Influence of Tillage Systems and Cereals–Legume Mixture on Fodder Yield, Quality and Net Returns under Rainfed Conditions

Livestock development in rainfed areas is slower due to the inadequate supply of nutritious fodder. Mono-cropping systems also have a negative impact on forage yield and nutrition as cereals are deficient in protein. Hence, there is a dire need to grow cereals with legumes to improve forage yield and quality. Therefore, a two-year field study was undertaken to evaluate winter cereal–legume forage and their mixtures viz. oats (cv. PD 2 -LV 65 ), barley (Jau-86) and one legume viz. vetch (cv. Languedock) under different tillage systems viz. conventional tillage (moldboard plow+4-cultivation with tines) and conservation tillage (3-cultivation with tines). Crops were grown in pure stands as well as in mixtures with a 70:30 seeding ratio. The results revealed that the conventional tillage system performed better in terms of numbers of tillers/branches, leaf-to-stem ratio and green fodder yield than the conservation tillage system. However, the conventional and conservation tillage systems did not show a significant difference in terms of crude protein, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber. In the pure stands and cereal–legume mixtures, the oat–vetch mixture performed better in terms of plant height, leaf-to-stem ratio and green fodder yield. The maximum crude protein content was observed in the oat–vetch mixture, while the maximum acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber were observed in the pure oat stands. In competitive indices, the land-equivalent ratio and competitive ratio showed the advantage of intercropping. In actual yield loss, results showed the positive value of barley and oats in mixtures, which reflects the advantage of intercropping in the rainfed areas. The economic analysis showed a greater net benefit from the conventional tillage than the conservation tillage system under rainfed conditions. On the basis of this investigation, an oat–vetch mixture and the conventional tillage system are recommended for higher tonnage of nutritious fodder in rainfed areas.