Agronomic Nutrient Use Efficiency and Economic Efficiency of Alternative Crops and Cropping Systems for Sugarcane in Tropical India

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Hukkeri, Belagavi, Karnataka, India, during the years of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The study aimed to evaluate the agronomic nutrient use efficiency and economic efficiency of alternative crops and cropping systems for sugarcane under tropical Indian conditions. Eleven treatments involving different cropping systems were tested, which were soybean - sorghum - ridge gourd (T1), pigeon pea + green gram (1:1) - beans (T2), pigeon pea + soybean (1:1) - cowpea (T3), soybean - wheat - groundnut (T4), groundnut - sorghum - sesame (T5),  maize - cabbage - fallow (T6), soybean - wheat - green gram (T7), maize - wheat - sesame (T8), Bt cotton - groundnut (T9),  sugarcane + onion (1:2) [T10] and sugarcane (sole) [T11] The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed statistically significant variations among the cropping systems in terms of Sugarcane Equivalent Yield (SEY), agronomic nutrient use efficiency (ANUE) and economic efficiency. The maize-cabbage-fallow system outperformed other cropping systems in respect of SEY (179.08 t ha-1), ANUE (173.95 kg kg-1] and economic efficiency (Rs. 3343 ha-1 day-1). Sugarcane + onion intercropping also recorded the higher total ANUE (258.97 kg kg-1) but the lower economic efficiency (Rs. 381 ha-1 day-1) as compared to that of other cropping systems. Notably, alternative cropping systems involving only field crops, such as maize-wheat-sesame, soybean-wheat-groundnut, soybean-wheat-green gram, and Bt cotton-groundnut, demonstrated promising results. These cropping systems showed 10 times higher economic efficiency compared to sugarcane monocropping and sugarcane + onion (1:2) intercropping systems.