Evaluating the Influence of Legume and Cereal Intercropping on Bt Cotton Traits in Rainfed Conditions
Raghuveer Choudhary
Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, Gujarat, India.
P. D. Vekariya
Main Dry Farming Research Station, Targhadia, Gujarat, India.
H. L. Sakarvadia
Department of Agriculture, Chemistry and Soil Science, JAU, Junagadh, India.
Bhavik Solanki
Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, Gujarat, India.
Mahendra Choudhary *
GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India.
Jatin Jaiswal
Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India.
Satyanarayan Gurjar
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hindaun City, Karauli, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan, India.
Khemendra Choudhary
CCS Hisar Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study investigates how various intercropping systems involving cereals and legumes affect the phenotypic characteristics of Bt cotton. Understanding that intercropping can improve agricultural sustainability and production, we grew Bt cotton alongside various cereal and leguminous crops in several field tests. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of different cotton based intercropping systems under rainfed conditions on important phenotypic characteristics of cotton, including dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR) and boll weight in black calcareous soil under rainfed conditions. The experiment conducted at Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh, Gujarat during kharif 2022-23 and 2023-24 with randomized block design with fifteen treatments, involving sole and intercropping systems of groundnut, sunflower, pearl millet, maize and soybean with cotton in 1:1 row proportion. According to our research, intercropping legumes like green gram, black gram and groundnut significantly improved cotton phenotypic characteristics as compare to other intercropping systems by increasing soil fertility and lowering insect burden. Dry matter per plant at 60, 90 DAS, at harvest and average boll weight were found significantly higher under sole cotton except 30 DAS during both the years of experimentation and in pooled results. Among different intercropping systems, the cotton + green gram (T14) intercropping recorded the highest dry matter, CGR and average boll weight while the lowest was recorded with the cotton + maize (T12) intercropping system. Overall, the findings show that while cereal-based systems necessitate careful management to balance competition and resource consumption, incorporating legumes into Bt cotton agriculture can provide significant agronomic benefits, including higher growth and yield. This study emphasises how crucial it is to choose the right intercrops in order to maximise the productivity and efficiency of Bt cotton systems.
Keywords: CGR, cotton, dry matter, intercropping, legume, phenotypic traits, RGR