Effect of cotton-legume intercropping patterns and crop geometry on growth and yield of Bt cotton

Abstract

Cotton is the most significant and important agricultural crop and has great impact of country as well as worlds economics. There for cotton is known as the king of the fibre. Productivity of cotton in India is lower compared to global average. There are several constraints for low productivity in cotton like use of improper planting techniques, competition from weeds, micronutrient deficiency, boll shedding, leaf reddening, sucking pests, fluctuation in rainfall pattern and inadequate quantities of fertilizer use and poor agronomic practices. The best method of planning is the one which allows crops to take advantage of growth conditions for root development, shoot development, flowering and fructification. Intercropping is best method of cropping for higher crop production and economic benefits. Nowadays farmers are widely adopting intercropping methods. A research trial was conducted at Anand, Gujarat to study the effect of crop geometry in cotton based cropping system. Eight different planting pattern and intercropping system viz; Conventional planting of cotton, Paired row planting of cotton, Paired row cotton with two, three and four rows of groundnut and paired row cropping of cotton with two, three and four rows of green gram were studied. After complete evaluation and analysis of the experimental data, it was decided that some changes are required in old intercropping system and that a new approach of intercropping need to be proposed. The production efficiency of paired row cotton with groundnut or green gram intercropping which was higher than that of monocropping. This paired raw planting pattern with intercropping is suitable for demonstration and adoption in the area, as well as in the cotton belt of the Gujarat.