Abstract
Cropping systems in Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu is intensive rice based with double or triple rice crops in a year. The rice system in the region is threatened by yield stagnation, scarcity of water and labour, increased costs of cultivation, and resource degradation. During 2009-2012, we evaluated four scenarios involving a range of best management practices (BMPs) with and without conservation agriculture (CA) components for improving the system productivity and economic returns of rice-based system. Four scenarios were (i) current farmers’ practice (S1), (ii) BMPs with conventional tillage (S2), (iii) BMPs with conservation agricultural technologies (S3), and (iv) BMPs with conservation agricultural technologies along with crop diversification (S4). The key parameters tested were crop yields, system productivity, labour and energy use efficiency, and economics. Results indicated that compared to S1, the BMPs in S2 improved system crop productivity (22–57%), and net economic returns (67–166%) with reduced cultivation cost (10-16%), and total system energy use (4.4-8%), and higher labour productivity (18-59%). Compared to farmers practices (S1), BMPs with CA practices such as zero/reduced tillage, direct seeding of rice in dry season and mechanical transplanting of rice in wet season (S3) had lower labor (14-25%) and energy (20-37%) usages with higher economic returns (25-73%). Crop diversification with maize in place of dry season rice in S4 though saved in labor input, crop productivity and economic returns were also lower. This study concluded that there is potential of improving productivity and economic returns of rice based cropping systems with BMPs and CA in Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu. However, more medium to long-term adaptive system research is needed to identify compatible alternative crops/management practices in rice based systems to diversify the food production and increase the system productivity while conserving the natural resources.
Highlights
It is estimated that the global food production must increase by about 60% between 2010 and 2050 to meet the growing demand which is likely to be higher with developing countries [1]
The study was conducted at the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) experimental research platform located at Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai, Cauvery Delta Zone, Tamil Nadu (11°N latitude and 79.3°E longitude) which represents the subtropical south Indian peninsula
The result from our experiment shows that best management practices (BMPs) and conservation agriculture (CA) reduced the total variable costs by 11-33% in dry season and 3-15% in wet season compared to farmers practice
Summary
It is estimated that the global food production must increase by about 60% between 2010 and 2050 to meet the growing demand which is likely to be higher with developing countries [1]. India has the world’s largest area under rice cultivation and is one of the largest producers of white rice, accounting for 20% of global rice production. India must increase its production substantially to feed one and a half billion plus population by 2050 [2]. The declining yield growth rates are of particular concern in double and triple crop rice mono-cropping system [3]. Average yield growth rate of rice was 2.5% per year from 1967 to 1984 but it dropped to 1.2% during 1984- 1996 [4]. The possible causes of decline in growth rates could be many but yield stagnation or yield decline resulting from poor agronomy and soil management including intensive tillage and labor intensive planting methods are believed to be key [5]
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