Effect of Diverse Rice Based Cropping Sequences on Growth, Yield Attributes and Yield

Abstract

The rice–wheat cropping system plays an important role in global food security for the world’s population. The sustainability of the rice–wheat cropping system has been adversely affected, as the productivity of both the cereals are either stagnant or declining due to the deterioration of soil health, the resurgence of insect pests, diseases, new weed flora and a reduction in profit margins. The present study aimed to determine the effect of diverse Rice-Based cropping sequences on growth, yield attributes and yield of Rice. A field experiment was conducted at Agronomy Research Farm, A.N.D.U.A&T., Kumarganj, Ayodhya during 2023–2024 under ICAR-AICRP, IIFSR Modipuram. The experiment was comprised of 10 rice-based cropping sequences with 3 replications, viz., rice-wheat-fallow, rice-wheat-greengram, rice-chickpea-greengram, rice-pea-cowpea, rice-mustard-greengram, rice-linseed-blackgram, rice-berseem-sorghum(fodder), rice-oat-maize+cowpea (fodder), rice-pea-okra, rice-potato-cowpea were assigned to main crop as rice and after kharif season along with different crops impact on rice growth and yields attributes. The highest plant height, number of tillers, weight of panicle, grains per panicle and test weight were recorded in T3 (rice-chickpea-greengram) while the lowest value recorded in T1 (rice-wheat-fallow). The height rice yield equivalent was recorded in rice-berseem-sorghum and lowest in T6 (rice-linseed-blackgram). Cropping sequences had no discernible impact on the rice harvest index, more research into how various crops interacted during rotation may yield important information for sustainable farming methods. Due to poor growth and metabolic processes that affect yield attributes, the lowest yield was obtained when recommended fertilizers for rice and wheat were applied without the addition of legume straw. It has been observed that incorporating legume-based cropping sequences, such as rice-chickpea–greengram and rice–gram–cowpea, enhances the physicochemical properties of soil. This improvement involves a reduction in bulk density, an increase in organic carbon content, and better water-holding capacity, all occurring with minimal impact on soil pH and a slight increase in electrical conductivity.