Relative Yield, Profit and Water Productivity of Crops in IGNP Stage-I

The choice of an appropriate crop and cropping systems is essential for achieving
higher yield, profit and resource use efficiencies. Yield, returns and water productivity
are important factors for determining suitability of crops and cropping systems in hot
arid environment. A two-year (2012-13 and 2013-14) study was conducted in IGNP stage-I
command area to determine productivity, profitability and water productivity of different
crops and cropping systems. Yield, profit and water productivity varied markedly among
different crops and cropping systems. The economic yield of crops varied from 1.6 Mg
ha-1 to 4.2 Mg ha-1; and biomass yield varied from 5.8 Mg ha-1 to 10.1 Mg ha-1. The net
return varied from Rs. 31421 ha-1 to Rs. 213680 ha-1. The clusterbean had highest profit
followed by cotton, wheat, barley and Indian mustard. Clusterbean and wheat was the
most profitable crop of kharif and rabi season, respectively. Among the kharif season
crops, the clusterbean was 1.4-times more water productive than cotton, and among
rabi season crops, barley was 1.3- and 1.6-times more water productive than wheat and
Indian mustard, respectively. Cotton–wheat cropping sytem had highest yield followed
by cotton-barley, clusterbean-wheat, cotton-mustard, and clusterbean-mustard systems.
The clusterbean based cropping systems were more profitable and water use efficiecnt
than cotton based cropping systems.