Cropping Systems
Ag system in arable land
* Agri-horticultural system * Alley-cropping/hedge row system
Coconut plantation case study
* Best for coconut before 8 and after 24 years - as coconut ages, more light can pass thru canopy * coconut root system spreads laterally w/in 2m radius from base of plant, with vertical dist of 30-120cm below soil. 78% of land area not efficiently used * Layers: coconut (10-30m); pepper (6-8m), cacao (1.5-2.5m), ground (pineapple, or tubers <1m)
Constraints of adopting double cropping system
* Delayed onset of monsoon - sowing of main crop delayed, which in turn affects 2nd crop * terminal moisture stress for 2nd crop at grain dvpt stage * if heavy rains, land prep is difficult esp in black soils * if harvesting of 1st crop coincides w/ heavy rains - heavy losses * cattle menace
Constraints to adoption of ICS
* Poor yield of fodder for cattle in cereal-based ICS * intercultural operations difficult * if maturity and harvesting of SD crops coincides with heavy r/f - losses * Cattle menace for long duration crops like PP
Types of ICS
* Pulse-based ICS (PP ideal * Cotton-based ICS (SD crop ideal (chilli, clusterbean) Both long duration with slow initial growth (60-70d) and wide row spacing (90x30cm). *Sugarbased ICS: long duration, wide spacing (90-150 by 60cm), slow growth (80-120d). best component crop - french bean, potato, onion
Limiting factor for multi-storey CS
* age of crop: btw 8-25 - intermediate crops cannot be grown.
Factors influencing crop production
* climatic factors * edaphic factors * Management factors * Plant type
Ideotype for cereals
* dwarfism (NORIN gene for wheat, DEE GEE WOO GEN for rice) * efficient leaf arrangement - sun, evergreen (narrow thick and erect) * synchronous tillering - same time maturity * low floret sterility - more grains per plant * shorter growth duration - fit well in multiple cropping * adaptability to difft crop seasons - photoinsensitivity * absence of seed dormancy * effective translocation of food material to grain * responsive to high fert application. 2.5x more N, 1.5 to 2x more PK - high yields * Resistant to lodging - short stem * high yielding ability - 2-3X more grain Not resistant to disease - currently working on disease resistant - striga in sorghum
Features of Ideotype
* dwarfism - w/ strong stem to w/stand lodging * dark and erect green leaves - chlorophyll pdtn * respond to high fert. app * adaptable to difft climatic conditions and SD * high dry matter pdtn and better transportation to sink
Features of species suitable for alley cropping
* easy to establish (use cuttings, no seeds) * fast growing * can be frequently pruned * produce many coppicers - so as to produce a lot of green material * multipurpose trees - N fixation, firewood, protein-rich fodder, fruit * high leaf-stem ratio - small leaves to allow light in
Maize ideotype (Mock and Pearce 1995)
* erect upper leaves with lower leaves bming more horizontal * large cobs
Agri-horticultural system:
* fruit trees + short duration ag crops on arable land e.g. custard apple, mango, guava + pulses ** constraint * waiting period - 5-6 y for est. of trees * establishment of plot esp during summer - a lot of labor * marketing for perishable fruits
Advantages of Crop rotation
* restore soil fertility * weed, pest and disease control (striga, pp wilt w/ sorghum) * proper utilization of resources
Rice ideotype (Jennings 1964)
* semi-dwarf * high tillering capacity * short stem * erect, thick leaves
Barley ideotype
* short * long awns * high harvest index * high biomass * high kernel number
Advantages of Alley cropping
* soil fertility (manure, mulch) * weed control on (mulch) and off season * leguminous hedgerows - N fixation * Legumes - protein-rich fodder (lean) * Grow out during off-season - firewood, * if hedgerows planted as contour - soil erosion and moisture * use of summer rains during offseason - no waste * employment opportunity during off season
Ideotype in wheat (Donald)
* stem * erect leaves w/ proper leaf arrangement - light in canopy for photosynthesis * small leaves - rainfed - water loss * large erect ear - more grain/ear * Awns: stiff, brittle-like appendages in flowering stage - photosynthesis * pest and disease resistant * proper partitioning and transportation of photo. for higher harvest index
Ideal crop rotation
* tap root ffb fibrous root * leguminous after non-leguminous * more exhaustive crops ffb less * crops from same family not grown in succession to avoid attack of pests and diseasons esp crops from Solanaceae family * sloping: erosion resisting ffb erosion permittingying * lowlying areas - crops tolerant to waterlogged conditions * Crop selection based on local soil and climate
Prerequisites for successful IC
* variation in crop duration, maturation * different peak periods for nutrient demand * minimum light competition (multi-storied cropping - difft canopies) * minimal competition for water and nutrient (crops with different rooting habits
Pulses Ideotype: Chickpea (Pande and Soixena 1973)
* vegetative growth must be stopped before start of reproductive stage * erect branching - umbrella-shaped branching prevents solar radiation and humidity is conserved. which negatively affects plant yield
Prereqs for successful multiple cropping
* water avail - qty and timing * inputs - qlty seeds. fert - as and when needed * SD, high yielding varieties * adequate manpower (land prep) - mechanisation * crop should have a proper market and various uses * farmer - scientific knowlegde - plant protection, and adequate mgmt practices * Choice of crops * Growing vegs in sequence also impt as seedlings raised in nurseries, wc reduces duration in field * food crops should be included to meet domestic reqs.
Disadvantages of ICS
* weed control w/ herbicides difficult * mechanisation * different sowing equipment * difficult harvesting * decreased yield for competing crops
Low cost inputs
- Biofertilizers (microbial innoculum; N-fixing organisms such as rhizobium), Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB)+ Rock Phosphate added on neutral soils - Seed txt with chemicals - seedborne and soilborne pathogens eg pulses seeds - Thiram, Captan -Thining to avoid intrapspecies competition eg SF - Soil amendments - eg gypsum on GN to increas yield (25-30%); lime for acid soils
Cotton effect
- Deep roots- absorb nutrients in deeper layers - nutrients in shallow surface remain untapped so grow crops with shallow crops - cotton removes relatively smaller amounts of nutrients to do: cotton ffb legumes (GN is a good residual crop) yield declines considerably in cotton-cotton rotation
Plant interactions in Multiple Cropping Systems
- Inexistant interaction/zero interaction/non-competitive - Competitive: one species has greater ability to use ltd resources at expense of the other - Complementary: help one another
Legume effect:
- N-fixing - crop residues - mulch - rood nodules release N for subsequent crops - absorb more soil P and convert inorganic P to organic P - have greater CEC that cereals - tolerate shade and drought
Management of ICS
- Seed preparation - Selection of varieties and duration: min 30 day difference in duration and growth habit; if base crop is shorter (GN), component crop shld have erect branches to accomodate (PP) - Sowing - Fertilizer application - Water requirement - Weed problem - Pests and diseases
What causes higher productivity in Multiple cropping?
- better light utilization - canopy; slow growth eg sugarcane (slow - 13% light) and maize (60% light) - intercrop extract more nutrients - each crop has its own absorption zone, which would otherwise remain untapped
Objectives of systems approach
- increase production per unit and space by using resources more efficiently - sustainable production - higher income
Plant Interaction in Sequential Cropping
- main obj is harvest more solar energy per unit area per time Positives: - no competition except at initial stage in relay cropping (light shortage due to standing crop) - Carry-over effect of fertilizers: residual P is available - Legume effect - Cotton effect - Harmful effects: allelopathy (wait 10-20 days for detoxification), temporary deficiency in initial stage, carry over of P&D
Ag pastoral systems in non-arable lands
- silivpastural system - forest trees w forest crops (lean season tree tops pruned as fodder - rich in protein) e.g.leucaena leucicephala (high litmos content - mix to reduce toxicity), acacia etc. grass species (anjan, dinath etc.) - alternative to zoning ag system - Horti pastoral system: integration of hort trees for pastoral purposes (e.g. tamarind, custard apple)
Non-cash inputs
- soaking seeds - seed hardening and early germination (SF for 12h before sowing) - Method and time of application (P - band placement vs broadcasting; N split application to meet requirements) - source of nutrient - N for paddy is N fertilizer containing ammonia and amite - Timely weed control (first 4 weeks for crop foundation; tobacco first 60 days; GN all ag operations including weeding complete by pegging stage) - Timely harvest (weather hazard); done at physiological maturity - know the indicators eg. paddy, leaves turn yellow before turning dry
Ideal plant type
A biological model that is expected to yield a greater quantity and/or quality of grain, oil or useful product in a particular environment when developed as a cultivar
Alley-cropping
Ag crops grown in interspace/alleys between hedgerows of planted wooded tree species (usu leguminous trees). At sowing, trees pruned to avoid shading, and fed to cattle/used as mulch or green manure. Grow out during off-season Alternative to shifting cultivation
PP Ideotype
Constraints: * initial growth v. slow (1-2 branches) so will not exploit solar radiation effectively * flower drop due to overlap of veg and rep stage - competition Features: * Fast growth in beginning * rep phase to start after veg. phase
Types of Sequential cropping
Defn: growing 2+ crops in succession on the same piece of land in a growing year Types: - relay - double cropping: growing 2 crops in succession on the same field in a year - crop rotation
Land Equivalent Ratio (LER)
How much land area is required to produce intercrop yield Yield advantage = (LER -1)*100 =% LER = Yield Adv+1 eg 33%+1 = 1.33
Oilseed-based sequential cropping
Mainly under rainfed cultivation, except gnut and mustard. if irrigation is ltd for growing paddy, gn/mustard can be grown instead. e.g. gnut+wheat - rajastan
Mixed farming
Mixed farming is an agricultural system in which a farmer conducts different agricultural practice together, such as cash crops and livestock. usually practices in subsistence farming to meet the dietary needs of the farm family
Competitive interaction
One species has greater ability to use ltd resources at expense of the other/ Allelopathy (SF roots secrete toxins wc inhibit germination of many crops and weeds)/harbor disease-causing pathogens or organisms/ sorghum stubble causing N immobilization
Rice-based sequential cropping
Rice cultivation restricted to periods of water availability * Rainfed - 1 rice crop + SD (gg) * moisture for 9-10 months - 2 rice crops + 1 upland crop * water for only 6-8mo - 1 upland + 1 rice crop * water for 4-5mo - 1 long duration rice variety grown * irrigated upland - mild winter - rice + Upland (ragi, sorghum, gg, gn) * severe winter - wheat, barley, chickpea, mustard
Cropping pattern
The yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops, or crops and fallow, in a given area
Multistorey/ multi-tier cropping system
Various crops are grown with different heights, root systems and duration. main objective - utilize the vertical space (below the soil), soil moisture and nutrients more efficiently.
Crop complementarity according to Willey
Willey (1979) - complementarity in terms of duration - temporal (variation in duration of crop maturity). if due to diffce in duration of component crop, period of growth pattern also changes - peak nutrient and moisture requirements also vary according to time/duration - spatial comp: variation in depth of rooting system and canopy spread for efficient use of resources (light, nutrients and moisture)
Agro climatic zone
a homogenous area with respect to r/f, temp, altitude, soil type and cropping pattern
Areca nut case study
at 5m,pepper added with trunk to support pepper vine (on shaded side). vine reaches 4m for easy harvesting (1kg of black pepper). Fodder grass and banana can also be grown. (for every 2 arecanut, one banana on same row)
Relay/paired/ utera cropping
before harvesting first crop, second crop is grown in standing crop. e.g. 10-15 days before harvesting rice, pulses (gg) sown to utilize residual moisture and nutrients
Replacement series of intercrop
both crops are component crops. pop of each crop is not the same as that of sole crop e.g. pp +fm (1:4)
Wheat based sequential cropping
confined to regions w/ very low temp. pb here is if sowing of wheat is delayed - drastically reduced yield e.g. of sequences: * rice (kharif) + wheat (rabi) - punjabi, haryana * maize (kharif)+ whear (rabi)+ greenpea (if irrigation is avail) - Rajastan, Gujarat
Crop rotation
growing crops in a given period of time in an orderly sequence. ideal cs for maintaining soil fertility
Crop rotation
growing crops in an orderly sequence over a period of time ideal for maintaining crop fertility
Complementary
help each other eg: - Spatial Annidation: multistoried (canopy, height, rooting system - Temporal annidation: differences in duration eg PP (LD) and pulses - difft peak needs; GN + PP - GN finishes cycle before PP enters vegetative stage - N-fixing legumes; rhizosphere of PP produces piscidic acid which helps solubilize P - maize stalks left over used as support to field bean
Component crop
individual species of crop in a multicropping system
Advantages of ICS
insurance - adverse climate * weed control - pp with slow initial growth * pest+disease control - pp wilt with sorghum (pp grown continuously, soil dvp fungal spores) * ecological stability eg. legumes + soil fertility * marginal and small farmers meet pulse and cereal requirements * erosion control * after harvesting maize, stalks are left in the field to provide support to field beans
Additive series of intercropping
intercrop is introduced into main crop so there is no reduction in main crop pop - system is managed in favor of main crop - suitable for long duration crops with side spaces between them e.g. PP + soybean
Selection of varieties and duration in ICS
min 30 day difference in duration and growth habit; if base crop is shorter (GN), component crop shld have erect branches to accomodate (PP)
Types of cropping systems
monocropping: same crop grown on a piece of land year after year (waterlogged, fertility) * multicropping: intensification of cropping in time + space - growing 2+ crops on a piece of land either at the same time or at difft times (sequence - time, intercrop - time + space)
Sole crop
one crop variety grown alone in pure stands at normal density
Cropping system
rep. combination of crops in time and space dimension. rep. cropping patterns used on a farm and their interaction w/ farm resources and other enterprises, and available tech
Farming system
the combination of different farm enterprises
Seed preparation in ICS
thorough land prep for good crop establishment and stand. Depth of ploughing depends on rooting systems; some crops (maize, cotton) sown in ridges eg. sugarcane in ridges and intercrop in furrows; flatbed in some cases; Broad bed and furrow in black soils for insitu water conservation
