Yield Analysis of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) with Mustard (Brassaca juncea) Intercropping System as Influenced by Weed Management Practices

Abstract

Background: Intercropping is the more profitable cropping system in Agriculture for marginal hold farmers. In this system risk cover in abiotic stress and farmers have gain one crop mostly who are using herbicide to control weeds. Crops raise fast and with controlled weeds. Scientific approach of intercropping increases the productivity per unit area and per unit time under a situation where two crops are grown in a certain row proportion. The selection of compatible crops is one of the important considerations, in deciding economically viable and feasible intercropping system. Chickpea with mustard is a prominent intercropping system in Indian subcontinent. The majority of the farmers adopt this system under recourse constraint conditions. Since Chickpea is a poor competitor for weeds because of its slow growth and limited leaf area development at early stages of crops growth and establishment.Methods: An experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture Farm Gwalior during Rabi season of 2011-12 and 2012-13. The experiment was laid out in Split-Plot Design with three replications. Eighteen treatment combinations comprising three intercropping systems, viz, chickpea (sole), mustard (sole) and chickpea with mustard were taken as main plot treatments and six weed management practices viz, weedy-check, weed free, fluchloralin@ 1.0kg/ha pre-plant incorporation (PPI), pendimethalin @ 1 kg/ha as pre-emergene, (PE), Isoproturon 0.75 kg/ha as post emergence (POE) and quizalofop -ethyl @50 ml/ha (PoE) as sub plot treatments. The recommended dose of fertilizer in chickpea 18 kg/ha of nitrogen and 46 kg/ha of P2O5 were applied with equal distribution to both the crops through 100 kg /ha diammonium phosphate as basal application at the time of sowing in rows below the seed. A seed rate of 70 kg and 5 kg/ha for chickpea and mustard was used in their sole crops respectively. Result: Chickpea with mustard intercropping system proved to be the most promising system which obtained more net returns and benefit: cost ratio. So for realizing higher net returns and benefit: cost ratio, chickpea with mustard may be recommended to farmers who are interested in taking both the crops instead of their pure stands as it proved to be economically better and feasible in generating more monetary benefits by spending fewer amounts for their better lively hood security as well as land use efficiency.