3. MAJOR CEREALS
• Cereals are cultivated grasses(poaceae) with
starchy grains.
• They are staple food to may areas.
• Some of them are
• rice Oryza sativa
• Wheat Triticum aestievm
• Maize Zeya mays
4. Cropping systems
Cropping system is a critical aspect in developing
an effective ecological farming system to manage
and organize crops so that they best utilize the
available resources.(soil, air, sunlight, water,
labour, equipments)
It represents cropping patterns used on a farm
and their interaction with farm resources and
farm enterprises and available technology which
determine their makeup. It is executed in the
field level.
5. Basic principles of croppinsg systems
Chose the crop that complement to each other.
Choose crops and a cropping rotation which utilize
available resources efficiently.
Choose crops and a cropping system that maintain and
enhance soil fertility.
Choose crops which have a diversity of growth cycles.
Choose a diverse species of crops.
Keep the soil covered.
Strategically plan and modify cropping system as
needed.
6. Types of cropping systems
Crop rotation:crops are changed in the field from year
to year according to a planned sequence rather than
the sme crop being grown in the sme field.
Multiple cropping:two or more crops grown in the
same field with in a given year with a defnite row
arrangement.
Mixed cropping:two or more crops grown in the same
field with in a given year without a defnite row
arrangement.
Strip-intercropping:two or more crops are planted in
the same field in alternate rows.
7. Efficient cropping systems
• Cropping systems depends on farm resources, farm enterprise
and farm technology.
• When land is limited, intensive cropping is adopted to fully utilise
available water and labour.
• When sufficient and cheap labour is available, vegetable crops
are also included in the cropping system.
• When capital is not a constraint, commercial crops like
sugarcane, banana, turmeric etc can be fitted in cropping system.
• Rainfall is <750 mm/annum, monocropping is followed.
• Rainfall is > 750 mm/annum, intercropping is practiced.
• When water is plenty, triple and quadrupe cropping is adopted.
• Farm enterprises like dairying,poultry etc also influence the type
of cropping system.
• When farm enterprises includes dairy, the cropping system
should contain fodder crops as component crops.
8. Rice based cropping systems
In rice growing areas several crop combinations
(cropping systems) are in practice
I. Based on agro-ecological conditions,
II.Market and domestic needs and
III.Facilities available with farmers.
some of the rice based systems are,
1.Mixed varietal cropping of rice.
2.Inter cropping rice with other crops.
3.Relay/paira/utera cropping.
4.Sequential cropping in rice.
9. Mixed varietal cropping of rice
• System of mixing seed of early rice (ahu) with late maturing
deep water rice (bao).
• Mainly practiced in West Bengal.
• Can avoid total crop loss at the event of flood.
• The seed of both the types of mixed in 1:1 ratio and has
given higher yield than sole cropping of either type.
• Growing of a mixture of autum and winter varieties in 3:1
ratio in Tamil Nadu (known as udo) and Kerala (called as
koottumundkan).
• Under normal conditions it has created problems in
performing agricultural operations like harvesting, deciding
fertilizer doses etc.
10. Intercropping rice with other crops
• It is a common practice under upland
conditions in north and north-eastern part of
the country
• To grow rice intercropped with black gram,
green gram, sesame, maize, finger millet or
other miner millets.
• The ratio of rice and inter crop is preferred to
be 3-4:1.
11. Relay/paira/utera cropping
• The seed of succeeding crops like lentil, gram, pea, lathyrus, berseem, linseed etc. is sown
broadcast in maturing rice crop.
• This practice saves time; money (to be spent on land preparation etc.) utilizes residual
fertility.
• This practice is common in both upland and lowland rice culture.
Sequential cropping in rice.
Sequential cropping refers to the crops grown as preceding or succeeding with rice as shown
below;
• Irrigated conditions under upland
• Rice-Rice-Rice Rice-Chickpea
• Rice-Rice-Cereal Rice-Lentil
• Rice-Rice-Pulses Rice-Mustard/Linseed
• Rice-Wheat-Pulse Rice-Barley
• Rice-Toria- Wheat Rice – Wheat
• Rice – Wheat Rice – Wheat
• Rice – Mustard Rice – Pea
• Rice under integrated farming system
• Rice-Fish-Poultry
• Rice-Fish-Duckery
13. Maize based cropping systems
• Maize has wide adaptability and compatibility under diverse soil and climatic
conditions .
• Hence it is cultivated in sequence with different crops under various agro-
ecologies of the country
• Among different maize based cropping systems,
• maize-wheat ranks 1st
having 1.8 m ha area mainly concentrated
in rainfed ecologies.
• Maize-wheat is the 3rd
most important cropping systems (after rice-wheat and rice-
rice that contributes about 3 % in the national food basket. )
• The other major maize systems in India are
o maize-mustard,
o maize-chickpea,
o maize-maize,
o cotton-maize
• rice-maize has emerged a potential maize based cropping system in peninsular
and eastern India.
• compared to existing cropping systems like rice-wheat and rice-rice, maize based
cropping systems are better user of available resources and the water use
efficiency of maize based cropping systems was about 100 to 200 % higher at
different locations.
14. • Table 1. Maize based sequential cropping systems in different ago-climatic zones of India
• Agro-climatic region Irrigated Rainfed
• Western Himalayan Region maize-potato-wheat Maize-mustard
• Eastern Himalayan Region Maize-maize sesame-rice+maize
• Lower Gangetic Plain region Jute-rice-maize rice-maize
• Middle Gangetic Plain region Maize-wheat Maize-wheat
• Upper Gangetic Plain region Maize-wheat-mungbean Maize-wheat
• Trans Gangetic Plain region Maize-wheat-mungbean Maize-wheat
• Eastern plateau & hills region Maize-wheat-vegetables Rice-potato-maize
• Southern plateau & hills region Maize-rice Sorghum-maize
• East coast plain and hills region Maize-rice Rice-maize
• West coast plain and hills region Rice-maize Rice-maize
• Gujrat plains and hills region Rice-maize
• Western dry region Maize-chickpea Maize+legumes
• Island region Maize-rice Rice-maize + cowpea
16. Wheat based cropping system
• One of the majoor cropping system in wheat based cropping
system is wheat- rice cropping system.
• the rice-wheat based cropping systems (RWCS) in India have
significantly contributed in enhancing the foodgrain production and
achieving the food self-sufficiency and food security
• . Major rice-wheat growing states are Punjab, Haryana,
UttarPradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal
• rice-wheat growing agroclimatic zones
1. Lower Gangetic Plain
2. Middle Gangetic Plain
3. UpperGangetic Plain
4. Trans-Gangetic Plain.
The average productivity is5–10 t/ha),
17. Wheat based cropping systems
• Over mining of nutrients from soil,
• Disturbed soil aggregates due to puddling in rice
• Decreasing response to nutrients
• Declining ground water table
• Build up of diseases/pests
• Build up of Phalaris minor
• Low input use efficiency in north western plains
other wheat based systems
• Wheat –chickpea
• Wheat –fallow
• wheat-rice-wheat
• wheat-green manure-wheat
• wheat-fallow-wheat.
18. Benefits of cropping systems
• Maintain and enhance soil fertility.
• Enhanced crop growth.
• Minimize spread of diseases.
• Control weeds.
• Inhibit pest and insect growth.
• Increase soil cover.
• Use resources more effectively.
• Reduce risk for crop failure.
• Improved food and financial security.
