INTER CROPPING AND SEQUENTIAL CROPPING IN POTATO

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Cropping system

Short duration and wide flexibility in planting and harvesting time in potato help in adjusting for various intensive cropping systems prevalent in the country.

There are some varieties that can give sizable yield in just 65 -70 days under assured irrigation and congenial night temperatures and these fit well in diversified cropping systems.

Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, jute, pulses and vegetables are some of the major crops in the potato growing regions. Potato based cropping systems involving these crops have been developed and evaluated. The important crop sequences involving potato are shown in Fig 1.

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Remunerative potato based cropping systems

Biharsharif (Bihar): Raising early potatoes as well as seed potatoes, multiple cropping has been practiced since olden times.

Sequential cropping system: Maize (Kharif)-early potato (Autumn)-late potato(Winter)-minor millet (summerMaize-potato-onion, maize-potato-tomato were more profitable than the 2 crop maize-wheat rotation.

Sesbania (green manure)-potato (early or seed crop)-wheat (preferably transplanted - Most profitable, because of the inclusion of the green-manure crop in the sequence.

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Wheat can be grown in sequence or as intercrop with potato.

Intercropping of wheat in between potato rows (wheat is sown in furrows after

earthing up to potato) is advisable.

Potato can fit in two-rice crops or rice - jute system in north-eastern plains.

With sugarcane, potato can fit in sequence with spring sugarcane or as

intercrop with autumn or ratoon sugarcane.

Intercropping involving crops like potato, onion, garlic, fennel, French been

etc. is also common.

An intensive crop rotation maize (kharif crop) - potato (autumn crop) - wheat

(spring crop) kharif maize - autumn potato - wheat (spring crop) green gram

(summer crop).

In this sequential system, kharif-maize-autumn potato could be sown/planted

at the optimum time.

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Green gram sown after wheat harvest often failed to form or mature pods at Ludhiana.

Maize and sorghum depressed the yield of the succeeding potato crop, whereas pearl millet did not depress it.

Performance of wheat after potato harvest could be improved by sowing in the standing potato crop

Green gram as intercrop in wheat increase the total productivity.

In Uttar Pradesh, sugarcane inter planted between potato rows in autumn resulted a little reduction in potato yield

Potato inter cropped between sugarcane gave extra yield of tubers without affecting then yield of sugarcane

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At Lucknow, Kufri Sindhuri gave higher tuber yield than Kufri Chandramukhi in intercropping system.

At Jalandhar, sugarcane (autumn) - potato (inter crop) - onion is remunerative with additional yields of potato and onion

In Sikkim, Potato is generally grown in the intensive cropping system. It is rotated mostly in one year rotation.

At higher elevation i.e. above 2500m MSL potato is generally mono cropped.

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Other common cropping patterns

Potato-Maize-Millet

Potato-Maize-Paddy

Potato-Maize-Pulses

Potato-Paddy

Potato-Pulses