Exploring possibilities of rice-wheat cropping system under temperate hill ecology of Kashmir: Progress, challenges and future prospects: A review

Declining natural resources, increasing population and changing climatic and geo-political situation in the world demand self-reliance in food production through a productive, profitable and sustainable, system for food, nutritional and economic security. Rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) occupies around 13.5 million ha in south Asia and contributes around 233.96 million tonnes of food grain in India, which makes around 75.29% of the total food grain production in the country. In Jammu and Kashmir UT, agriculture land under rice cultivation is shrinking at a hasty rate due to conversion into apple orchards, urbanization and other non-agriculture activities. Under this scenario every effort needs to be made to increase food production in the UT. Despite harvesting 6.9 t/ha of rice in valley, the UT is a food deficit. It has to import around 07 lakh metric tonnes of food grain every year and there seems to be no further scope to increase production through growth in area. So, increasing productivity and cropping intensity are possible means to augment production. Traditionally rice has been grown as a mono-crop on major rice area or as double cropping system with mustard or in patches with fodder oats. Although wheat is ideal crop for the temperate ago-ecology of Kashmir and wheat products are routinely consumed in the valley, the crop has not picked up well. In this paper an effort has been made to review the achievements, identify major challenges and potential for future in terms of research on rice-wheat cropping system.