Climate Resilient Legume-Oilseed Double Cropping Systems for Rainfed Alfisols
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59797/ija.v70i.6178Keywords:
Double crop, legumes-oilseed system, rainwater management, SDDI, equivalent yieldAbstract
This study explores the development of climate resilient legume-oilseed cropping systems aimed at enhancing productivity and sustainability in dryland regions. Dryland agriculture, often limited by mono-cropping practices and erratic rainfall, necessitates innovative approaches for crop intensification and sustainability for the future. The integration of legumes and oilseeds into double cropping systems offers a viable solution for optimizing land use and improving productivity under precipitation-limited conditions. The experiment was conducted at the Gungal Research Farm during 2022-23 and 2023-24 to evaluate six pulse-oilseed cropping systems with and without rainwater management against existing intercropping system of sorghum+ pigeonpea (2:1). Double cropping system of cowpea and sesame showed promising results, offering substantial yield attributes, black gram equivalent yield and uptake of nutrients. Cowpea-sesame system emerged as a promising double cropping system in both the years, exhibiting higher equivalent yield (1758 kg/ha) compared to other systems. Rainwater management significantly influenced crop performance in both the years. Apart from the yield, the price of both cowpea and sesame resulted in higher crop equivalent yield with and without rainwater management. Overall, the study emphasizes that cowpea- sesame system with rainwater management is the best system that resulted in higher black gram equivalent yield.
References
Bhatt, R.K., et al. 2012. "Rainwater management for sustainable crop production in arid and semi-arid regions." Agricultural Water Management, 113, 60-70.
Bijarnia, A., Tetarwal, J.P., Yadav, R.K., Bijrania, A.L., Singh, D. and Saini, Y. 2024. Effect of fertility levels and stress mitigating chemicals on nutrient content, uptake, intercropping advantage and competition effect in cowpea-baby corn intercropping. Heliyon, 10(19).
El-Taher, A. M., Abd El-Raouf, H. S., Osman, N. A., Azoz, S. N., Omar, M. A., Elkelish, A., & Abd El-Hady, M. A. 2021. Effect of salt stress and foliar application of salicylic acid on morphological, biochemical, anatomical, and productivity characteristics of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) plants. Plants, 11(1), 115.
Hattlendorf MJ, Redelfs MS, Amos B, Stone LR and Gwin RE. 1998. Comparative water uses characteristics of six row crops. Agronomy Journal, 80: 80-85.
Kang, S., Zhang, L., Liang, Y., Hu, X., Cai, H., & Gu, B. 2000. Effects of limited irrigation on yield and water use efficiency of winter wheat in the Loess Plateau of China. Agricultural Water Management, 55(3), 203-216.
Kaur, j., Saini, k. and Singh, T. 2023. Production potential of pulse-and oilseed-based climate-resilient alternative cropping systems for diversification of rice (Oryza sativa)–wheat (Triticum aestivum) in North-western Indo-Gangetic Plains. Indian Journal of Agronomy, 68(3), pp.246-252.
Kell DB. 2011. Breeding crop plants with deep roots: Their role in sustainable carbon, nutrient and water sequestration. Annals of Botany, 108(3): 407-418.
Kumar S, Gopinath KA, Sheoran S, Meena RS, Srinivasarao C, Bedwal S, Jangir CK, Mrunalini K, Jat R and Praharaj CS. 2023. Pulse-based cropping systems for soil health restoration, resources conservation, and nutritional and environmental security in rainfed agroecosystems. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13: 1041124.
Kumar, A. and Thakur, K.S. 2006. Production potential and economic feasibility of sesame (Sesamum indicum)-based intercropping with legumes under rainfed conditions. The Indian journal of Agricultural Sciences, 76(3).
Kumari, V.V., Balloli, S.S., Kumar, M., Ramana, D.B.V., Prabhakar, M., Osman, M., Indoria, A.K., Manjunath, M., Maruthi, V., Chary, G.R. and Chandran, M.S. 2024. Diversified cropping systems for reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss and for increasing crop productivity and profitability in rainfed environments. Agricultural Systems, 217, p.103919.
Lightfoot CWF, Dear KBG and Mead R. 1987. Intercropping sorghum with cowpea in dryland farming systems in Botswana. II. Comparative stability of alternative cropping systems, Experimental Agriculture, 23: 435-442.
Meena, B. P., Fagodiya, R. K., Prajapat, K., Dotaniya, M., Kaledhonkar, M., Sharma, P., et al. (2018). “Legume green manuring: an option for soil sustainability,” in Legumes for Soil Health and Sustainable Management, eds R. Meena, A. Das, G. Yadav, R. Lal (Singapore: Springer), 387–408. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-0253-4_12
Singh AK, Jat ML. and Kumar S. 2019. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) intercropping: an agronomic approach for integrated pest and weed management in cereals. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 89(6): 1017-1023.
Stagnari, F., Maggio, A., Galieni, A. and Pisante, M. 2017. Multiple benefits of legumes for agriculture sustainability: an overview. Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture, 4, 1-13.
V. Visha Kumari, K.A. Gopinath, S. Suvana, Manoranjan Kumar, M.A. Sarath Chandran, A.K. Shankar, B.M.K. Raju, N. Jyothilakshmi, G. Venkatesh, G. Gayethri, K. Sriram, B. Sunitha, G.K. Prasanna, Subrata Bag, M.S. Rao and V.K. Singh.2024. Double Cropping Systems for Sustainability and Livelihood Security in Rainfed Alfisols. Indian journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and Development, 2024: 1.
Venugopalan, V.K., Nath, R., Sengupta, K., Nalia, A., Banerjee, S., Chandran, M.A.S., Ibrahimova, U., Dessoky, E.S., Attia, A.O., Hassan, M.M. and Hossain, A. 2021. The response of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) to soil moisture and heat stress under different dates of sowing and foliar application of micronutrients. Frontiers in plant science, 12: 679469.
Wang W, Vinocur B and Altman A. 2003. Plant responses to drought, salinity and extreme temperatures: towards genetic engineering for stress tolerance. Planta, 218(1): 1-14.
Zentner RP, Basnyat P and Lafond GP. 2001. Double cropping systems for spring wheat production in the northern Great Plains. Agronomy Journal, 93(2): 261-26.
