This document discusses options for increasing cropping intensity in Ramanathapuram District by including short-season crops during fallow periods after rice cultivation. It recommends pulses like blackgram, greengram, and cowpea, as well as sesame and ragi as suitable intercrops. Cotton, groundnut, and green fodder crops are also proposed. The document provides details on suitable varieties and cultivation practices for different intercrops to overcome challenges like water availability and changing soil conditions. It emphasizes the benefits of intensified farming systems for improving incomes and soil health.

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Rice Follow Crops Cultivation
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P. ARUNACHALAM
ICAR – KVK, TNAU
Ramanathapuram

2. Challenges
• Water Availability
• Soil problems
• Ground water
• Changing Farmers attitude
• Famers aptitude – technical know-how
• Animals

3. 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Sugarcane
Banana
Rice
Chillies
Cotton
Maize
Groundnut
Sorghum
Bajra
Ragi
Small millets
Pulses
Seasame
Water requirement (mm)

4. Possibility?

6. Strength
• Short duration crops
• Village Tanks
• Farm Ponds
• Manpower
• Will of Farmers
• Encouragement of Department

7. Farming system may be intensification at
Ramanathapuram District
• Inclusion of a short-season crop during the
fallow period.
– Pulses : Blackgram, Greengram, Cowpea
– Gingelly
– Ragi
• Summer-dry crops:
– Cotton
– Groundnut
• Other crops
– Green fodder – Mini payiru, fodder cumbu
– Green Manure – kolinji,

8. Inclusion of a short-season crop during
the fallow period.
• Rice-fallow cropland areas are those areas where
rice is grown during the kharif growing season
(June–October), followed by a fallow during
the rabi season (November–February).
• Suitable for a short -season (≤3 months), low water-
consuming grain legumes such as black gram, green
gram, cowpea…
• Intensification (double-cropping) can improve
smallholder farmer’s incomes and soil health via
rich nitrogen-fixation legume crops as well as
address food security

9. Options
• Water use
• Early establishment
• Yield enhancement
• Drought mitigation

11. Water Use

13. Water Use

15. Early Establishment
• Biofertilzer
• Micronutrient application
• Weed management

16. Pulses
• Short duration varieties
• Weed management
• Foliar nutrient application
or Pulse wonder
• YMV

18. Groundnut

19. COTTON
• Compact, short duration
– CO 17
– Yugank
• Rainfed /Summer adapted
– SVPR 2
– SVPR 5
– SVPR 6
– K 12

20. Cotton
• Mix 12.5 kg of micronutrient mixture
• In Mg deficient areas apply MgSo4 @ 20 kg/ha basally.
• When reddening occurs in leaves apply 5% MgSO4, Urea
(1.0%) and ZnSO4 (0.10%) as foliar spray on 50th and 80th
day to correct this malady.
• Nip the terminal portion of the main stem: terminal
portion of 15th node (75 to 80 DAS) for less than 160 days
duration and duration beyond the 20th node (85 - 90
DAS).
• Foliar application of
2% DAP + 1% KCl
improve kapas yield.

21. Gingelly
Soil
• Well drained, medium textured soil
• High clay and irrigation of saline water not preferred
MN mixture
• Apply TNAU MN mixture @ 7.5 kg /ha for rainfed sesame
– Add 5 kg of Manganese sulphate per hectare
– ZnSO4 Foliar application 0.5% (or) soil application of 10
kg/ha.
• Thin out the seedlings to a spacing of 15 cm between the plants
on the 15th day of sowing and 30 cm on 30th day of sowing.
• Enriched manure, by mixing P fertilizer with 750 kg FYM or
compost or vermicompost kept for 40-45 day. After 45 day apply
as a basal dose to enhance P availability and crop productivity.

22. Millets

23. Drought Mitigation

24. Increasing Cropping Intensity by
Intercropping in cotton, chillies, Coconut

25. • Green Manure
• Fodder

26. THANK YOU