Choice of varieties and organic-inorganic nutrient integrations in rainfed buckwheat can affect the performance of succeeding green gram grown on residual fertility

Abstract

Rainfed farming is a low-input agricultural practice that is vulnerable to environmental fluctuations. In this study, we tested a resilient low input cropping system of buckwheat and green gram under different integrated nutrient management schedules. Specifically, we investigated the effects of three buckwheat varieties and four nutrient management schedules on buckwheat and green gram grown yields on residual fertility. Our findings suggest that 50% organic substitution resulted in the highest buckwheat yield, while the highest yield of green gram was achieved with 100% and 50% organic nutrient substitution. The Shimla B-1 variety of buckwheat showed the highest yield, while the low-yielding VL Ugal-7 variety resulted in the highest yield of succeeding green gram. Despite the poor green gram yield obtained after the highest-yielding buckwheat variety, the Shimla B-1 variety resulted in the highest system yield which was 24.6% higher than the VL Ugal-7 due to higher income obtained from buckwheat. It was also found that integrating vermicompost and Azotobacter as a source of organic nutrients with inorganic schedules can maintain a positive nutrient balance in the system. Overall, this study highlights the potential of a resilient buckwheat-green gram cropping system for low-input rainfed farming situations, with implications for sustainable agriculture. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.