Crop Contingent Planning for Aberrant Weather Conditions under Scarcity Zone of Maharashtra Satpute N.R.*, Dhadge S.M. Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Solapur-413 002, Maharashtra *email: satputenitin1@gmail.com
Online published on 15 December, 2016. Abstract A field experiment was conducted to find out suitable sowing time and crop contingent planning under delayed monsoon situation during kharif 2008 to 2013 at Solapur, Maharashtra. The experiment was conducted in a split plot design with three replications. The main plot treatments consisted of three sowing dates at an interval of 15 days (first fortnight of July, second fortnight of July and first fortnight of August) and sub-plot treatments consisted of sixteen different crops (pigeonpea, rabi sorghum (grain), rabi sorghum (fodder), cowpea (grain), cowpea (fodder), sunflower, pearlmillet (grain), soybean, horsegram, maize (fodder), clusterbean, castor, pearlmillet (fodder), cotton, groundnut and sesame). Yield and economics were not influenced by sowing time. Numerically the sowing of first fortnight of July recorded higher grain yield (619 kg/ha), stover yield (9809 kg/ha), net returns (14465/ha) and B: C ratio of (2.21). Significantly higher grain yield (1537 kg/ha), stover yield (5389 kg/ha) was recorded with clusterbeanand pearlmillet, respectively. However, groundnut recorded significantly higher gross returns (39236/ha) and net returns (15932/ha), where as cowpea recorded higher B: C ratio (2.18). Among the fodder crops, maize recorded higher green fodder yield (34070 kg/ha), net returns (34032/ha) and B: C ratio (4.05). Under dryland condition either maize for green fodder or clusterbean green pod for vegetable or cowpea for grain or groundnut for dry pod or pigeonpea for grain in first fortnight of July could be recommended for higher yield and monetary returns. Top Keywords Inceptisols, grain yield, sowing dates, stover yield, net returns. Top |