Abstract

Rice- Rice- Blackgram or Rice-Rice-Sesame is the existing cropping pattern followed in Cauvery New delta zone of Tamil Nadu. Alternate method of cultivation like Drum Seeded Rice and alternate short duration crops like Maize, Pulse during kharif season have been identified as an alternative to face the scarcity of water with higher profitability to the farming community. Among the different cropping systems, Drum Seeded Rice- Transplanted Rice-Maize + Black gram system has registered the highest economic efficiency of 319.41 Rs./ha/year and RiceRice- Brinjal recorded the economic efficiency of 303.94 Rs./ha/year over the existing system of Rice-Rice-Sesame sequence. Similarly both the sequence recorded the highest system productivity of 48.20 and 48.49 kg/ha/year respectively. The cropping sequence of Drum Seeded Rice – Transplanted Rice – Maize + Black gram and Rice-Rice-Brinjal as an alternate cropping system, instead of existing Rice- Rice – Pulse / Oilseed cropping systems in Cauvery New Delta Zone to achieve higher income, higher productivity and profitability.

Keywords: Rice equivalent yield, Alternate crops, Drum Seeded Rice, System Productivity