Weed management options for sugarcane-vegetable intercropping systems in north-western India

Abstract

Sugarcane is an important crop in north-western India but due to its long duration annual economic returns tend to be lower than the dominant rice-wheat system. Intercropping of short duration crops in sugarcane could improve profitability and make it more attractive for growers. Sugarcane planted in the autumn season is more suitable for intercropping, as low temperature during winter slows down the growth of sugarcane plants. Therefore, suitability of short duration winter vegetables for intercropping in autumn planted sugarcane and the efficacy of herbicides for weed control in these intercropping systems was investigated over two years. Four cropping systems (sole sugarcane, sugarcane-cabbage, sugarcane-peas and sugarcane-garlic) and six weed control treatments were investigated during 2010–11 and 2011–12. Intercropping of sugarcane with peas, cabbage and garlic produced cane yield (75.3–88.3 t ha−1) similar to sole sugarcane (76.1–86.0 t ha−1) and intercrop yields of 6.28–6.57 t ha−1 for garlic, 7.45–7.88 t ha−1 for peas and 15.3–15.8 t ha−1 for cabbage. The intercropping of these vegetables in sugarcane increased the net monetary returns by 1.74–2.66 fold as compared to sole sugarcane (USD 1648 ha−1). Sugarcane-garlic intercrop had the highest net monetary returns of USD 4384 ha−1 and the highest benefit cost ratio of 2.45; net returns from intercropping of sugarcane with peas and cabbage varied from USD 2873–3094 ha−1. Pre-emergence application of oxyfluorfen 0.234 kg ha−1 and pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha−1 provided similar level of weed control to hand-weeding, and increased the yield of cabbage, peas and garlic than the weedy check. The use of herbicides increased the net returns by USD 229–725 ha−1 as compared to the weedy check.