High yields of mustard-rapeseed through System of Crop Intensification (SCI)

Abstract

System of Crop Intensification (SCIJ aims to achieve higher production with less expenditure on land, labor, capital and water through simple changes in crop management practices. SCI practices help farmers to unlock the latent potential that are inherent in the crops and the soil biota. SCI in Mustard-Rapeseed involves very low seed rates of L20 to 600 g/ha; sowing of primed seeds in 20-60 m2 nursery and line transplanting 8 to 1,2 day old seedlings fhaving 3 to 4 leavesJ in a wider square grid of 30 to 75 cm depending on the varietal duration. This is followed by inter cultivation operations at fortnightly intervals using a cycle wheel hoe. Liquid organic manures and botanical preparations are used as inputs. The technique gives average yields of 2.5MT/ha using organic inputs in farmer's fields as compared to the national average of 1.1 MT/ha and global average of 2.06 MT/ha. Since 2009 in the Eastern Indian state of Bihar thousands of farmers have benefitted from SCI using farmer selected varieties of Karan Rai [Brassrca carinata)by 50o/o increase in yields and93o/o increase in income. It has also been successftrlly demonstrated in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal in the last 2 years; with the highest recorded yield of 5.73 MT /ha in Umaria district, of Madhya Pradesh. SCI practices have been successfully demonstrated with different medium to long duration Brqssica varieties (B carinata, B juncea and B rapa) having crop cycles of 120-150 days. The technique gives higher yields while significantly reducing input costs by half, through simple agronomic practices without involving change in seeds through hybridisation or genetic modification and resorting to high cost inputs.