Performance of Rice-Wheat Cropping System under Different Methods of Farming System in Irrigated Condition of Bihar, India

Abstract

The present study was conducted during 2022-23 and 2023-24 at the Research Farm of Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur. The performance of a rice-wheat cropping system was evaluated under four production systems: P1 (Natural Farming), P2 (Organic farming), P3 (Conventional Practices), and P4 (Soil Test based practices). Results indicated that conventional and soil-test-based farming achieved higher productivity than organic and natural farming in both crops. Among the production systems, soil-test-based farming resulted in significantly higher rice grain yields (28.77 and 36.80 q/ha) and straw yields (38.23 and 48.25 q/ha) than natural farming (grain yields: 24.83 and 30.23 q/ha; straw yields: 33.83 and 42.61 q/ha) and organic farming (grain yields: 24.97 and 32.30 q/ha; straw yields: 32.55 and 43.74 q/ha) at harvest in 2022 and 2023, respectively. For wheat, soil-test-based farming resulted in numerically higher grain yields (35.71 and 32.74 q/ha) and straw yields (52.45 and 48.95 q/ha) than natural farming (grain yields: 20.08 and 12.63 q/ha; straw yields: 30.66 and 18.80 q/ha) and organic farming (grain yields: 24.55 and 21.75 q/ha; straw yields: 38.54 and 32.73 q/ha) at harvest in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Rice grain and straw yields improved slightly during the second year across all production systems, whereas wheat grain and straw yields decreased during the second year. The findings indicate the strong performance of conventional and soil-test-based farming for maximizing crop productivity under the irrigated conditions of Bihar, while highlighting the scope for further optimization of organic and natural farming systems.