PERFORMANCE OF DOUBLE CROPPING SYSTEMS INVOLVING LEGUME VEGETABLES AND FINGER MILLET UNDER RAINFED CONDITION

A field experiment was conducted during kharif seasons ( 2001 to 2003 ) to study the performance
of double cropping systems comprising cowpea and cluster bean for fodder or incorporation
after harvest of green pods, each followed by finger millet under rainfed condition . Among the
double cropping systems, cowpea for incorporation after harvest of green pods - finger millet system
recorded the highest FMGEY (Finger millet grain equivalent yield) of 4.95 t/ha, land use efficiency
( 61%) , production efficiency ( 22kg/day/ha ), net profit ( Rs 16342/ha ), B:C ratio ( 1.79 )
and energy-use efficiency for economic produce( 321g/MJ ). Both the crops in this sequence
performed better, which resulted into such prospective. Application of P and transplanting finger
millet significantly recorded maximum finger millet grain yield ( 2.20 and 2.25 t / ha ,respectively )
, FMGEY ( 4.46 t/ha and 4.45 t/ha ), net profit ( Rs 15606 and Rs 15025/ha ), B:C ratio ( 1.88 and
1.82 ), energy output ( 91.2 and 90.0 MJ/kg x 1000 ) and energy- use efficiency for economic ( 316
and 313g/MJ ) and biological produce ( 620 and 623g/MJ ). Cowpea – finger millet system, application
of P and transplanting of finger millet recorded the highest uptake and residual
soil nutrient content.