Designing stand geometry in maize (Zea mays L.)-legume intercropping systems for higher system productivity and profitability at East India plateau region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59797/ija.v70i1.5512Abstract
The field experiment on intercropping maize with green or cowpea was conducted at the research farm, ICAR-IARI, Jharkhand during the wet (kharif) season of 2022. The experimental soil was sandy loam, acidic in reaction (pH 5.4) containing low organic carbon (0.29%), available nitrogen (128.4 kg/ha), available phosphorus (6.62 kg/ha) and available potassium (135.8 kg/ ha). Nine ‘Treatments’ viz., pure stands of maize, green gram and cowpea, and intercrop stands with green gram or cowpea at Additive stand (AS), Replacement stand-I (RS-I) and Replacement stand-II (RS-II) was laid out in a randomized complete block design in 5 replications. Different cropping system indices namely., Maize-equivalent yield (MEY), System productivity (kg/ha/day), System profitability (₹ /ha/day), Relative crowding coefficient (RCC), Area time equivalent ratio (ATER), Land equivalent coefficient (LEC), Energy efficiency (Ee) (MJ/ha), Energy productivity (Ep) (kg/MJ) and Monetary advantage index (MAI) were derived. All data on crops and soil status were subjected to standard analysis of variance (ANOVA). Treatment differences were compared at 5% level of significance (P<0.05) for deriving a logical inference of the study.
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