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Design of cropping systems to achieve nutritional goals in dry farming

R.P. Singh and C.K. Ramanathan Chetty

All-India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India

Abstract
The nutritional goals
Cropping systems for drylands and their production potential
Total nutrients supplied through cropping systems
Nutritive value of the proteins of some foodstuffs
Conclusion

Discussion

Abstract

During the past three decades India has made rapid strides with regard to food-grain production, from about 50 million tonnes in 1950/51 to 132 million tonnes in 1980/81. The increase in irrigated area, from 27 million hectares to 60 million hectares, on the one hand, and introduction and development of high yielding varieties and hybrids of cereals, on the other, contributed to this increase. However, the production of pulses and oilseeds remained almost static during this period. Despite the fact that rainfed lands in India contribute to more than 90 per cent of the total production of pulses and oilseeds, the dryland farmers inhabiting these lands, continue to be on the low plane of calorie and protein nutrition.

Research results from the Dryland Agricultural Research Project (All-India Coordinated Research Project for Dry/and Agriculture) show that through intercrop and double crop systems, production of pulses and oilseeds can be increased without unduly sacrificing the yields of cereals and millets. Cropping systems are now available that can meet the nutritional goals {about 10,000 calories per day for an average Indian family of five members) in dry farming areas.

Among the cereal based intercropping systems, maize + soybean supplies the highest calories and other nutrients on a per hectare basis. However, the sorghum + pigeon-pea (2:1 row ratio) system is more stab/e over the seasons and environments and, hence, preferable. Among sequential cropping systems. the sorghum-chick-pea system holds promise of providing better nutritional standards. From the point of view of biological value and protein efficiency ratio, the rice-chick-pea sequence cropping system holds the greatest promise.

Drylands in India contribute about 75 per cent of the cultivated acreage. Even after the full irrigation potential of the county is achieved in due course, more than 50 per cent of the acreage will continue to be rain-fed. Rain-fed lands will, therefore, remain the major source for the supply of millets, pulses, and oilseeds to the growing population. Currently, these lands contribute to 80 per cent of the total production of millets and more than 90 per cent of total production of pulses and oilseeds in the country

In India, as in many Asian and African countries, the nutritional problem is one of undernutrition rather than malnutrition. It is inadequate food intake, coupled with the predominance of cereals/millets in the diet, that lead to undernutrition. Several reasons are given for the inadequate consumption of food by several population subgroups in India. Of these, lack of purchasing power, low per capita food production and availability, and large deficits in production of pulses and oilseeds that are rich sources of calories, proteins and fats, are important. Milk and meat, known for their high calorie, protein and fat contents, besides being costly, are in short supply.

Increasing and stabilizing the production of cereals/millets on the one hand, and introducing more pulses and oilseeds in the cropping systems, on the other, will go a long way towards meeting the nutritional goals of dry farming. Concerted research efforts in the last decade 11970-1980), by multidisciplinary teams engaged in dry farming research at 23 regional research stations in the country, have led to the evolution of cropping systems that hold promise, not only for high productivity, but for meeting the nutritional goals of the dry regions as well.

The nutritional goals

Nutritional goals are better appreciated on a family basis than a regional one. A farmer's family, consisting of an adult male, an adult female, an adolescent boy or a girl and two children, require a daily average of 10,600 calories, 340 9 protein, 5.0 9 calcium, and 110 mg iron (see TABLE 1. Nutritional Requirement per Day of an Average Farmer's Family). On a body-weight basis children require twice as much protein, calcium, and iron as do adults.

Cropping systems for drylands and their production potential

Cereal-based Systems

Sorghum, pearl millet, and finger millet are the major millets grown in dry regions. In regions of Telengana, Marathwada, Vidarbha, the Malwa plateau and parts of Gujarat - areas of more than 800 mm rainfall - the intercrop system of sorghum + pigeon-pea (2:1) has shown promise, with a production potential of 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) of sorghum grains and 0.6 to 0.8 t/ha of pigeon-pea grains (table 2), against a sole crop of either sorghum (2.5 t/ha) or pigeon-pea (0.8 t/ha). In the black soil regions of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh where the rainfall is more than 1,000 mm/annum, the double crop system with sorghum, followed by chick-peas, has been found to do exceedingly well. The system is capable of giving around 3.0 to 3.5 t/ha of total productivity, in terms of grains (see TABLE 2. Sorghum-based Cropping Systems for Drylands and Their Production Potential in a Normal Season).

In parts of Telengana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and south Tamilnadu, which have relatively light soils, the pearl millet + pigeon-pea intercrop system has given a yield potential of 1.2 to 1.5 t/ha of pearl millet grains, and 0.6 to 0.8 t/ha of pigeon-pea grains, against a sole crop of pearl millet (2.0 t/ha). In the Jodhpur and Hissar regions, which have sierozem soils, with an annual rainfall of 350 to 400 mm, the pearl millet + green gram intercrop system has proved to be best from the point of view of total productivity per unit area (see TABLE 3. Pearl Millet-based Cropping Systems for Drylands and Their Production Potential in a Normal Season).

In seasons of higher rainfall (> 500 mm) with an extended rainy season, the double crop system of pearl millet (BJ-104) followed by mustard (T. 59) can pay rich dividends in areas like Jodhpur and Hissar. The system is capable of giving a total productivity of about 3 t/ha, of which one-third is contributed by mustard, an oilseed crop (table 3).

Yet another intercrop system, having finger millet as the principal crop and soybean as the companion crop, is emerging as a potentially useful system in the Bangalore and Ranchi regions (table 4).

TABLE 4. Finger Millet-based Cropping Systems for Drylands and Their Production Potential in a Normal Season

Maize-based cropping systems are quite popular in regions like Bangalore, Akola, Udaipur, Varanasi, Indore, Dehra Dun, Jammu, and Hoshiarpur. Intercrop systems of maize + pigeon-pea, maize + soybean and maize + green gram have exhibited distinct superiority in terms of total productivity over the other systems tried. Of these, a maize + soybean intercrop system gave the highest productivity, 2.0 to 2.2 t/ha of maize grains and 1.0 to 1.2 t/ha of soybean (table 5). Even productivity values of 3.0 to 4.0 t/ha of maize have been obtained in good rainfall years. Maize-wheat and maize-mustard double crop systems have shown great promise in the Hoshiarpur, Dehra Dun, and Udaipur regions, with a production potential of 2.5 t/ha of maize, and 2.0 t/ha of wheat in Dehra Dun, and 1.0 to 1.2 t/ha of mustard in Udaipur (see TABLE 5. Maize-based Cropping Systems for Drylands and Their Production Potential in a Normal Season).

Paddy-chick-pea, paddy-finger millet and paddy-wheat double crop systems are finding favour with the dryland farmers of Dehra Dun, Varanasi, Rewa, Bhubaneswar, and Ranchi. The paddy-wheat double crop system has given, on average, 2.5 t/ha of paddy and 2.0 t/ha of wheat grains at Dehra Dun (TABLE 6. Paddy-based Cropping Systems for Drylands and Their Production Potential in a Normal Season).

Pulse-based Cropping System

In areas like Anantapur and Akola, pigeon-pea forms the principal component of the intercrop system, with groundnut as the companion crop. In the Bangalore and Bhubaneswar regions, finger millet (transplanted) forms a good companion crop to the pigeon-pea, the yield of finger millet being obtained as a bonus (see TABLE 7. Pulse-based Cropping Systems for Drylands and Their Production Potential in a Normal Season). Among double crop systems, green gram-safflower, cow-pea-finger millet/maize, black gram-rabi sorghum systems have shown great promise, cow-pea as the principal crop being quite promising in the Bangalore region (table 7).

Oilseed-based Cropping Systems

Red gram and castor go very well with groundnuts as the principal crop in the intercrop systems, the former (groundnut + red gram) having shown promise in the Anantapur, Solapur, Akola, Ranchi, and Rewa regions. In the Rajkot, Ranchi, and Bangalore regions, groundnut + castor system is becoming popular (see TABLE 8. Oilseed-based Intercropping Systems for Drylands and Their Production Potential in a Normal Season).

Total nutrients supplied through cropping systems

Cereal-based Systems

Of the cereal-based intercrop systems, the maize + soybean system supplies the highest quantity of various nutrients - calories, proteins, fat, calcium, iron, etc. - on a per hectare basis, followed by the sorghum + pigeon-pea (2 :1) system. Between pearl millet + pigeonpea and pearl millet + green gram, the former supplies more nutrients per unit area than the latter. Pearl millet-based systems are, however, richer in iron than either sorghum or maize-based intercrop systems. In terms of calcium and iron, finger millet-based cropping systems are the richest (see TABLE 9. Total Nutrients Supplied per Hectare by Different Cereal-based Intercrop Systems vis-r-vis Sole Crops).

Pulse-based Cropping Systems

The pigeon-pea + groundnut system supplies the highest calories, proteins, and fat per hectare. However, the highest calcium and iron are supplied by a pigeon-pea + finger millet system (see TABLE 10. Total Nutrients Supplied per Hectare by Different Pulse-based Intercrop Systems vis-r-vis Sole Crops).

Double Cropping Systems

The maize-wheat sequence crop system supplies the highest calories and proteins, followed by the sorghum-chick-pea/rice-chick-pea systems. The sorghum-chick-pea system supplies, in addition. abundant calcium and iron (see TABLE 11. Total Nutrients per Hectare Supplied by Double Crop Systems).

Nutritive value of the proteins of some foodstuffs

The biological value (BV) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of some of the more frequently consumed foodstuffs are presented in table 12. Among cereals (rice, wheat, and maize), rice has the highest BV and PER. Between the two pulses. chick-pea and pigeon-pea, the chick-pea proteins have a higher nutritive value than the latter. Regarding edible oil sources, sesame is superior to groundnut. The BV and PER of some animal/poultry/fish products are also presented in the table for comparison with plant sources.

TABLE 12. Nutritive Value of the Proteins of Some Foodstuffs

Source: McDivitt and Mudambi 1969.

Conclusion

From the various tables presented in the paper, it is obvious that a decade of research on dryland agriculture has made available the technology to produce enough nutrition, through plant sources, for five members of a marginal/small farmer's family. This technology is, essentially, based on proven intercrop/double-crop systems suitable to different agro-climatic regions. Of course, inputs such as improved varieties, judicious fertilizer use and timely plant protection measures, including weed control, are essential to optimize the yield levels in a normal season.

Discussion

Agricultural production and nutrition
Consumer acceptability
Economics and marketing

Agricultural production and nutrition

The Green Revolution has set in motion sweeping changes in food-growing patterns, and the nutritional quality of the food mix cannot be taken for granted. An ICRISAT study has shown that protein availability has gone up substantially in the wheat production system. Both nutrient and production cost data for other systems and regions of the country must be gathered and compiled for the benefit of those planning food systems. Since improved protein quality is derived when the diet is a cereal-pulse blend, the total system has to be considered. New data led a recent FAO/WHO/UNU consultation to raise the adult protein requirement from 0.57 to 0.72 grams/kg body-weight, and this again involves the provision of proteins of better quality by food blending.

In farm practice, anti-nutrients are a factor to be taken into account. Lathyrus is an excellent example. It is an exceptionally hardy. easy-to-grow crop, favoured by marginal farmers in India and Bangladesh. It is raised as a mixed crop with barley, wheat, and chick-pea in many parts of India, and as a pure crop in Madhya Pradesh and even Andhra Pradesh. Screening of Lathyrus varieties in Bangladesh revealed that 5 to 7 per cent had a very low neurotoxin B-oxalyl aspartic acid content, and a Pusa variety totally devoid of the toxin had been evolved. Some attention is called for to pocket areas that employ unusual food materials in fair quantity. Thus, Lathyrus, chinnapodium, jackfruit, and zizyphus are important in various local regions of Bangladesh. Whether the trypsin-inhibitors found in most pulses are relevant in human nutrition is still in doubt, though they are of course destroyed by cooking. Correlation in chickpeas between methionine and total sulphur content is poor, but seed coat smoothness and polyphenol content do correlate with insect infestation by foiling oviposition.

Consumer acceptability

The overriding emphasis in agricultural development on high productivity per unit area has tended to ignore the preferences of the consumer. It is true that unacceptable

Mexican red wheats of the early 1960s were rapidly phased out, but it has taken longer for the great variability in size and shape of JR-8 rice grown in different regions to be recognized, besides its low milling yield. The same variability is noted in the length/breadth ratio of Hamsa rice, which is an important index of consumer acceptability. A way out of the rice classification problem for market purposes is to also take into account thickness, which seems to be dependent on nitrogen fertilization of the crop. The Phalquna rice variety has rapidly become extremely popular in the Andhra coastal belt. The black tip, which caused considerable alarm, has fortunately been found to have no adverse nutritional consequences, though it does of course affect consumer acceptability. A similar problem with regard to wheat is Karnal bunt which particularly attacks WL-711 wheat grown in Punjab and Haryana; the Government has had difficulty in fixing specifications, and consumers are apprehensive. High-yielding hybrid jowar may give good returns to the farmer, but is totally unacceptable to consumers in Maharashtra for its off-odour and peculiar appearance. Again, while a maize-soya rotation mentioned in one of the papers may be excellent in terms of yields and economics, consumer demands for both these crops are minimal.

Economics and marketing

While the pattern of urban marketing has stabilized to a certain extent, rural marketing is a neglected area. Even such foods as milk and tomatoes fetch low returns for the actual producers, and poverty among them is increasing. The widely dispersed public distribution system through fair-price shops must be widened to include these commodities. In fact, stability of farming systems both in terms of crops raised and of remunerative prices for them would provide employment opportunities, which are the crying national need. When the productivity of natural resources of land and water is maximized, and the farmer is provided with options which are stable and economically attractive, he/she will make the right crop-raising decisions. Public policy must help the farmer realize these expectations. So far. only cereals have offered really viable technologies.