Enhancing pulse productivity under rice based production system through chickpea and lentil based intercropping systems in North East India

A field experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) and winter (rabi) seasons of 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 at Imphal, Manipur, to study the performance of intercropping chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) with linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) and Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) czernj. & cosson] under 2 varying preceding kharif lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop durations and also to evaluate the system productivity and profitability. Planting of medium duration rice variety enhanced growth and yield of rabi crops resulting in increase in system productivity in terms of rice equivalent yield (REY) and production efficiency (PE) by 5.4% and 14.5%, respectively over planting of late duration rice variety. Seed and biological yields of chickpea, lentil, Indian mustard and linseed were higher in sole cropping than in intercropping systems. Indian mustard and linseed were found dominant and aggressive as compared to chickpea and lentil. Chickpea and Indian mustard intercropping under 4: 2 ratio proved more remunerative and recorded higher yield advantage than either of chickpea and linseed or lentil and Indian mustard intercropping as judged by REY (9.7 tonnes/ha), crop productivity (39.9 kg/ha/ day) and net return (~ 81,168/ha). Land equivalent ratio (LER) of chickpea with Indian mustard (1.10) remained at par with intercropping chickpea with linseed (1.17), however, lentil intercropped with Indian mustard had less than unity LER of 0.87.