Research article · 2023 · Full text
International Journal of Horticulture and Food ScienceEffect of intercropping system on yield, economics and land equivalent ratio of cabbage in the trans-gangetic plains of Punjab
Volume 5(2) · Pages 07–10 · DOI: 10.33545/26631067.2023.v5.i2a.170 ↗
Research areasAgronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems
Abstract
Author-writtenA field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2022-2023 at vegetable experimental farm, Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab to study the effect of intercropping system on yield, economics and Land equivalent ratio of cabbage in the trans-Gangetic plains of Punjab. The investigation was laid out in RBD with seven treatments replicated thrice with sole cabbage having a spacing of 60×45 cm. Sole cropping of cabbage recorded significantly maximum values for most of the yield characters like plant height, head circumference, marketable heads per plot, head weight, maximum head diameter, head height, cabbage yield per plot and yield per hectare. Economically, cabbage + radish intercropping B: C ratio (5.20) was adjudged as the best followed by sole cabbage cropping having B: C ratio (4.83). Also, the Land equivalent ratio (LER) was maximum in cabbage+radish intercropping 1.74 followed by cabbage + palak intercropping 1.43. Therefore, intercropping in cabbage results to maximize the yield and economics of cabbage farmers under Amritsar conditions. Inclusion of garden pea or radish in cabbage inter rows may be adopted by cabbage growers.
Summary
Source-checkedPlain-language reading of the full paper, prepared with AI and checked against the text. Each point links to the authors' own words.
Why it matters
- Vegetable production is critical for India's food and nutritional security, as well as for diversifying agriculture and providing farmers with timely income. View evidence ↗
- India faces a challenge with very limited per capita land resources, currently at 0.12 ha, which is expected to decrease further. View evidence ↗
- Intercropping compatible crops is a valuable strategy to improve productivity and sustain soil health while reducing the risk of total crop failure and pest incidence. View evidence ↗
The question
- The study aimed to investigate how different intercropping systems based on cabbage influence yield and economics. View evidence ↗
What they did
- The field experiment took place during the winter season of 2022-2023 at the Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, in Amritsar, Punjab. View evidence ↗
- The study used a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with seven treatments replicated three times, including sole crops of cabbage, pea, palak, and radish, and intercropped combinations of cabbage with pea, palak, and radish. View evidence ↗
- Cabbage was treated with 8 t ha-1 of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers at a rate of 50:25:25 kg N:P:K ha-1. View evidence ↗
What they found
- Sole cabbage cropping produced the highest yield parameters, including a head weight of 1475 g and a yield of 62.03 t per hectare. View evidence ↗
- Among the intercropped systems, cabbage + pea was the most effective, yielding 50.93 t per hectare with a head weight of 1203 g. View evidence ↗
- The cabbage + radish intercropping system was the most economically profitable, achieving a net return of ₹ 3,14,110 and a B:C ratio of 5.2. View evidence ↗
- Sole pea cropping was the least economical treatment, with a net return of ₹ 40,000 and a B:C ratio of 1.23. View evidence ↗
- The Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was highest for cabbage + radish at 1.74, followed by cabbage + palak (1.43) and cabbage + pea (1.30). View evidence ↗
What it means
- The authors conclude that intercropping cabbage with radish or pea, as well as sole cabbage cultivation, provides the best economic returns in Punjab markets. View evidence ↗
- The study recommends that cabbage intercropping is a positive practice that farmers in Punjab and neighboring states can use to increase income and improve livelihoods. View evidence ↗
Visual summary
3 visualsIllustrations explain the paper; charts are replotted from the paper's own table values.
Intercropping Layout
AI-generated conceptual illustration (Cabbage plants, radish plants, and palak (spinach) plants in a field). It explains the idea and does not show study data.
View source evidence ↗
Yield of cabbage (kg): T1 (Cabbage sole) vs T5 (Cabbage + Pea) vs T6 (Cabbage + Palak) vs T7 (Cabbage + Radish)
Replotted from Table 3 (page 3) of the original paper. Every bar is the paper's own table value.
View source evidence ↗
LER: T1 (Cabbage sole) vs T2 (Pea sole) vs T3 (Palak sole) vs T4 (Radish sole) vs T5 (Cabbage + Pea)
Replotted from Table 5 (page 3) of the original paper. Every bar is the paper's own table value.
View source evidence ↗Figures & tables
From the original paper
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5Introduction
India ranks second in vegetable production in the world. Vegetable crops occupy a prominent role in diversification of agriculture and ensuring timely income of farmers and has played a pivotal role in food and nutritional security of ever-growing population of India. The vegetable requirement of our country is estimated 225 million tones by 2020 [Anon, 20ll] [1] . But it is also alarming that per capita land resources in India are very limited (0.12 ha) which will further be decreased by the turn of the century due to ever-increasing population. Punjab state is ideally suitable for cultivation of different vegetable crops due to the presence of fertile land, suitable soil available and preferably climatic conditions favouring high vegetable production. On the other hand, due to continuous application of chemical fertilizers, amount of soil nutrient reserve is gradually depleting. Hence, effective land utilization through intensive cropping is urgently needed. Realizing all these, intercropping of compatible crops can be of great value in achieving the improved productivity with sustain soil health. The farmers generally prefer the intercropping system because it produces higher total crop yield per unit area, provides insurance against total crop failure, and also reduces incidences of pests and diseases [Lyocks et al. 2013] [2] . The system of intercropping not only improves the yield and returns but also reduces the risk of complete crop failure as compared to the sole cropping system [Rao and Singh, 2000] [3] . Hence, an attempt was made to blend some winter duration vegetables of different rooting depth with the cabbage for increased return with more cropping intensity. Considering all these facts, the present study has been undertaken to study the influence of different crops of cabbage based intercropping system.
Materials and Methods
The experiment was conducted in vegetable farm of post graduate Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar during Rabi season 2022-23 by combining seven treatments replicated thrice laid out in RBD with sole cabbage having spacing of 60×45 cm and the additive intercropping series being followed in the intercrops. The treatments were T 1 -sole cabbage, T 2 sole pea, T 3 -sole palak, T 4 sole radish, T 5 -cabbage + pea, T 6cabbage + palak and T 7 -cabbage + radish. The recommended dose of organic manure (8 tha -1 ) and inorganic fertilizers (50:25:25 kg N:P:K ha -1 ) were applied in cabbage. Thirty days old seedlings of cabbage cv. Golden Acre were transplanted at a spacing of 60 cm x 45 cm during 1st fortnight of October. Seeds of the intercrops were sown as additive series between rows of cabbage. Recommended package of practices was followed for all the intercrops.
Cultivar used in the experiment
The variety Golden Acre was used for the experiment. Golden Acre is prized for its compact size and plant heads are exceptionally firm.
Results and Discussion
The results pertaining to yield parameters of cabbage showed that sole cropping of cabbage recorded maximum values for head diameter (16.93 ), yield per hectare (50.93 t). The other intercropping system of cabbage + palak and cabbage + radish projected lower values from above treatments due to higher competition between crops for light, nutrients and space for growth and yield values. Maximum values for most of the yield parameters in sole cabbage plots may be attributed to efficient utilization of space and light interception along with nutrient uptake and availability of applied nutrients which ultimately increased the production of assimilates and the rate of biosynthesis of various metabolic activities leading to increased rate of growth and development, which is expressed in higher head weight. Among intercropping treatments, cabbage + pea system of intercropping recorded next best values for these yield attributes. Similar type of observations were also recorded in cabbage intercropping system where highest head yield of cabbage (37.11 tha -1 ) was recorded in sole cropping of cabbage followed by the same with pea but radish or Palak affected the yield of cabbage and by Giri (2002) [7] in cabbage based intercropping system where it was noticed that highest head diameter (19.80 cm) was obtained in cabbage sole cropping followed by cabbage + french bean intercropping treatment (18.52 cm). Nayek (2001) [13] observed the same trend in cabbage based intercropping system.
After perusal of data related to economics of production, it was observed that cabbage + radish intercropping system was most remunerative as it recorded highest net return and B:C ratio (₹ 3,14,110 and 5.2 respectively) followed by sole cropping of cabbage (₹ 2,73,555 and 4.83) (Gangadhar et al., 2023) [11] . Sole cropping of pea was least economical (₹ 40,000 and 1.23 respectively). The cabbage + pea as well as cabbage + palak intercropping system showed similar results in net return and B:C ratio (₹ 2,71,830 and 4.44, ₹2,640,30, and 4.42 respectively). Although sole palak and sole radish resulted at par B:C ratio (3.67 and 3.7 respectively) but the net return showed difference between these two sole treatments resulting in net return of ₹55,000 and ₹93,490 respectively. Among the different intercropping treatment combinations cabbage grown with radish found to be most remunerative which might be due to less cost of cultivation and higher rate of returns from the market. The cabbage and pea intercropping also found to be remunerative due to higher market price of pea and lower cost of cultivation. The pea intercropping also improves soil health and ultimately return from market. Based on the present experiment intercropping of cabbage with radish and pea was found to be the best combination along with sole cabbage cultivation which resulted in maximum remuneration in the markets of Punjab. The data on land equivalent ratio showed values higher than 1 which signifies the efficiency of intercrops in using the environmental resources over mono cropping. Highest LER values of 1.74 were obtained in cabbage intercropped with radish followed by cabbage + palak and cabbage+ pea having values of 1.43 and 1.30 respectively. Based on the present experiment intercropping of cabbage was found positive and can be used by farmers of Punjab as well as neighboring states to increase their income and improve their livelihood. .20 Note: Sale price of cabbage head @ ₹ 6 kg -1 , pea @ ₹ 10 kg -1 , palak @ ₹ 4 kg -1 , radish @ ₹ 4 kg -1
Tables
Tables
Conclusion
The results pertaining to yield parameters of cabbage showed that sole cropping of cabbage recorded maximum values followed by cabbage + pea intercropping combination. Based on the present experiment intercropping of cabbage with radish and pea was found to be the best combination along with sole cabbage cultivation which resulted in maximum remuneration in the markets of Punjab. The data on land equivalent ratio showed highest LER values were obtained in cabbage intercropped with radish followed by cabbage + palak and cabbage + pea respectively. Based on the present experiment intercropping of cabbage was found positive and can be used by farmers of Punjab as well as neighboring states to increase their income and improve their livelihood.
Figures and tables from the paper
| Treatment | Head diameter (cm) | Head Circumference (cm) | Head Height (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 (Cabbage sole) | 16.93 | 35.43 | 19.23 |
| T5 (Cabbage + Pea) | 15.80 | 31.46 | 18.30 |
| T6 (Cabbage + Palak) | 14.86 | 30.26 | 17.53 |
| T7 (Cabbage + Radish) | 14.03 | 26.90 | 16.66 |
| C.D. | 0.9 | 2.2 | 0.8 |
Table text extracted from the original PDF; superscript letters are shown inline. The original table image is below.
View original table image
| Treatment | Yield of cabbage (kg) | Yield per hectare (t) |
|---|---|---|
| T1 (Cabbage sole) | 25.13 | 62.03 |
| T5 (Cabbage + Pea) | 20.76 | 50.93 |
| T6 (Cabbage + Palak) | 19.36 | 47.33 |
| T7 (Cabbage + Radish) | 18.36 | 43.86 |
| C.D. | 2.10 | 5.08 |
Table text extracted from the original PDF; superscript letters are shown inline. The original table image is below.
View original table image
| S. No. | Treatments | LER |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | T1 (Cabbage sole) | 1.00 |
| 2 | T2 (Pea sole) | 1.00 |
| 3 | T3 (Palak sole) | 1.00 |
| 4 | T4 (Radish sole) | 1.00 |
| 5 | T5 (Cabbage + Pea) | 1.30 |
| 6 | T6 (Cabbage + Palak) | 1.43 |
| 7 | T7 (Cabbage + Radish) | 1.74 |
Table text extracted from the original PDF; superscript letters are shown inline. The original table image is below.
View original table image
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