Evaluation of the Multilayer Farming System for Sustainable Productivity and Profitability

Abstract

Vegetable cultivation is an important component of sustainable agriculture, contributing to nutritional security, dietary diversity and income generation for small and marginal farmers. Limited land availability often restricts the simultaneous cultivation of multiple crops, necessitating innovative approaches to maximize productivity and profitability. A field study was conducted during the Rabi and Kharif seasons of 2023-24 across ten Gram Panchayats of Bansi Block, Siddharth Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India, to evaluate the production potential and economic performance of a multilayer (machan) farming system. The experiment was arranged in a Randomized Block Design (RBD), with each treatment representing a distinct Gram Panchayat and an area of 500 m². Four vegetable crops were cultivated in a vertical multilayer arrangement (Machan): Bottle Gourd and Onion during Rabi, with Bottle Gourd as the upper canopy and Onion as the understory crop and Bitter Gourd and Colocasia (Taro) during Kharif, with Bitter Gourd as the upper canopy and Colocasia as the understory crop. The multilayer system significantly influenced both vegetable yield and economic returns. Among the treatments, T3 (Suparaja) recorded the highest total yield of 3494 kg, with maximum contributions from Bottle Gourd (1509 kg), Onion (1012 kg), Bitter Gourd (398 kg) and Colocasia (575 kg). This treatment also achieved the highest gross return (₹59,602), net return (₹39,707) and benefit-cost ratio (3.00), demonstrating superior profitability. In contrast, treatments with lower yields, such as T9, exhibited reduced economic performance. The enhanced performance of T3 can be attributed to efficient vertical resource utilization, complementary crop growth, and optimized land-use efficiency, enabling simultaneous production of multiple crops. These results indicate that multilayer vegetable farming is a sustainable, productive and economically viable approach for smallholder farmers in subtropical agro-climatic regions.