A review on maize-finger millet relay cropping in hills of Nepal: Prospects and constraints

Maize (Zea mays) and Finger millet (Elusine corocana) are two key staple crops grown in the hills of Nepal. These crops are planted in a relay intercropping system developed by farmers since the dawn of time. The unique example of cereal-cereal intercropping with its cropping system and cropping pattern at different altitudes is reviewed along with the yield comparison of direct-seeded and transplanted finger millet with maize. Relay cropping is the planting of second crop in the same land area before the harvest of first crop with the goal of higher productivity by sharing the available resources. Considerable research has been done on maize and millet but there has been a limited approach to their cropping system. This paper reviews the existing system of cropping, its prospects, and its constraints. The prospects of maize/finger millet cultivation are pronounced in the form of yield increment, economic and efficient use of available resources, insurance against crop failure, and reduced insect, pest, and weed incidence. Although this cropping system has benefits, it exhibits limitations as well which are competition between crops, lack of suitable varieties, labor-intensive system, and soil-nutrient loss. As maize and finger millet are the main food crops in hilly terrain, it is urged to provide the focus and encouragement regarding their sustainable and modern approaches by developing and disseminating crop growing and management technologies.

Relay Cropping Bell Pepper and Tomato: Effects of Cropping Sequence and Transplanting Date

Vegetable growers in Florida face rising production costs, reduced crop value, and competition from foreign markets. Relay cropping is a variant of double cropping, where the second crop is planted into the first crop before the harvest is finished. This cropping system may be a potential solution to lower production costs per crop by sharing some inputs for two crops. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of cropping sequence and transplanting date of the secondary crop when relay cropping tomato and bell pepper. Two field experiments were conducted at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, FL, in 2018 and 2019. In the first experiment, tomato was grown as the primary crop and bell pepper was added as the secondary crop, with multiple transplanting dates (8 Aug., 23 Aug., 7 Sept., and 24 Sept.). The second experiment had the same setup but the reverse cropping sequence. Bell pepper yield as the secondary crop was reduced by 65% when grown with tomato as the primary crop compared with bell pepper planted alone. Transplanting date had no effect on bell pepper yield (P = 0.091). Tomato yield was unaffected by the presence of the secondary crop. In the second experiment, tomato yield as a secondary crop was 36% lower when grown with bell pepper as the primary crop compared with tomato crop alone (monocropped). However, tomato yield was significantly reduced by the presence of bell pepper only when tomato crop was planted within 30 to 45 days after planting bell pepper. Based on these results, we recommend relay cropping tomato as the secondary crop within 30 days of planting of bell pepper as the primary crop. However, we do not recommend relay cropping bell pepper as the secondary crop with tomato.

Impact of foliar spray of nutrients and seed treatment on protein uptake and protein yield of lathyrus (Lathyrus sativus L.) under relay cropping system

An experiment was carried out during the Rabi season of 2016, to study the impact of foliar spray of nutrients and seed treatment on protein uptake and protein yield of lathyrus (Lathyrus sativus L.) Under relay cropping system at the Agronomy Research Farm of IGKV, Raipur.The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design with twelve treatments replicated thrice. highest cost of cultivation, gross return, net return and B:C ratio was found in treatment F5: 0.5% NPK (19:19:19) spray at branching and 15 days after 1st spray (11570.50, 29492.64, 18618.14, 1.712 Rs.ha-1, respectively), where as in case of seed treatment S2: seed treatment with Sodium molybdate @ 0.5 g kg-1 seed gave the maximum cost of cultivation, gross return, net return and B:C ratio (11308.17, 26475.39, 15583.39, 1.431 Rs.ha-1 , respectively).

Management of Relay-cropped Strawberry and Eggplant to Maximize Yield and Economic Return

Strawberry growers face rising production costs combined with competition from foreign imports. Relay cropping vegetables with strawberries is a unique approach that can diversify income and reduce the risk associated with strawberry production. Planting vegetable transplants on the same bed before strawberry crop termination enables continued berry harvesting while the new vegetable transplants become established. Relay cropping techniques of strawberry with eggplants were evaluated during the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons in Balm, FL. The strawberry crop was planted in September, and eggplant was transplanted into the beds either as a sole crop or with strawberry plants. Two experiments were conducted to optimize the planting date of strawberries and the termination date of strawberries. The objective of the research was to examine the competitive relationship between strawberry and eggplant crops and to define the optimal planting date for the eggplant and termination date of strawberries to minimize the competitive interaction and maximize the yield of both crops. Strawberry yields were unaffected (P = 0.938) by relay cropping or by the planting date of the eggplant. Eggplants grown without strawberries had 27% to 32% higher yields (P = 0.004) compared with relay-cropped eggplants, and eggplant yield decreased with later planting dates (P < 0.001). A partial budget analysis showed that transplant dates of 4 and 18 Jan. for eggplants with strawberries resulted in increased profits of $7320 and $3461 per ha, respectively, over the baseline treatment of strawberries alone, but later planting dates resulted in an overall economic loss ($7800–$16,000/ha). Strawberry termination dates did not affect eggplant yields. In conclusion, relay cropping eggplants with strawberries resulted in no effect on strawberry yields, reduced eggplant yields, but increased overall profits when eggplant were transplanted in early to mid-January. Relay cropping of strawberries with eggplants in early February to early March is less profitable than a monocrop of strawberries.