Variety‐Specific Nutrient Management Influenced the Productivity and Profitability of a Rice‐Black‐Gram Cropping Sequence in the Coastal Lowland Ecosystem of Odisha, India

Abstract

A rice‐black‐gram‐cropping sequence‐based field experiment was conducted at the farmer's field of Niali, Cuttack, Odisha, India, from 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021, with a split‐plot design, where four rice varieties were assigned to main plots (viz., V 1 : CR 1009 Sub1, V 2 : CR 1018, V 3 : Pooja and V 4 : Upahar), and six nutrient management practices were assigned to subplots (viz., N 0 : Control, N 1 : 100% Recommended dose of fertilisers (RDF: 80–40–40 kg N, P 2 O 5 , K 2 O ha −1 ), N 2 : 50% RDF from chemical fertilisers + FYM @ 8 t ha −1 , N 3 : 50% RDF from chemical fertilisers + Sesbania green manuring @ 1.5 t ha −1 , N 4 : Rice Crop Manager (115.5–32.7–52.8–25.0 kg N, P 2 O 5 , K 2 O, ZnSO 4 ha −1  + FYM @ 3 t ha −1 ), N 5 : Real‐time). The highest system yield (7.82 t REY ha −1 ), system productivity (21.43 kg ha −1  day −1 ), system profitability (₹222.64 ha −1  day −1 ), system gross return (₹144,080 ha −1 ), net return (₹81,262 ha −1 ) and B:C ratio (2.27) were recorded in the Upahar rice‐based system during both seasons. Among the different nutrient management practices in both seasons, the Rice Crop Manager recommended that the Kharif rice‐black‐gram‐based cropping system perform best, since the total system yield, system productivity, system profitability, gross return, net return and B:C ratio were 8.77 t REY ha −1 , 24.02 kg ha −1  day −1 , ₹161,476 ha −1 , ₹93,219 ha −1 and 2.37, respectively. Therefore, the application of rice crop management‐based fertilisers may be recommended to improve the productivity and profitability of rice‐black‐gram‐based cropping systems.