STUDIES ON PRODUCTIVITY, FERTILISER USE ECONOMY, NUTRIENT UPTAKE AND ECONOMICS OF BIDI TOBACCO BASED CROPPING SYSTEMS UNDER MIDDLE GUJARAT CONDITIONS
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Date
1988
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AAU, Anand
Abstract
A field investigation to find out the profitable summer crop along with its fertiliser requirement in a bidi tobacco (GT-5) based crop sequence was carried out during I985-86 and 1986-$? at the College Agronomy Farm, B.A. College of Agriculture,',Anand (Gujarat). Four treatments of summer crops viz.,,pearlmillet, groundnut, fodder sorghum and a fallow plot with four fertility levels (100, 87.5 and 75-0 per cent of the recommended fertiliser dose of respective crop and no fertiliser application) in each crop were tested after an uniform crop of bidi tobacco raised with recommended dose of fertilisers (180 kg N/ha) during Kharif 1985 and 1986. The studies revealed that the different fertility levels applied to pearlmillet and groundnut crops did not significantly influence the crop yields during both the summer seasons and on the pooled basis. The protein content in pearlmillet grains and oil content in groundnut kernels increased to a greater extent, due to fertiliser application as compared to no fertiliser application. Total removal of nitrogen by pearlmillet and groundnut crop was increased due to fertiliser application on pooled basis. The fertiliser application in groundnut did not increase phosphorus uptake (total by the crop) but significant response was noticed in pearlmillet. Fertiliser application to fodder sorghum significantly increased both green and dry fodder yields of sorghum during summer 1936, 1987 and on the pooled basis. The average fodder yield was comparatively less during the second year of the study. The fodder sorghum removed significantly higher nitrogen under the treatments of 100 and 87.5 per cent of the recommended dose than that under 75.0 pet cent of the recommended dose of fertilisers and no fertiliser application. The phosphorus uptake by fodder sorghum was also significantly increased due to fertiliser application over no fertiliser application. The bidi tobacco crop (1986-87) which followed the summer fallow (1986) achieved significantly higher yield than that which followed summer pearlmillet and fodder sorghum but the same was at par with summer groundnut. Nicotine content was not significantly changed due to preceding summer crops. The summer fallow significantly increased the uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus by the succeeding bidi tobacco but the same was at par with that due to summer groundnut. Fertiliser application to summer crops significantly increased available N and P2O5 status of the soil after harvest of the crops over no fertiliser application except that the available soil N for groundnut. The summer fallow being at par with summer groundnut significantly increased the soil fertility status (N and P2O5 ) after harvest of succeeding bidi tobacco as compared to that of preceding pearlmillet and fodder sorghum. Fertiliser application to groundnut and fodder sorghum promoted the buildup of stunt nematodes but the reverse was- true in case of pearlmillet. The population of stunt nematodes was higher during the second year as to compared to that during the first year. The summer fallow reduced the population of the nematodes of three genera but among the different summer crops, groundnut decreased more number of stunt nematodes after harvest of succeeding bidi tobacco as compared to that of the other crops. Summer groundnut succeeding bidi tobacco was found more profitable than pearlmillet and fodder sorghum grown during summer season after bidi tobacco. Groundnut without fertiliser application released more net profit than that by pearlmillet and fodder sorghum with fertiliser application, The annual crop sequence of bidi tobacco-summer groundnut with 87-5 per cent of the recommended dose of fertilisers to groundnut gave the maximum total net profit among all the bidi tobacco based crop sequences tried during the studies. Considering the economics, soil fertility changes, fertiliser use economy and nematode builup the bidi tobacco-summer groundnut crop sequence with 87.5 per cent of the recommended dose of fertilisers to groundnut crop was favourable under middle Gujarat conditions.
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AGRONOMY, AGRICULTURE, A STUDY