Rain-fed Crop Production Systems of Upland Balochistan: Wheat (Triticum aestivum), Barley (Hordeum vulgare) and Forage Legumes (Vicia species)

Abstract

SUMMARYThe effects of variety and fertilizer on wheat and barley production, and of inoculation with rhizobium on Vicia crop production under rain-fed conditions were observed in farmers' fields in Balochistan from 1985 to 1988. Weeding and application of phosphate fertilizer had little effect on wheat yields, but in the ‘good‘ rainfall year, 1986/87, application of nitrogen fertilizer resulted in increased economic yields. Barley varieties from Syria generally produced better grain yields and, with the exception of Arabi abiad, poorer straw yields than a local variety. Genotype–environment analyses indicated that Arabi abiad could be expected to produce more grain, similar amounts of straw and larger gross benefits than the local variety in all except the most severe environments, when crop failure was inevitable. V. villosa ssp. dasycarpa showed negligible amounts of cold damage, and produced greater herbage and straw yields than the other legume crops. Inoculation with Rhizobium leguminosarum produced large yield increases in 1986/87.The economic returns from crop production were poor and variable, but the results suggest that the productivity of the crop–livestock system could be increased by greater emphasis on barley, and by the introduction of Arabi abiad barley and V. villosa ssp. dasycarpa.D. J. Rees et al.: Cultivos regadospor la lluvia de las tierras altas de Balochistan.