In this essay we will discuss about the cropping systems followed in India.
Essay # 1. Cropping Systems in Lowland and Irrigated Uplands:
Rice based cropping systems predominate in lowlands. Number of crops per year and the crops that follow or precede rice depends on the period of water availability and the degree of control of water. Where irrigation or rainfall (> 200 mm per month) extends over 9 to 10 months, the system could be rice-rice-rice, rice-rice-upland crop or upland crop-rice-rice.
When this period is limited to 6 to 8 months, upland crop-rice-upland crop may be appropriate. Early maturing rice cultivars are ideal for such sequences. If water is available for 4-5 months, only one rice crop is grown.
In irrigated uplands where winter is mild, upland crops that can follow rice include legumes such as green-gram, black-gram, soybean and groundnut, cereals such as maize, sorghum, pearl-millet, finger-millet and other crops such as cotton, sunflower and vegetables. Where the winter is cool, important crops which can follow rice are wheat, barley, mustard, chickpea and potato (Fig. 9.1).
On irrigable high rainfall uplands, sequential cropping with a wide range of crops is possible. The systems could be cereal-cereal and cereal-legume, oilseeds or other cash crops. In northern India, potato or mustard can be added to maize-wheat by relay planting either of these in the standing maize and delaying wheat by about 2 months. Short duration green-gram or fodder crops can be grown after the harvest of wheat in summer.
Cropping systems in lowland and upland situations largely depends on the duration of water availability and domestic needs of small and marginal farmers. Prominent systems revolve around the above two criteria.
1. Rice based Cropping Systems:
In India, food crop or relatively more remunerative crop is usually grown in most ideal season and thus particular crop is basic to the cropping system. Such systems are referred to as sequence/ sequential or non-overlapping cropping systems.
Accordingly the cropping systems are usually referred to as:
i. Rice based cropping systems.
ii. Wheat based cropping systems.
iii. Jute based cropping systems.
iv. Potato based cropping systems etc.
One or more crops are grown in quick succession.
Sowing the succeeding crop and harvesting of the preceding crop may be done simultaneously or in quick succession as indicated below:
Rice based systems vary considerably from region to region depending on the source of irrigation water and temperature during winter season (rabi). Predominant systems are indicated in Table 9.1.
Whenever irrigation water is available, the first choice is for rice to meet the domestic needs. In the case of command areas, where irrigation water is limiting factor after kharif rice, upland irrigated crops such a groundnut, sunflower, finger-millet or a pulse crop is the common system in southern parts of the country. In northern parts of the country, wheat, mustard and chickpea follow rice in kharif.
When the source of irrigation water is well, farmers usually take 2 rice crops followed by sunflower, finger-millet or a pulse crop during summer. They are instances of taking 3 rice crops in an year under well irrigation.
Short duration rice varieties are grown under well irrigation, while long and medium duration varieties are grown in command areas. Such rice based systems are common in Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
2. Wheat Based Cropping Systems:
Wheat based systems are confined to regions with low temperatures during winter. Rice- wheat system is dominant all through the wheat belt of the country. Major problem with this system is that wheat seeding is, generally, delayed beyond November, which affects the wheat yield considerably. However, productivity of this is system is higher than other systems. Predominant wheat based systems are given in Table 9.2.
3. Oilseed Based Cropping System:
Majority of oilseed crops are grown as rainfed crops, except groundnut and mustard. These two crops are preferred when irrigation water is a limiting factor for rice and wheat.
Predominant systems include:
In south India, groundnut is the alternate crop to rice in rabi both in command areas and well irrigation. If the water is not adequate for groundnut, sunflower is the next preferred oilseed crop. In the recent past, castor is gaining importance as an irrigated crop during rabi in Rayalaseema and Telangana areas of Andhra Pradesh and in Gujarat due to remunerative price offered to castor seed. Other oilseed crops are largely un-irrigated in dryland agriculture.
4. Sugarcane Based Cropping Systems:
Sugarcane offers scope for a number of intercrops due to its longer duration and wider row spacing. Shoot duration pulses and oilseeds are usually preferred as intercrops during early phase of sugarcane crop.
Prominent sugarcane systems include:
In the case of sugarcane-rice-potato, sugarcane plantlets grown in polybags are used for translating in June. Interspace between two sugarcane rows is puddled once or twice in 5 cm depth standing water and 5 rows of short duration rice is planted in July. Rice crop is harvested by mid-October and potato tubers are planted immediately, which will be harvested by February. Spearmint and menthol mint, as intercrops in sugarcane, are also gaining importance.
Essay # 2. Cropping Systems in Rainfed Uplands:
Cropping systems in rainfed uplands predominantly takes the form of intercropping in alfisols, inseptisols and entisols during rainy season. Cereal + pigeon-pea system (sorghum + pigeon-pea), cereal + cotton (setaria + cotton) are popular in India.
In vertisols of high moisture retentivity, land is kept fallow during rainy season followed by sorghum, chickpea, sunflower or coriander on stored soil moisture during post-rainy season (Fig. 9.2). However, double cropping can be practiced if the monsoon is relatively early. Under such conditions, sorghum, pearl-millet or a pulse crop can be taken during rainy season followed by sunflower, safflower, chickpea or coriander in post-rainy season.
1. Intercropping Systems:
Intercropping is recommended in areas receiving annual rainfall between 600 and 800 mm. In such areas, at least one of the component crops succeeds in producing economic yield even if major part of the season is not ideal for the crops.
The row ratios are optimised to minimise competition and yet realising optimum biological productivity. Most of the systems are additive series, where the plant population of component crops is maintained equal to sole crops.
Promising intercropping systems for different locations are summarised in Table 9.3:
2. Double Cropping:
In areas receiving more than 800 mm annual rainfall with around 200 mm m-1 depth of storage soil moisture, double cropping is a distinct possibility. Such options are recommended for rainfed areas of Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
With adjustments in sowing dates (early planting and harvest of kharif crops), double cropping is also possible in Vidarbha, Malwa Plateau and black soils of Rayalaseema, Telangana and coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh.
Efficient systems are given in Table 9.4:
Inspite of proven advantage of recommended intercropping and double cropping systems, not more than 20 per cent of farmers are adopting the recommended systems.
Constraints Limiting Adoption of Intercropping Systems:
i. Dependence for fodder on principal cereal crops.
ii. Lack of appropriate seeding equipment to sow the component crops simultaneously in one operation.
iii. Inter-cultivation within component crops with different row spacings forces the formers to go for costly human labour.
iv. Maturity and harvest of short duration crops in the systems coincide with continuous rains around October, especially in south India, leading to heavy crop damage.
v. Fluctuating prices of component crops and overall profitability of system in terms of additional costs and benefits.
vi. Preference for domestic consumption.
vii. Stray cattle menace for long duration component crop.
Constraints Limiting Adoption of Double Cropping Systems:
i. Late onset of monsoon and consequent delay in sowing kharif crops.
ii. Inadequate stored soil moisture to meet the needs of second crop especially at grain development phase (terminal soil moisture stress).
iii. High soil moisture retentivety of heavy soils is a problem for land preparation and timely seeding.
iv. Problems in harvesting of kharif crops due to continuous cloudy weather at harvest period.
Inspite of the limitations, there is need for wider adoption of intercropping and double cropping systems for efficient use of natural resources leading to sustainable crop production under dryland conditions.
Essay # 3. Contingency Crop Planning:
Drought occurrence is a common phenomenon in dryland agriculture due to late onset of monsoon and dry spells during crop season. Accordingly, a large number of recommendations have been made for different zones on crop substitution and cultivar replacement in the case of delayed onset of monsoon. In this approach, short duration crops/cultivars replace the long duration crops/cultivars, especially for delayed onset of monsoon.
Broad guidelines for contingency crop planning have been indicated for different zones in Table 9.5:
In southern parts of the country, sorghum, pearl-millet, finger-millet and groundnut are the major rainfed crops with normal onset of monsoon. As the monsoon delays up to mid-August, the trend should be in the order of finger-millet (Karnataka), foxtail-millet, sunflower and castor. If the monsoon is delayed beyond mid-August, pulse crops appears to be the only option.
In central, northern, western and eastern parts of the country, sorghum, maize, rice, pearl-millet, castor, sunflower and soybean appears to fair well even if monsoon is delayed up to mid-August, while pulse crops appears to be the major option if the monsoon is delayed beyond August.