Cropping seasons Kharif Seasons Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October. paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean.

Rabi Seasons Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer. wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard.

Zaid Seasons In between the rabi and the kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season. Mung, urd, Maize, watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.

Cropping system approach Selection o the crops should be demand based i.e., the crops which are needed by the people of the area and by the family members should be chosen so that the produce can be easily sold at a higher price. Cropping system management - spatial and temporal combinations of crops in an area. With the introduction of high yielding crop varieties and latest technical know how the farmers in India are now considering agriculture as a business. Choose a right crop, in suitable cropping system

Cropping system approach General principle of crop rotation viz., the crops with tap roots should be followed by those which have a fibrous root system. The leguminous crops should be grown after no leguminous Legumes need more phosphate and less nitrogen while non-legumes need more of nitrogen and relatively low phosphorus. More exhaustive crops should be followed by less exhaustive crops because crops like potato, sugarcane.

Crop Rotation- Advantages all agricultural operations can be done timely for all the crops because of less competition. Soil fertility is restored by fixing atmospheric nitrogen, encouraging microbial activity. Avoiding accumulation of toxins (HCN etc.) and maintaining Physico -chemical properties of the soil. Its also helps in controlling insects, pests and diseases.

Crop Rotation- Advantages It also controls the weeds in the fields. An alternate cropping of bcrseem and wheat helps in controlling kasani as well as wild oat. Proper utilization of all resources and inputs could be made by following crop rotation. The family and farm labour, power, equipment and machines are well employed throughout year. The farmer gets a better price for his produce because of its higher demands in the locality’ or market.

Systems of cropping Mixed cropping arhar + jowar + mung and til or groundnut+ bajra etc. Mixed cropping may be classified into the mixed crops, companion crops, guard crops and augmenting crops, based on their method of sowing.

Intercropping sesamum, sawan, urd or mung grown with red gram complete their life cycle by September, the period since when red gram picks up branching and attains rapid growth. Autumn planted sugarcane remains dormant after germination until February- March during which potato, berseem, lucerne, mustard. etc. could be taken successfully as companion intercrops.

Intensive cropping growing a number of crops on the same piece of land during the given period of time. the availability of most suited high yielding and short duration, of crop varieties. These varieties must be responsive to input doses and they should also be thermo and photo non-sensitive so that at least three crops could be grown every year. an excellent physico-chemical properties of soil like well leveled land surface, better structure, aeration, water holding capacity, permeability should be maintain . The soil should be rich in soil fertility and organic matter so that it may sustain high intensity cropping with greater, productivity.

Plant population and crop geometry A simple intercropping treatment having half of the sole crop optimum of each of the two components is described as 50: 50 component populations. In a replacement series, proportional populations or proportions are related to sole crops of the series whatever their population and the two proportions must always add up to 100. All the intercropping situations can be described using optimum sole crop population for one crop and 50 per cent for the other can be described as 100: 50 (additive series or addition series).

Genotype suitable for intercropping In general, genotypes of determinate growth habit. Should show a plastic response to population changes Genotypes of indeterminate growth habit should show a rapid recovery from competition in the early stages by compensation in the later stages of growth.

Interaction in sequential cropping Competition for light, water and nutrients as seen in mixed crop communities does not occur when sole crops are grown in sequence. In relay cropping where there is a short span of overlapping between two crops in sequence, the relay sown crop may have competition for light from the standing crop resulting in lanky growth of seedlings. This competition can be minimized by proper choice of crops and varieties and adjustment of time and method of planting.

Crop and varieties for sequential cropping short duration photoperiod insensitive genotypes are the best suited for intensive cropping systems. It was emphasized earlier that selection of genotypes should be done in actual intercropping situations, particularly for the dominated components. All the recently introduced high yielding varieties have a plastic response to population levels and geometry of planting Yield does not vary much in a range of these varieties have been evolved for population performance and the traditional varieties for individual performance. Inclusion of high yielding varieties will give scope for adjustment of population and geometry of planting so that an additional-l crop could be raised as an intercrop.

Nutrient Management in Cropping System Each crop included in the system should be studied with respect to its nutritional needs. Mono crop fertility requirements are a good basis for initial studies on cropping system management needs.

Water management in cropping system General principles applicable to sole crops will also apply for mixed population. With the proper water management, it might become possible to grow two crops where only one was grown previously under rainfed conditions. Scheduling of irrigation and water application may have to be carefully done under intercropping situations. In general in case of widely spaced, slow growing crop, a large area of soil surface is exposed to direct incidence of solar radiation resulting in high evaporation loss.

Irrigation scheduling in cropping system total quantity of water required the critical physiological stage the soil type and the climatic factor

Weed management There is a general belief that intensive cropping reduces weed problems. This depends on the crops, planting density and cultural operations done. Besides, herbicide selectivity and residual toxicity are critical in intensive cropping. Weed management for any cropping system involves the use of many kinds of biological, physical and chemical and mechanical techniques to promote crop dominance over weeds. Crop density is one of the most easily manipulated factors affecting crop production and it is well known that increasing seeding rates can promote crop dominance over weeds in monoculture cropping systems. Highest yields for many intercrop combinations grown under weed-free conditions are obtained with increased crop population densities. Similarly, maximum intercrop yields and weed suppression are obtained with total crop densities significantly higher than those used for monocultures (additive crop mixtures). Smother' intercrops and 'live mulch' intercrop are high density, additive crop mixtures that appear to offer great promise as a means to weed control.

Insect pest management in intercropping system Pest outbreaks are to be less common in mixed stands due to crop diversity than in sole cropping system. The reduced incidence of pests may be the result of increased parasitoid and predator populations, availability of alternate food for natural enemies, decreased colonization and reproduction of pests, chemical repellency, masking and/or feeding inhibition from non-host plants, prevention of pest management and/or emigration and optimum synchrony between pests and natural enemies. In intercrop systems, the choice of a tall or short, early or late maturing, flowering or non-flowering companion crop may magnify or decrease the effects on particular pests.

Disease management in cropping system Crop rotation -lowers the level of inoculum of many pathogens. Plant density play a vital role and affects the disease incidence. the wider the separation between individual hosts plants, - less infect ion to new plants. crops in sequence or as intercrops is effective in lowering populations of soil borne diseases. cover crops reduced the movement or spread of pathogens Cover crop - days and the movement of disease propagules. build up of microbial population suppres­sive to Phytophthora might be responsible for the lower disease incidence under the cover crop conditions. To control of seed borne disease, - seed treatment with fungicides. Planting resistant genotypes, particularly those with multiple gene resistance, can be done to minimize disease incidence.

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