Alternate Kharif rice crop establishment methods and medium duration variaties to enable cropping system intensification in coastal saline region

Shifting the rice growing season to allow earlier harvesting, may create opportunities for cropping intensification in the coastal zone of the Ganges delta. Field experiments were conducted for consecutive three kharif / wet seasons (2016-2018) in the coastal agro-ecosystem of the Indian Sundarbans to evaluate rice establishment methods and to find out suitable rice variety for higher production and earlier harvesting. Four rice establishment methods viz. conventional puddled transplanting (PTR), non-puddled transplanting (NPTR), drum seeding of pre-germinated seeds and dry direct seeding (DSR) were evaluated with different varieties of rice. Rice varieties evaluated were Amal-Mana, CR 1009 (Savitree) and Swarna-Sub 1 in 2016, CR 1009 and CR 1017 (Dharitri) in 2017 and CR 1018 (Gayatri) and Pratikshya in 2018. The drum seeded crop failed in 2017 and 2018. Higher plant height was observed in DSR treatment, which helped in better establishment of rice under submergence, whereas drum seeding was an ineffective method for wet season rice establishment. Though in the first year PTR was better in the absence of DSR, in subsequent two years, when DSR was evaluated, it was the best method of establishment followed by NPTR. Out of six rice varieties evaluated over three years, it was found that due to earlier maturity (at least by 15 days) as well as higher yield, the variety Pratikshya appears to be the most suitable one under these conditions

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Not AvailableFarmers in the coastal zone of West Bengal depend mainly on agriculture but constrained with low productivity and hence low income. Productivity constraints attributed to prolonged water logging during and after the wet (kharif) season, soil salinity and the scarcity of low saline irrigation water as the dry (rabi) season progresses. Level of cropping intensification is very low (123%). Experiments were conducted during 2016–2019 at farmers’ field (90 farmers) in this coastal saline zone for finding suitable cropping intensification options. Several new cropping systems have been found feasible that can increase the cropping intensity to 200–300% while providing better income (2–5 times as compared to baseline). Besides, for better utilisation of scarce freshwater resource the vegetable–vegetable–vegetable cropping system was evolved successfully through solar powered drip irrigation system and low-cost drip irrigation system. Such cropping systems provided higher profitability as compared to the existing farming practices. The paper also highlighted various determinants that may influence the adoption of these new cropping systems by the farmers and the possible strategic options therein.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableTo mitigate the fresh water scarcity and improving productivity, drip irrigation system is the most efficient one. Two types of drip irrigation models to fulfill the motto of more crop per drop, were installed for experimentation at Sonagaon village of Gosaba island, South 24 Pgs, West Bengal, India. Model I was a solar operated with higher cost (`1.66 lakhs) whereas model II involved low cost (`45,000) one. Performances of these two models were evaluated for increasing the water use efficiency and cropping intensity. Four mulching treatments i.e. T1: black plastic, T2: white plastic, T3: paddy straw and T4: control, were tested. T1 resulted in higher yield in three vegetable crops in both the kharif and rabi seasons. Mean yield of vegetables was 43, 73 and 101% higher in paddy straw, white and black plastic mulching over control. Resource rich farmers or those who can avail Government subsidy could opt for model 1, whereas resource poor farmers can adopt the model 2 for increasing cropping intensity. Besides savings in labour and water, the cropping intensity could be increased to 200-300% by adopting these irrigation models.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableTo mitigate the fresh water scarcity and improving productivity, drip irrigation system is the most efficient one. Two types of drip irrigation models to fulfill the motto of more crop per drop, were installed for experimentation at Sonagaon village of Gosaba island, South 24 Pgs, West Bengal, India. Model I was a solar operated with higher cost (`1.66 lakhs) whereas model II involved low cost (`45,000) one. Performances of these two models were evaluated for increasing the water use efficiency and cropping intensity. Four mulching treatments i.e. T1: black plastic, T2: white plastic, T3: paddy straw and T4: control, were tested. T1 resulted in higher yield in three vegetable crops in both the kharif and rabi seasons. Mean yield of vegetables was 43, 73 and 101% higher in paddy straw, white and black plastic mulching over control. Resource rich farmers or those who can avail Government subsidy could opt for model 1, whereas resource poor farmers can adopt the model 2 for increasing cropping intensity. Besides savings in labour and water, the cropping intensity could be increased to 200-300% by adopting these irrigation models.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableIn the coastal region of the Ganges Delta, rice is the predominant crop during the wet/kharif season and most of the land remains fallow during dry/rabi season due to soil salinity and irrigation water scarcity. Sustainable intensification of coastal saline land needs an improved package of practices which conserves soil moisture, facilitates early crop establishment, ensures profitability and has a positive effect on soil health. To achieve these objectives, we evaluated seven treatments for the potato crop in a randomized complete block design with five replications (farms) during the rabi season of 2017–2018 and again in 2018–2019, viz. T1, ridge planting (control); T2, zero tillage planting with 15 cm (9 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; T3, T2 + foliar spray of nutrients; T4, zero tillage planting with 20 cm (12 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; T5, T4 + foliar spray of nutrients; T6, zero tillage planting with 25 cm (15 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; and T7, T6 + foliar spray of nutrients. Tuber yield was higher in T5, T6 and T7 (37.9–41.5 t ha−1) during the second year over other treatments (21.5–32.3 t ha−1). About 200 mm of irrigation water can be saved by zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching compared with ridge planting. The tuber quality in terms of crude protein, fat, crude fibre and carbohydrate was better under zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching. The cost of cultivation of potato was reduced by about 27% due to zero tillage planting (US$1211.6 ha−1) compared with conventional tillage, intensive ridge planting practice (US$ 1660.4 ha−1). Zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching resulted in a net return of US$1779.2 ha−1, whereas under conventional cultivation, it was US$ 589.6 ha−1. Zero tillage planting of potato with paddy straw mulching reduced soil salinity (ECe) from 5 to 3 dS m−1, conserved soil moisture (4–8%), improved soil bulk density from 1.49 to 1.44 Mg m−3 and increased soil organic carbon from 0.39 to 0.44%. The results of this study suggest that zero tillage potato cultivation in the dry/rabi season can increase cropping intensity in the salt-affected Ganges Delta and increase income of the farmers.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableIt is estimated that five out of six farms in the world are operating less than two hectares of land, called smallholder farmers and they are producing over one third of the global food. Cropping system intensification research and interventions at farmers’ fields could be one of the ways to improve the prevailing cropping systems. Understanding socio-economic issues are important for successful implementation of improved or new cropping systems and increasing farmers’ income in coastal zone in Ganges delta. A socio-economic evaluation study was carried out to understand how far the suggested cropping options were feasible to smallholder farmers in the coastal zone; quantify the benefits due to adoption of new cropping systems; how far those options were socio-economically suitable for the targeted smallholder farmers; and to identify the key factors that might be affecting the out-scaling of the evolved options to larger group of farmers. Baseline and endline survey was conducted with 90 farmers before and after the demonstration of various cropping systems at farmers’ fields. Techno-economic suitability of new crops and management options were evaluated through accounting benefits of adoption and identifying various constraints in adoption. Behavioural analysis was carried out to identify factors affecting large-scale adoption of the new/improved cropping systems evolved. The socio-economic survey quantified the increase in cropping intensity higher than the baseline level (123-142%) and reduced the rabi (winter/dry) season fallow area by 30-35%. The study identified farmers’ preferred interventions were low-cost drip irrigation and mulching; zero-tillage (ZT) potato with straw mulching; improving soil quality with lime and green manuring; and vegetables-based cropping systems interventions. Although economics of the evolved cropping systems were favourable, however, availability of freshwater stored in ponds/canal, income from on and off-farm were most important factors determining the adoption new systems in larger scale.Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

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Not AvailableIn the coastal region of the Ganges Delta, rice is the predominant crop during the wet/kharif season and most of the land remains fallow during dry/rabi season due to soil salinity and irrigation water scarcity. Sustainable intensification of coastal saline land needs an improved package of practices which conserves soil moisture, facilitates early crop establishment, ensures profitability and has a positive effect on soil health. To achieve these objectives, we evaluated seven treatments for the potato crop in a randomized complete block design with five replications (farms) during the rabi season of 2017–2018 and again in 2018–2019, viz. T1, ridge planting (control); T2, zero tillage planting with 15 cm (9 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; T3, T2 + foliar spray of nutrients; T4, zero tillage planting with 20 cm (12 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; T5, T4 + foliar spray of nutrients; T6, zero tillage planting with 25 cm (15 t ha−1) paddy straw mulching; and T7, T6 + foliar spray of nutrients. Tuber yield was higher in T5, T6 and T7 (37.9–41.5 t ha−1) during the second year over other treatments (21.5–32.3 t ha−1). About 200 mm of irrigation water can be saved by zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching compared with ridge planting. The tuber quality in terms of crude protein, fat, crude fibre and carbohydrate was better under zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching. The cost of cultivation of potato was reduced by about 27% due to zero tillage planting (US$1211.6 ha−1) compared with conventional tillage, intensive ridge planting practice (US$ 1660.4 ha−1). Zero tillage planting with paddy straw mulching resulted in a net return of US$1779.2 ha−1, whereas under conventional cultivation, it was US$ 589.6 ha−1. Zero tillage planting of potato with paddy straw mulching reduced soil salinity (ECe) from 5 to 3 dS m−1, conserved soil moisture (4–8%), improved soil bulk density from 1.49 to 1.44 Mg m−3 and increased soil organic carbon from 0.39 to 0.44%. The results of this study suggest that zero tillage potato cultivation in the dry/rabi season can increase cropping intensity in the salt-affected Ganges Delta and increase income of the farmers.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableShifting the rice growing season to allow earlier harvesting, may create opportunities for cropping intensification in the coastal zone of the Ganges delta. Field experiments were conducted for consecutive three kharif / wet seasons (2016-2018) in the coastal agro-ecosystem of the Indian Sundarbans to evaluate rice establishment methods and to find out suitable rice variety for higher production and earlier harvesting. Four rice establishment methods viz. conventional puddled transplanting (PTR), non-puddled transplanting (NPTR), drum seeding of pre-germinated seeds and dry direct seeding (DSR) were evaluated with different varieties of rice. Rice varieties evaluated were Amal-Mana, CR 1009 (Savitree) and Swarna-Sub 1 in 2016, CR 1009 and CR 1017 (Dharitri) in 2017 and CR 1018 (Gayatri) and Pratikshya in 2018. The drum seeded crop failed in 2017 and 2018. Higher plant height was observed in DSR treatment, which helped in better establishment of rice under submergence, whereas drum seeding was an ineffective method for wet season rice establishment. Though in the first year PTR was better in the absence of DSR, in subsequent two years, when DSR was evaluated, it was the best method of establishment followed by NPTR. Out of six rice varieties evaluated over three years, it was found that due to earlier maturity (at least by 15 days) as well as higher yield, the variety Pratikshya appears to be the most suitable one under these conditions.Not Availabl