Assessment of intercropping indices and economics of cotton-based intercropping system

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif 2022 and 2023 at the Main Agricultural Research Station, Dharwad Karnataka to study the intercropping of buckwheat with Bt cotton under Northern Transition Zone of Karnataka. The experiment was laid out in randamized complete block design with 9 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments were as follows, T₁ - Bt cotton (90 × 60 cm) + buckwheat (1:1), T₂ - Bt cotton (90 × 60 cm) + buckwheat (1:2), T₃ - Bt cotton (120 × 60 cm) + buckwheat (1:3), T₄ - Paired row Bt cotton (60-90-60 cm) + buckwheat (2:2), T₅ - Paired row Bt cotton (60-120-60 cm) + buckwheat (2:3), T₆ - Bt cotton (90 × 60 cm) + green gram (1:1), T₇ - Sole Bt cotton (90 × 60 cm), T₈ - Sole buckwheat (30 × 10 cm) and T₉ - Sole green gram (30 × 10 cm). Results revealed that Bt cotton (90 × 60 cm) + buckwheat (1:2) (T₂) recorded significantly higher cotton equivalent yield (2829 kg ha^-1), land equivalent ratio (1.54), area time equivalent ratio (1.14), gross returns (178228 ₹ ha^-1) and net returns (104947 ₹ ha^-1).