Identification of Economically Viable Cropping Systems for Vertisols of Northern Telangana, India: A Recent Study

This study was conducted during 2016-17 at AICRP on Integrated Farming Systems, Regional Sugarcane and Rice Research Station, Rudrur with objective to diversify existing rice-rice cropping system with less water requiring crops under irrigated dry conditions for vertisols of Northern Telangana Zone. Twelve cropping systems were used as treatments in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) experiment with three replications. The twelve combinations of cropping systems tested during kharif and rabi seasons.

On system basis, significantly higher productivity in terms of rice equivalent yield (REY) of 23830 kg ha-1 was recorded with turmeric+soybean (1:2) BBF– sesame+blackgram (2:4) turmeric – sesame cropping sequence. However it was on par with turmeric – sesame and turmeric + soybean (1:2) on flat bed – bajra crop sequence with productivity of 23332 kg ha-1 and 21389 kg ha-1 respectively. Lower productivity was recorded with rice-rice cropping system (10725 kg ha-1). Significantly higher system net returns were recorded with Bt. cotton – sesame + black gram (2:4) on BBF (Rs222838 ha-1) closely followed by Bt Cotton + Soybean (1:2) (BBF) - Sesamum + Groundnut (2:4) (Rs221160 ha-1) and Maize+soybean (2:4)–tomato (Rs212909 ha-1). Lower system net returns were recorded in conventional rice-rice system (Rs88179 ha-1). Bt. cotton – sesame + black gram (2:4) and Bt Cotton + Soybean (1:2) (BBF)- Sesamum + Groundnut ((2:4) and Maize+soybean (2:4)–tomato were economically superior with REE of 152.71%, 150.81% and 141.45%. Rice-Rice cropping is less productive and economically inferior for the majority of farmers, indicating a greater opportunity to diversify existing rice-rice cropping systems with high-yielding, economically viable cropping systems in the vertisols of Northern Telangana Zone.