Abstract
A study was conducted in the research area of Agronomy Department, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 2014-2015 to evaluate a sustainable and economical wheat-based rotation system under agro-climatic conditions of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Guar, maize, mash bean, mung bean, soybean, millet and some fodders (maize, millet and sorghum) were grown in Kharif season while wheat was the main crop in Rabi season. Wheat-fodder millet-grain maize gave the highest net benefits of Rs. 272062 ha-1 but exhausted the soil¬. The maximum value of BCR (2.25:1) was achieved in the same rotation that is, wheat-fodder millet-grain maize followed by wheat-fodder maize-mash bean with BCR of 1.86:1. Keeping in view the soil fertility plus economy, the wheat-fodder maize-mash bean cropping system is not only economical for small landholders but also improve soil fertility status as compare to others. Key words: Crop rotations, cropping patterns, economics, semi-arid and subtropical climate.
Highlights
Farmers generally follow the conventional and nutrientexhaustive cropping systems that show a negative trend in crop efficiency
Many efforts have been made to assist the farmers in making thoughtful management choices to stay sustainable in continuously changing climatic conditions in agriculture, but, the best tactic is always a dynamic cropping system approach (Tanaka et al, 2002)
The mean economical values were calculated for each rotation using the mean market prices of the produces while marginal analysis, dominance analysis and marginal rate of return were calculated using methodology described in CIMMYT training manual (Cimmyt, 1988)
Summary
Farmers generally follow the conventional and nutrientexhaustive cropping systems that show a negative trend in crop efficiency. The maximum (14893.50 kg ha-1) total dry matter of wheat was observed in wheat - mashbean - soybean cropping system followed by wheat - guar cropping system (14214.03 kg ha-1).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call