Maize- Soybean Strip cropping with Integrated use

straw mulch with Biofortification of Zinc for

improving grain quality, productivity
and resource use efficiency .

Supervisor Submitted by
Dr. Rajeev E. Jeevana Sai
Assistant Professor Roll No: 12209833
Department of Agronomy
School of Agriculture
LOVELY PROFESSIONAL
UNIVERSITY
PUNJAB 144411
May 2023
INTRODUCTION
• Maize is the second most important cereal crop in the world in terms of
acreage and is called the ‘Queen of Cereals.

• India rank 4th in area and 7th in production, representing around 4% of the
world maize area and 2% of total production.

• In Punjab maize occupied 105.2 thousand hectares, with a production of

413.4 thousand tones. The average yield was 39.30 quintal per hectare
(15.90 (PAU Kharif 2023).

• Maize is less water demanding and gives higher yield per hectare. By
growing Maize farmers save 90% of water, 70% of power compared to
paddy.

• The multiple utilities of maize as a ‘food’, ‘fodder’ and ‘feed’ makes it

further more demand.
• Soybean is a protein rich (40%) oilseed crop with an oil content of 20%.
India is the 4th largest producer of soybeans in the world.

• India ranks fourth in area with 11.34 million hectares accounting for 9.41%
of the world area and fifth in production with 11.22 million tonnes
(International Grains Council 2022).

• In Punjab the production of Soybean 139.75 LMT (PAU Kharif 2023).

• In the 21 century, the major challenge of agriculture is to reconcile these two

needs: Increasing food production while lowering environmental pollution

• Intercropping has been called the “new green revolution” it has the potential
to raise land productivity and provide an sustainable intensification of
agriculture.

• Cereal crops intercropping with legumes are a popular option in

intercropping.
• The inclusion of legumes in cereal–legume intercropping helps to improve
the constraint of nitrogen limitation through biological nitrogen fixation
from the atmosphere.

• It suppresses weed growth secures food production by reducing risk and

maximizes utilization of labor and land.

• Zinc is one of the most important micronutrients in the production of many

crop plants such as rice, maize and soybean,

• Globally, over two billion people are facing hidden hunger (micronutrients
deficiency).

• Among different possible agricultural approaches to conquer the

malnutrition, the agronomic biofortification is top ranked approach to
improve the grain Fe and Zn contents.

• It is achieved through the application of micronutrient to crop foliage

directly or soil.
• In India although crop residues were abundant it is miss managed by burning
for timely sowing of the crops.

• Generally, straw burning occurs in a seasonal pattern, and its spatial

distribution is closely related to environmental pollution, farming activities
and soil quality (Yin et al., 2016).

• However, soil with higher soil carbon (C), and water-soluble carbohydrates
exhibits greater soil enzyme activity and thus would improve the soil
fertility.

• Increasing the soil organic matter (SOM) via residue return increased
nutrient availability and soil physical and biological properties.

• Management practices, such as straw mulching or in- corporation,

fertilization, irrigation, and tillage, have significant effects on total SOM and
soil enzymes ( Khan et al., 2019).
So, the present work on Maize - Soybean Strip cropping with Integrated use
straw mulch with Biofortification of Zinc for improving grain quality,
productivity and resource use efficiency. will be conducted with the following
objectives.

1. Effect of strip cropping, straw management and zinc biofortification on growth,

yield and yield attributes of maize + soybean intercropping.
2. To evaluate the Wheat straw management (WSM), Rice straw management (RSM),
Mustard straw management (MSM) on the soil moisture content: 0-20 cm, 20-40
cm.
3. To find out soil nutrient availability (N, P, K) as affected by straw management: 0-
20 cm, 20-40 cm.
4. To assess the either sole and or combined influence of Zn content of maize grains
& soybean grains.
5. To find out the economic feasibility of different configuration of intercropping
system of maize + soybean.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The relevant work done on the research project “Maize- Soybean Strip cropping with
Integrated use straw mulch with Biofortification of Zinc for improving grain quality,
productivity and resource use efficiency” is being reviewed under the following sub headings.

1.1 Intercropping systems

1.2 Advantages of intercropping
1.3 Maize- legume intercropping
1.4 Effect of intercropping maize and soybean
1.5 Effect of crop residues on maize and soybean intercropping
1.6 Effect of Zinc foliar and soil application on maize
1.7 Effect of Zinc foliar and soil application on soybean
1.8 Effect of intercropping on land equivalent ratio (LER)
1.9 Economics of intercropping system

1.1 Intercropping systems :

Tsubo et al., (2018) measured photo synthetically active radiation above and beneath a maize-
bean intercrop canopy in both north-south and east-west rows. They observed that the
intercropping was equivalent in growth efficiency of maize to the sole cropping whereas, beans
had greater radiation use efficiency in intercropping than in sole cropping. This might explain
the intercrop yield advantage.
1.2 Advantages of intercropping :

Kariaga et al., (2014) found that intercropping controls soil erosion by preventing rain drops
from hitting the bare soil where they tend to seal surface pores. Prevent water from entering the
soil and increase surface erosion. In maize-cowpea intercropping. cowpea acts as the best cover
crop and reduces soil erosion

1.3 Maize- legume intercropping :

Jamshidi et al., (2013) revealed that increasing the maize density from 7.5 to 9 plants/m -2
reduced the weed biomass by 21.5%. Furthermore, cowpea acted as a living mulch, reducing
weed biomass by up to 45.5% and 39.6% when intercropped with maize at a density of 7.5 and
9 plants/m-2, respectively. Under weed-free conditions, an increase in maize density from 7.5
and 9 plants/m-2 resulted in maize grain yield increasing from 8.92 to 9.40 t ha -1; however, the
addition of cowpea only increased the maize grain yield by about 4.2%, on average, under these
conditions. By contrast, under weed-infested conditions, there was a large decrease in maize
grain yield (up to 32%), but intercropping with cowpea reduced this to only a 16% decrease.
1.4 Effect of intercropping maize and soybean :

Rahimy et al., (2022) reported the performance of a maize-soybean intercropping and sole
cropping system. The treatments were sole maize, sole soybean, 50% maize + 50% soybean
(50:50), 75% maize + 25% soybean (75:25), and 25% maize + 75% soybean (25:75%). The
yield obtained in maize: soybean percentage ratios of 50:50, 75:25 and 25:75 was 6674.5,
5974 and 5076.75 kg/ha, respectively.

1.5 Effect of crop residues on maize and soybean intercropping :

Anwar et al., (2022) reported that application of 10 kg of ZnSO 4 through soil produced
maximum grains (554 cob-1), 1000-grain weight 372.4(g), biological yield (31.02 t ha -1) as
well as grain yield 5772.6 kg ha-1 as compared with foliar application of 0.1% ZnSO 4
minimum grains (528 cob-1), 1000-grain weight 330.7 (g), biological yield (25.32 t ha -1) as
well as grain yield (4742.02 kg ha-1).
1.6 Effect of Zinc foliar and soil application on maize :

Kirtika et al., (2022) showed that maize grain production and Zn content increased in response
to Zn application in the soil or on the leaves. The plots that received 30 kg of Zn ha -1 produced
the maximum grain yield (7.76 t ha -1), which is comparable to the 7.64 t ha -1 grain yield from
plots that received 20 kg of Zn ha -1 increase over control is 55% and 51.8%, respectively. Effect
of Zn application on zinc content of maize grain the highest Zn content was found in treatments
with a 0.1% foliar application of Zn with NPK (31.8 mg kg -1) in the case of control, the minimal
levels were 14.3 mg kg-1.

1.7 Effect of Zinc foliar and soil application on soybean :

Gowthami et al., (2018) reported that the treatment containing zinc sulphate@1 percent at 30
and 60 DAS recorded higher SCMR (51.67) and total chlorophyll content (1.99 mg g -1) which
was 29.17 per cent higher potassium nitrate@ 2%(40.0) and 20.6 per cent higher over control
(1.65 mg g) respectively.
1.8 Effect of intercropping on land equivalent ratio (LER) :
Ijoyah et al., (2013) observed that intercropping soybean with maize significantly reduced
soybean yield by 43.8 % and 55.6 % respectively. Maize yield was not significantly affected
when intercropped with soybean. Total intercrop yield was greater than the sole crop yields.
Intercropping soybean and maize gave land equivalent ratio (LER) values of 1.40 and 1.29
respectively. Indicating that higher productivity per unit area was achieved by growing the two
crops together than by growing them separately. With these LER values, 28.6 % and 22.5% of
lands were saved respectively, which could be used for other agricultural purposes. Land
equivalent coefficient values exceeded 0.25, indicating yield advantage of the intercropping
system. Competitive pressure of component crops was low, indicating that both crops are
complementary and suitable in mixture.

1.9 Economics of intercropping system :

Ullah et al., (2017) reported that the effect of planting patterns and intercropping of legumes in
maize was studied at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad on a
sandy clay loam soil during autumn 2016. The results revealed that all intercropping systems
gave substantially higher net income over mono-cropping with higher net income (Rs.
56043.50/ha) in case of maize + soybean followed by sole crop of maize (Rs. 52653.50t/ha).
MATERIAL AND METHODS

Name of the experiment- “Maize- Soybean Strip cropping with Integrated use
straw mulch with Biofortification of Zinc for improving grain quality,
productivity and resource use”.

Location- The field study will be located at research farm of Department of

Agronomy, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
during Kharif season 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. It is located between Sutlej and
Bias River. The site has an average elevation of 252 meters above sea level. The
LPU comes under the transgangatic agroclimatic zone and North plain sub-
humid agro-ecological zone.

Climate
Phagwara comes under sub-tropical type of climate and temperature variations in
all months. The temperature varies from 22-470C. The temperature during
summer season touches 470C and during winter near 5-250C. The average
annual rainfall is 816 mm. The geographical location of experimental farm is
Details of treatments:

T1 : Sole soybean (30 cm apart)

T2 : Sole maize (60 cm apart)

T3 : Soybean + maize (2:2) – line sown

T4 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Wheat straw 5t/ha + foliar spray of 0.5 % ZnSO 4

T5 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Rice straw 5t/ha + foliar spray of 0.7 % ZnSO 4

T6 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Mustard straw 5t/ha + foliar spray of 0.9 % ZnSO 4

T7 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Soil supplementation of 20 kg ha -1 of ZnSO4

T8 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Soil supplementation of 22 kg ha -1 of ZnSO4

T9 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Soil supplementation of 25 kg ha -1 of ZnSO4

T10 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Soil supplementation of 15 kg ha -1 of ZnSO4 + foliar spray of 0.4 % ZnSO4

T11 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Soil supplementation of 17 kg ha -1 of ZnSO4 + foliar spray of 0.3 % ZnSO4

T12 : Strip cropping (2:2) + Soil supplementation of 18 kg ha -1 of ZnSO4 + foliar spray of 0.2 % ZnSO4

RDF for Maize : 80 kg N : 60 kg P2O5 : 20 kg K 2O

RDF for Soybean : 20 kg : 60 kg P2O5 : 20 kg K 2O
Zinc Recommended dose : Soil application of ZnSO 4 20 kg/ha or foliar spray of ZnSO4 0.5 %
Details of field operations for Experiment

Experimental design : Randomized Block design

Number of treatment : 12
Number of replication : 03
Total number of plots : 36
Main irrigation channel : 1.0 m
Sub irrigation channel : 0.5 m
Width of bund : 0.3 m
Plot size : 6 m x 5 m = 30 m 2
Length of experimental field : 60.0 m 2
Width of experimental field : 19 m 2
Gross experimental area : 1140.0 m 2
Net experimental area : 1036.8 m 2
Season : Kharif - 2023
Row to Row & Plant to Plant spacing : Soybean Maize
Sole cropping system : 45 cm x 5 cm 60 cm x 25 cm
Inter-copping : 30 cm x 5 cm 30 cm x 25 cm
Strip cropping : 40 cm x 5 cm 120 cm x 25 cm
Variety : Soyabean - SL- 958
: Maize - PMH - 1
Seed rate : Soyabean – 80 kg/ha
: Maize - 20 kg/ha
PLAN OF LAYOUT OF EXPERIMENTAL FIELD
BIO-METRIC OBSERVATIONS:
Soybean Maize
A. Pre-Harvest Observations Crop Studies A. Pre-Harvest Observations Crop Studies
 Plant height (cm) at 30, 60, 90 DAS and at  Plant height (cm) at 30, 60, 90 DAS and at harvest
harvest  Dry matter accumulation plant -1(g) at 30,40,60 DAS
 Dry matter accumulation plant -1(g) at 30,40,60 and at harvest
DAS and at harvest  Number of leaves plant-1 at 30,40,60 DAS and at
 Number of leaves plant-1 at 30,40,60 DAS and harvest
at harvest  Chlorophyll content (SAPD) at 60DAS
 Chlorophyll content (SAPD) at 60DAS
 Number of branches plant-1

B. Post harvest observations recorded as B. Post harvest observations recorded as follows

follows Yield and its attributes
Yield and its attributes  Number of cobs plant-1
 Number of pods plant-1  Number of Kernels cob-1
 Number of seed pod-1  Number of rows cob-1
 Number of seed plant-1  Number of grains row-1
 Seed index (g) 100 Grain weight  Seed index (g) 100 Grain weight
 Seed yield (kg ha-1)  Seed yield (kg ha-1)
 Straw yield (kg ha-1)  Stover yield (kg ha-1)
 Harvest index (%)  Harvest index (%)
C. Quality parameters

 Zinc content in grains, pods, straw (mg kg -1) at harvest

 Soil nutrient availability (NPK): 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm
 Nutrient uptake
 Soil moisture content (SMC%): 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm

D. Efficiency of intercropping system

• Land equivalent ration (LER)

• Relative crowding coefficient (RCC)
• Competitive ratio (CR)
• Area time equivalent ratio (ATER)
• System yield ( kg ha-1)
• Soybean equivalent yield (SEY)
• Maize equivalent yield (MEY)
• Production efficiency (PE) ( kg ha-1 day-1)
Soil analysis

• Available N,P, and K content in soil ( kg ha -1)

Economic Studies

• Cost of Cultivation
• Net Return
• Gross Return
• B:C Ratio

Soil study (before experiment)

• EC ( electrical conductivity of soil)

• pH of soil
• O.M (organic matter % in soil)
REFRENCES

Anwar, Zunaira, B., Zyma & Hafeez. (2022). Biofortification of Maize with Zinc and Iron not
only Enhances Crop Growth but also Improves Grain Quality. Asian Journal & Biology. 20
(2)102-079.

Gowthami, P.R., Ram, R., Mohammad, K., Ahamed, L. (2018). Effect of foliar application of
potassium, boron and zinc on quality and seed yield in soybean. Journal of Agricultural
Biotechnology and Sustanable Development. 6 (1)42-144.

Ijoyah, M.O., Ogar, A.O. (2013). Soybean-maize intercropping on yield and system productivity
in Makurdi, Central Nigeria. Scientific Journal of Crop Science. 2 (4) 49-55.

Jamshidi, K. (2013). Effect of cowpea (Vigna ungiculata) intercropping on weed biomass and
maize (Zea mays) yield. New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultura Science. 41(4) 180-188.

Kariaga, B.M. (2014). Intercropping maize with cowpeas and beans for soil and water
management in western Kenya. Conserving Soil and Water for Society. 1-5.

Kirtika,S., Prajapat,A., Delvadiya, I.R. (2022). Biofortification of maize grain with zinc by using
fertilizing approach. Pharma Innovation. 11(6): 950-955.
Rahimi Moghaddam, S. Deihimfard, R., Azizi, K. (2022). Increased heat stress risk for maize in
arid-based climates as affected by climate change: threats and solutions. International Journal
Biometeorology. 66, 13(65) 13-78.

Tsubo, M. and Walker, S. (2018). A model of radiation interception and use by maize bean
intercrop canopy. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 110 (8)203-215.

Ullah, N., Khan, Arif, Muhammad, Mohammad & Khan, Munir, Iqbal. (2017). Effect of seed
priming on growth parameters of soybean. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 42. 2803-2812.