hapludoll of Uttarakhand during the years 2000 to 2002, The highest grain yield of rice was recorded with rice-European dill (Anethum graveolens) which was comparable with rice yield in rice-buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) sequence whereas wheat yield was maximum with tulsi (Ocimum sanctum)-wheat sequence. Rice-wheat cropping system recorded maximum grain yield (6.48 and 4.13 t ha⁻¹) and N, P and K uptake (202.5, 48.5 and 221.5 kg ha⁻¹) over all the existing cropping sequences whereas highest net return was fetched by brahmi (Becopa monnieri)-wheat sequence (Rs. 88,441 ha⁻¹) followed by rice-European dill (Rs 44,896 ha⁻¹). Inclusion of some medicinal-plant-based crops with traditional rice-wheat sequence showed different trends in uptake and available N, P and K status in soil. Further, rice-wheat sequence recorded highest total N, P and K uptake whereas, brahmi-wheat sequence recorded maximum organic C, available P and K in soil and tulsi-lentil sequence recorded highest available N. The per cent increase in available P under brahmi-wheat cropping system was 27.9 and 12.9% over the rice-wheat cropping system and initial status of P, respectively. The highest net gain of N, P and K was observed with tulsi-lentil (+105.8 kg ha⁻¹), brahmi-wheat (+1.5 kg ha⁻¹) and rice-fenugreek (+97.5 kg ha⁻¹), respectively.