Effect of tillage, planting method and residue management on energetics and economics of cowpea in the Indo-Gangetic plain of Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Field experiments were conducted in the research farm of Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi during Kharif (2010–2012) to evaluate the effect of tillage, planting method and residue management on energy relations and economics in vegetable cowpea production. Total energy input was found to be maximum in conventional tillage (CT) (17332 MJ/ha) followed by reduced tillage (RT) (16399 MJ/ha) and zero tillage (ZT) (14535 MJ/ha). The energy output under bed planting (BP) and residue incorporation (RI) was significantly higher by 19% and 10% over flat planting (FP) and residue removal (RR) treatments, respectively. The energy use efficiency was significantly highest in ZT (6.54) and lowest in CT (4.39). Tillage had a significant effect on energy productivity and highest energy productivity of 1.33 kg/MJ was obtained under ZT. The cost of cultivation in ZT and RT was lower by 34% and 8%, respectively than CT. Among the planting methods, the cost of cultivation was higher in bed planting (INR 26639/ha) as compared to flat planting (INR 25227/ha). Higher benefit cost (B: C) ratio was recorded in ZT (2.02) followed by RT (1.07) and CT (0.86). B: C ratio was also significantly higher under BP (1.42) and RI (1.40) as compared to FP (1.21) and RR (1.23). The study revealed that resource conservation technologies like zero tillage, bed planting and residue management can form a viable option in vegetable cowpea production system for attaining higher energy use efficiency and profitability.