In this essay we will discuss about the irrigated cropping systems practiced in India.
Irrigated Cropping Systems in India
Essay Contents:
- Essay on Intercropping
- Essay on Sequential Cropping
- Essay on Relay Cropping
1. Essay on Intercropping:
In dryland agriculture, intercropping is practiced mainly to minimise the risk of total crop failure due to rainfall vagaries than for yield and economic advantage over sole cropping. This is evident from the fact that intercropping is not extensively practiced in irrigated agriculture due to no risk of crop failure with adequate irrigation water availability. Studies in the recent past, however, indicated profitability of intercropping even under irrigation due to efficient use of natural resources as well as applied inputs.
All India Coordinated Research Project on Cropping Systems identified several intercropping systems in different regions of the country in the recent past.
Some promising systems are:
1. Wheat and mustard at Navsari
2. Mustard and blackgram and maize and cowpea at Karjat
3. Groundnut and pigeonpea at Medak, Prakasam and YSR Kadapah districts of AP
4. Wheat and mustard and chickpea and mustard in western Haryana
5. Fingermillet and pegionpea at Bangalore (Karnataka)
6. Wheat and chickpea and chickpea and mustard at Mandal and Morena
7. Chickpea and mustard in Ujjaini (MP).
Sugarcane offers greatest scope for intercropping with annual crops due to temporal differences. Temporal differences can be exploited with early maturing intercrop cultivars. Intercropping sunflower, blackgram or soybean in paired row (60/120 cm) planted sugarcane leads to yield advantage.
2. Essay on Sequential Cropping:
Sequential cropping through introduction of short season cultivars is the usual way of increasing land use efficiency in irrigated ecosystem. Through innumerable studies in different farming situations, several remunerative cropping systems with high land use efficiency and monetary return have been identified (Table 14.2).
TABLE 14.2: Promising Crop Sequences involving legumes and cereals at different location
Nine rice based crop sequences were evaluated for their productive efficiency at Ghaziapur (UP). Rice yield, net returns and production efficiency were highest in legume based sequences (Rice-chickpea-rice and field pea-rice-lentil), with lentil sequence securing highest net returns, benefit: cost ratio and production efficiency.
At Bulandshah (UP), triple cropping comprising maize-potato-wheat and maize-potato- blackgram systems were more profitable than other double and triple sequential systems.
In addition to this, agronomists are finding solutions to certain perceptible threats to sustainability of the improved systems identified. In coastal Karanataka, productivity of rice- rice cropping system is declining owing to several soils related problems such as acidity, toxicity of iron, aluminum and manganese.
Hence, alternative systems to rice-rice have been identified. Total productivity and economic returns are higher in rice-groundnut-cowpea and rice-groundnut-fingermillet systems compared with rice-rice system. Similarly, sustainability of rice-wheat system has emerged in a big way in Indo-Gangetic Plains. Replacement of rice with pigeonpea under Tarai (UP) conditions for some time or introduction of sesbania green manure has been suggested for its sustainability.
In eastern UP, there is a perpetual problem of poor productivity in popular rice based cropping system in flood prone lowlands owing to complete submergence of rice crop 2 to 3 times during rainy season and delayed sowing of succeeding winter crops on account of heavily moist soil after rice harvest. This problem may be alleviated through inclusion of alternative crops such as sugarcane, banana and fodder, which are more tolerant to flooding.
3. Essay on Relay Cropping:
Rice-pulse relay system is popular in delta areas of Thanjavur (TN) and coastal AP. Greengram or blackgram seed is broadcast in standing rice crop about 10 days before its harvest. The pulse crop is harvested in about 80 days after sowing.
Relay cropping is practiced primarily to:
1. Gain time for multiple cropping
2. Plant the subsequent crop at optimum planting time when the current crop harvest is delayed
3. Avoid soil moisture stress in the post-rainy season crop
4. Avoid labour peaks at harvest of the first crop and planting of second crop.
In Karnataka, cotton is relay planted in widely spaced pearlmillet 7 weeks after it is planted. Profitability of relay crops in postrainy season depends on the amount of available stored soil moisture after harvest of rainy season lowland rice.