Identifying crops and cropping systems with greater production stability in water-deficit environments
1988
Singh, R.P. | Reddy, G.S.
Water-deficit environments are unfavorable for the growth and development of rainfed crops, and often produce low and unstable yields. The effective cropping season in the rainy season is restricted by both rainfall quantity and distribution, thereby setting limits on choice of crops, cultivars, and cropping systems. For postrainy-season crops grown on conserved soil moisture, it is the moisture storage at sowing time that determines the choice of crops and cultivars. There is a need to characterize crop growth environments in the arid and semi-arid tropics: rainfall pattern; soil type, depth, moisture-storage capacity, and moisture-release characteristics; and temperature regime. Stability of productivity at a reasonable economic level should be the objective in improving the traditional cropping systems. Under dryland situations, intercropping systems have proved to be more stable than either sole-crop or sequential-crop systems. Crops, cultivars, and cropping systems should be selected so that their growth characteristics fit into the period of moisture availability.
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