Abstract

                                Field experiment was conducted during Rabi season, 2013-14 to the study the effect of crop establishment techniques and crop geometries on yield and economics of rice-vegetable cowpea cropping system. Experiment was laid out in strip plot design and treatments were replicated thrice. The sixteen treatment combination consisted of four establishment techniques viz., puddled transplanting (E1 ), puddled direct seeding (E2 ), unpuddled transplanting (E3 ), unpuddled direct seeding (E4 ) and four crop geometries such as 30 x 20 cm (S1 ), 20 x 10 cm (S1 ), 25 x 25 cm (S3 ) and 30 x 30 cm (S4 ). Among the different treatment combinations, square planting of 25 x 25 cm adopted in puddled condition gave higher grain yield of 6963 kg ha-1 and straw yield of 9299 kg ha-1. In case of succeeding vegetable cowpea, higher yield of 8780 kg ha-1 and halum yield (13926 kg ha-1) was obtained in the combination of 30 x 30 cm under unpuddled direct seeded method. Similarly, higher gross return, net return, B:C ratio and lower production cost recorded under same combination. Puddling practice was conducive for rice, unpuddled soil was found to be optimum for succeeding deep rooted crops like vegetable cowpea.

Key words : Crop geometries, Establishment techniques, Economics, Rice–Vegetable cowpea, Cropping system.