Cropping System

   Cropping pattern is the yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow on a given area. Cropping system comprises all cropping patterns grown on the farm and their interaction with farm resources, other household enterprises and the physical, biological, technological and sociological factors or environments".

      A form of multiple cropping in which paddy is grown in sequence on the same field, with the succeeding crop planted after the harvest of the preceding crop.

Growing of two or more varieties of paddy simultaneously and intermingled without row arrangements, where there is significant amount of intercrop competition.

    A system of cultivation in which a paddy is grown over a large area of land often for several years.

    One of the important methods of intensive cropping, allowing the stubbles of paddy crop to strike again after harvesting and to raise another crop.

    The second crop is planted into an established stand of a main crop. The second crop develops fully after the main crop is harvested.

   In certain areas like Kuttanad, wild rice has become a menace in recent years. The following agronomic practices can successfully control the infestation of wild rice.

Rice (Aug.-Jan) – pulses/sesame/maize (Jan.-April)
Rice (June-Sep.) - rice (Oct.-Jan.) - pulses / gingelly/green manure (Feb.-May)
Rice (June-Sep.) - rice (Dec.-March)
Rice (June-Sep.) - green manure (Oct.-Nov.) - rice (Dec.-March)
Rice (Aug.-Jan.) - cotton (Feb.-June)
Rice (Oct.-Jan.) - pearl millet/vegetables/sesame/ pulses/groundnut (Feb.-May)
Rice (April-Aug.) - rice (Sep.-March) – fallow

Rice (Aug.-Jan.) - rice (Jan.-April.) - groundnut (April-June)
Rice (Aug.-Nov.)-rice (Dec.-March) - rice(Mar-July)
Rice/vegetables/marigold (June-Oct.) - maize (Oct.-Jan.) - pulses (Feb.-May)
Rice (April-Aug.) - groundnut (Sep.-Dec.) - vegetables / gingelly (Jan.-March)
Rice (Aug.-Jan.) - groundnut (Feb.-April) - sesame/ pulses/maize (April - June)
Rice (Aug.-Jan.) - cotton (Feb.-June)/gingelly (Feb.- May)
Rice (June-Oct.) - ragi / groundnut / gingelly (Nov.- Feb.)
Rice (April-Aug.) - rice (Sep.-Jan.) - fodder sorghum (Jan.-March)
Rice (Oct.-Feb.) - pulses (Feb.-May)

Rice (Aug.-Jan.) - rice (Jan.-April)
Rice (Aug.-Jan) - maize (Jan.-April)
Rice/Vegetables/watermelon (Aug.-Jan.)- groundnut/ gingelly /pulses(Feb.-May)
Rice (June-Sep.)-ragi (Sep-Dec.)-pulses (Jan.-Apr)
Rice (July-Nov.) - groundnut / ragi (Dec.-March) - fallow
Rice (Sep.-Jan.) - cotton (Feb.-Aug.)
Rice (Sep.-Jan.) - green manure (Feb.-April)
Rice (Sep.-Dec.) - senna* (Jan.-March)
Rice (June-Sep.) - chillies (Oct.-Feb.)

Rainfed areas

Upland rice/millets / pulses / groundnut / cotton / chillies (Sep.-Feb.)
Dry rice (June-Aug.) - pulses / vegetables / gingelly (Sept.-Jan.)
Rice (July-Nov.)

• Coat dry seeds with 20% calcium peroxide using 4% PVA solution as an adhesive and then broadcast in the field with 10-15 cm column of standing water.

• Maintain the water level for 10-12 days to prevent germination of wild rice.

• Drain the field and apply N and K fertilizer as per recommendation for rapid growth of the rice seedlings.

• Growing of a mixture of autumn and winter varieties of rice in 3:1 ratio in Tamil Nadu (known as udo) is very much in practice.
• This system has a built-in advantage of low cost of cultivation as it eliminates of cost of land preparation for planting winter crop.
• However, under normal conditions it has created problems in performing agricultural operations like harvesting, deciding fertilizer doses etc.

   Tungabhadra project area of Karnataka is dominated by rice-rice mono-cropping system

     Rice -based cropping systems in the southern transitional zone of Karnataka are as follows:
          Rice-rice
          Rice-groundnut
          Rice-pulses
          Rice-fallow
          Rice-vegetables
          Rice-maize

    Rice ratoon cropping system offer considerable potential for increasing rice production and utilizing seasonally idle land and labour as well as residual moisture in the hilly region of Karnataka. The ratoon crop yield ranged from 76 to 350 % of the main crop yields. The ratoon crop had 24% shorter growth duration and 59 % higher mean yield than the main crop.

• Inton and I.E.T - 7191 varieties are suitable for ratooning.
• Go for ratooning only good main crop was harvested.
• Harvest the crop 8-10 cm above ground level and after harvesting leave the land 8-10 days for drying

• Take up planking (hodta) 15 days after irrigation.
• At this stage top dress 50 kg Nitrogen through any source.
• Take up plant protection measures similar to that of main crop.
• Ratoon crop will be ready for harvest at 135 days. We can obtain 25 q yield per hectare.

Intercropping system :

Cowpea may be raised as an intercrop in dry seeded low land (semi-dry) rice by sowing 12.5 kg seed/ha along with rice to serve as a source of green manure. When the rice field gets submerged with the onset of southwest monsoon, cowpea at the age of about six weeks and at active vegetative stage decays and gets self-incorporated in the soil adding substantial quantity of green manure. Such a system of concurrent growing of cowpea also reduces weed pressure in semi-dry rice.

Mixed varietal cropping system

• Growing of a mixture of autumn and winter varieties of rice in 3:1 ratio in Kerala (called as koottumundkan) is very much in practice.
• This system has a built-in advantage of low cost of cultivation as it eliminates of cost of land preparation for planting winter crop.
• However, under normal conditions it has created problems in performing agricultural operations like harvesting, deciding fertilizer doses etc.

RelayCropping

Relay Cropping was done where seeds of pulses singly or in mixtures were broadcasted in standing paddy field 21 days before the harvesting of rice, after draining out of standing water. After the harvesting of main paddy crop, the seeds broadcasted in the standing paddy crop continues to grow till the harvesting by utilizing residual moisture and residual nutrients .The seed of succeeding crops like lentil, gram, pea, etc. is sown broadcast in maturing rice crop. This practice saves time; money (to be spent on land preparation etc.) utilizes residual fertility. This practice is common in both upland and lowland rice culture.