Productivity and Profitability of Green Gram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] under System of Crop Intensification

Abstract

Background: Green gram is one of the important pulse crop and also a drought resistant crop, suitable for summer fallows in Kerala. Though it has multifarious advantages, productivity of green gram is declining year by year due to various reasons. Adoption of low-cost production technologies like system of crop intensification (SCI) practices in green Gram may enhance the productivity and reduce the gap between per capita availability and consumption and enhance the resource use efficiency of the farming system. Methods: A field experiment was laid out in split plot design with four replications during 2022. Main plot treatments were spacings of 25 cm × 15 cm and 25 cm × 25 cm each maintained with single and double seedling per hill. The sub plot treatments include foliar application with urea @ 2%, DAP @ 2%, KNO3 @ 0.5% and DAP @ 2% + KNO3 @ 0.5% at 15 and 30 DAS. Result: The experiment results revealed that spacing of 25 cm × 25 cm or 25 cm × 15 cm with single seedling per hill along with foliar application of KNO3 @ 0.5% or DAP @ 2% + KNO3 @ 0.5% at 15 and 30 DAS recorded higher growth attributes, yield attributes and economics of green gram viz., plant height, number of branches per plant, leaf area, number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, 100 seed weight, net income and benefit cost ratio.