Chief EditorV. Geethalakshmi
Print ISSN 0367-8245
Online ISSN 0976-058X
NAAS Rating 5.60
SJR 0.293
Impact of Levels of Nutrient Management on Economics of Soybean-onion and Soybean-potato Cropping System
Submitted24-07-2023|
Accepted02-07-2024|
First Online 11-11-2024|
Background: Nutrient management and cropping sequence are two important factors which affect productivity and profitability of crop. Profitability is one the important part of the successful crop production. Soybean fixes atmospheric nitrogen in soil and partially fulfills the nitrogen requirement of succeeding crops. There is a need for a suitable substitute crop or cropping systems after soybean to improve the soil fertility and productivity to maximize the profitability. The plains of Maharashtra are well suited for onion and potato cultivation. There is scope for increasing the area, production and productivity of onion and potato crop. Majority of farmers in Maharashtra following soybean-wheat and soybean-chickpea crop sequence while in present investigation soybean is grown in sequence with vegetable crop such as onion and potato which could help to increase profitability through higher net return and B: C ratio.
Methods: The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. Six combinations of two crop sequences (soybean-onion and soybean-potato) and three levels of nutrient management viz., 50% RDF+FYM 5 t ha-1+ biofertilizer (N1), 75 % RDF+ FYM 5 t ha-1+ biofertilizer (N2) and 100 % RDF+ FYM 5 t ha-1+ biofertilizer (N3) were the main plot treatments in kharif season replicated three times in randomized block design. During rabi season each main plot treatment of nutrient management level was split into three sub plot treatments with three levels of recommended dose of fertilizer viz., 75% RDF (F1), 100% RDF (F2) and 125% RDF (F3) to rabi season crops resulting in eighteen treatment combinations replicated three times in split plot design. The data pertaining to growth characteristics, yield characteristics, economics of soybean (kharif) and onion or potato (rabi) was collected at regular interval in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 at Agronomy Farm, Dr. PDKV, Akola which was analyzed statistically in SPD (split plot design).
Result: Soybean-onion crop sequence registered higher profitability in terms of GMR, NMR and B: C in comparison with soybean - potato crop sequence. Soybean crop supplied with 100% RDN+ 5 t FYM ha-1 + Biofertilizer (Rhizobium japonicum+ PSB+ Tricoderma viridi) recorded highest GMR, NMR and B:C ratio over lower levels of treatments in all year experimentation. Rabi crops treated with 125% RDF recorded GMR, NMR and B:C ratio over lower levels of treatments in all years of experimentation.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) belongs to family solanaceae and originated from South America. It is important food crops both in India as well as world. Potato acts as a low cost energy source to diet of people. Potato is popular as ‘poor man’s food’ because of its supplying high nutrition, low cost energy source to people of different of economic classes. It contains 2.1% of protein, 20.6% Carbohydrate, 2% Sugar, 1.1% crude fibre and 0.3% fat. The most important economical part of potato is the tuber of potato. Tuber of potato is a modified stem developed underground on stolon. It is consumed in various forms of vegetable ingredient in different cooked dishes. In addition to this, tuber of potato is used for preparation of value added products like potato powder and potato flakes. Potato has important value in food industries due to its utilization in synthesis of dextrin and starch. In India, potato crop is cultivated on 2.25 M ha area with 54.23 M T production and 24102 kg ha-1 productivity (Anonymous, 2020). Since intensive cropping systems remove a significant amount of nutrients from the soil pool, they require more nutrients than less intensive cropping systems with high yielding enhanced crop types. When applied in an unbalanced manner, chemical fertilizer boosts crop yields but over time reduces soil fertility and food quality (Sinha et al., 2010). Limitation analysis has shown that one of the main causes of limited growth and decreased output is unbalanced nutrition management (Tiwari et al., 2002). Jate and Lammel (2022) reported that balanced nutrient management with integrated principles of plant nutrition is the one of the best nutrient management strategies to enhance crop production without decrease in the soil fertility. After China, India has the second-highest population in the world. Every day, the amount of arable land available is decreasing due to the growing human population. Increased agricultural land production is necessary to feed the rising population’s needs for food, fiber, fuel, fodderand other necessities without compromising the health of the soil. Vegetable crops have been strongly promoted as a solution to the issue of food security. A new industry in agricultural diversification is the cultivation of vegetables, which might increase the income of small and marginal landowners and provide jobs in rural areas.
The farming community in Maharashtra has experienced significant improvements thanks to the environmentally friendly commodities that are farmed there: Potatoes and onions. When cultivated alone, it is regarded as an exhausting crop that requires high nutrition. Soybean-based cropping systems may be able to maintain their production by applying general recommended doses of fertilizer (GRDF) to the kharif soybean crop and appropriate recommended doses of fertilizer (RDF) to the onion and potato crops that follow in the rabi season. Nutrient management is one of the important management factor which affects productivity and profitability of crop hence it is included in present investigation. Agronomic crop is combined with the high daily used vegetable crop to check feasibility of combination to increase the productivity and profitability of crop sequence. Maharashtra’s soil and climate are ideal for growing potatoes and onions. Both potatoes and onions are high in energy, have a lot of potential for cultivating in a sequence based on soybeans and have shown to be superior options for both crop diversification and preserving soil sustainability. In terms of cropping sequence, soybeans are legumes, onions are bulbs and potatoes are tuber crops that complement one another. But in order to realize their full potential, each of these crops needed improved fertilizer management. The productivity of the soil has decreased due to extended crop cultivation using the recommended amount of inorganic fertilizer alone and imbalanced manner. By adding FYM to the soil in conjunction with inorganic fertilizers, the plant’s constant access to nutrients during its growth cycle was enhanced. Therefore, it is now necessary to add organic manure with biofertilizers in addition to inorganic fertilizers, at least to one crop in the cropping sequence, in order to maintain the fertility and productivity of the soil.
Table 1: Economics of soybean based crop sequence as influenced by nutrient management to soybean (kharif) and fertilizer levels to onion and potato (rabi).
Table 2: Gross monetary returns (GMR) as influenced by interaction between nutrient management to soybean (kharif) and fertilizer levels to onion and potato (rabi).
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