RAJSHAHI, May 8 (BSS): Promotion of rice-wheat- mung bean cropping pattern in bed planting system could be the effective means of doubling their yields in the Barind tract.
Agricultural scientists and researchers said that on-farm research on the cropping pattern was conducted in different areas in the last couple of years and findings of those were seen very positive.
The yearly gross return was found as Tk 0.15 million against the expenditure of Tk 70,320 per hectare of land in the Barind area.
"Raised beds enable sowing at the optimum time providing a means of better matching crop growth to water supply," Dr Elias Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer of Regional Wheat Research Centre (RWRC) said here.
In the conventional system, the single largest constraint to wheat cultivation in the country is late planting in winter season as the delayed sowing reduced wheat yield due to its poor growth.
He, however, said bed planting might be an alternative for the region where wet farming is dominant. Bed planting has been found to improve water distribution, efficiency in fertilizer and pesticide use and reduction in weed infestation and crop lodging.
Some other salient features of the developed method included less use of irrigation, seed, fertilizer and pesticides and no disturbance by rats. The farmers could save 30 per cent irrigation water and 30 to 40 per cent seed and fertilizer, through this method.
Evidence proves that yields can easily be improved if the cropping pattern is introduced among the grassroots farmers.
Dr Elias observed that stepping up food production on per unit area using intensive cropping is required to feed the increasing population. Stressing the need for maintaining sound soil health he said rice may need to be grown under a different system in order to improve compatibility between monsoon rice and upland winter crops.
In addition to this, there has been a shift in economic importance toward the winter season crops over monsoon rice. Use of those practices - the successful production of rice on raised beds in northern Australia and in eastern Indonesia and high yielding irrigated wheat grown in areas of Mexico - has increased dramatically in the last decade.
