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Evaluation of alternate menthol mint(Mentha arvensis L.) based intensivecropping systems for Indo-Gangeticplains of north IndiaMan Singh a , Aparbal Singh a , Saudan Singh a & Muni Ram aa Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants , Lucknow ,IndiaPublished online: 19 Jul 2011.

To cite this article: Man Singh , Aparbal Singh , Saudan Singh & Muni Ram (2012) Evaluationof alternate menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.) based intensive cropping systems for Indo-Gangetic plains of north India, Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 58:4, 411-421, DOI:10.1080/03650340.2010.528407

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Evaluation of alternate menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.) basedintensive cropping systems for Indo-Gangetic plains of north India

Man Singh*, Aparbal Singh, Saudan Singh and Muni Ram

Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, India

(Received 22 June 2010; final version received 28 September 2010)

The objective of the study was to determine the profitability and employment-generation potential of different cropping systems involving menthol mint(Mentha arvensis L.) as a component of sequential/intercropping in comparisonwith the most common paddy–wheat–green gram cropping system. Fieldexperiments were conducted at Lucknow, India (268 50 N, 808 50 E and 120 mabove mean sea level) for three years from July 2004 to June 2007. Menthol mintyielded the maximum fresh shoot biomass and essential oil (21.0 t and 151 kgha71, respectively) grown after sweet basil (Ocimum basillicum)–potato followedby paddy–potato–menthol mint (18.9 t and 136 kg ha71, respectively) andmaize–mustard–menthol mint (17.7 t and 131 kg ha71, respectively). Net returnsof all the menthol-mint-based cropping systems were 82.6–354% higher thantraditional paddy–wheat–green gram cropping system. Maize–garlic–mentholmint þ okra was found to be most profitable (77,200 Rs ha71) followed bypigeon pea þ sweet basil–menthol mint þ okra (76,120 Rs ha71). Employment-generation efficiency was much higher in cropping systems involving mentholmint and vegetable crops, the highest (2.21 man days ha71 day71) being in amaize–cauliflower–onion–menthol mint þ okra cropping system.

Keywords: cropping system; Mentha arvensis; Indo-Gangetic plains; net return;employment generation

Introduction

In India, paddy–wheat rotation is the dominant cropping system across the Indo-Gangetic plains and in the Himalayan foot hills. Approximately 10.5 million haunder this cropping system contribute to nearly 25% of the total food grains inIndia. About 33% of paddy and 42% of wheat in India are grown in this rotation.The continuous growing of paddy–wheat for a longer period has resulted in yielddecline due to a decrease in soil fertility (Yadav and Kumar 2009). Yadav (1998)concluded that intensive and continuous cropping of paddy and wheat with fertilizernutrient has caused a sharp decline in soil organic carbon status. This is a majorcause of concern in many countries in the world targeting to increase or sustain thecurrent productivity level.

Menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.) is an important cash crop in India. It hasbecome increasingly popular among smallholders. In India, mint is cultivated over asizeable area of 160,000 ha (Anonymous 2010) with an annual production of

*Corresponding author. Email: mansingh_2003@yahoo.co.in

Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science

Vol. 58, No. 4, April 2012, 411–421

ISSN 0365-0340 print/ISSN 1476-3567 online

� 2012 Taylor & Francis

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2010.528407

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16,000 t of oil (Singh and Khanuja 2007) that accounts for 475% of total currentmenthol mint production in the world (Varshaney 2000). Today, India is the majorglobal producer and supplier of mint oil and its derivatives. About 10,000–12,000 tof essential oil of menthol mint and its derivatives, valued at 6000–8000 million Rs,are exported from India annually (Anonymous 2008).

The majority (*80%) of menthol mint growers in India are small and marginalfarmers holding 52 ha land, and mint is the major source of their livelihood. Mostof the cultivation and distillation operations are performed by family members.Therefore, in order to sustain production as well as the current level of export, itis essential that menthol mint cultivation continues to be profitable amongsmallholders.

In India, menthol mint is grown in most fertile land under assured inputs inwhich cropping intensity is 200–300%. In earlier studies, growing two crops (twoharvests) of sucker (stolen) panted Japanese/menthol mint in a year was mostremunerative, followed by maize–potato–mint and maize–toria (Brassica campestrisL. Var. toria)–mint. Randhawa and Bains (1982) and Randhawa et al. (1983) foundthat menthol mint could successfully follow potato, senji (Melilotus alba), toria oroats in sequence in Punjab. Menthol mint is planted in the second two weeks ofJanuary using suckers (Singh et al. 1979). As such, farmers willing to take up mintcultivation have to forego a major winter crop such as wheat, mustard, potato andvegetables. The planting of menthol mint in the months of March and April usingnursery-raised plantlets has been found to be successful and is being adopted by themajority of small and marginal mint growers in the Indo-Gangetic plains of northIndia (Ram and Kumar 1998; Singh et al. 1998a; Singh et al. 2003). Economics is thedominant factor influencing the adoption of cropping systems (Katsivairo and Cox2000). There is meager information on the comparative economics of differentcropping systems involving late transplanted menthol mint. The objective of thisstudy was to evaluate the economic and employment-generation potential ofdifferent menthol-mint-based cropping systems in comparison with a traditionalfood-crop-based (paddy–wheat–green gram) cropping system.

Material and methods

Experimental site and soil

Field experiments were conducted at the research farm of Central Institute ofMedicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, India (268 50 N, 808 50 E and 120 m abovemean sea level) for three years from July 2004 to June 2007. The soil (pH 7.7) ofthe experimental field was a sandy loam (Typic ustifluvent), with organic carbon0.4%, available N (alkaline KMnO4 extractable) 158 kg ha71, available P (0.5 MNaHCO3 extractable) 14.0 kg ha71 and available K (1 M NH4OAc extractable)150 kg ha71.

Climatic conditions

The experimental site is classified as a semi-arid subtropical zone with severe hotsummers and fairly cool winters. In this region, the monsoon normally sets from lastweek of June and continues until end of September with an average annual rainfallof 700 mm. About 80% of the monsoon rains are received in July and August.Winter also experiences some rains due to cyclonic disturbances in Arabic sea.

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Temperature in the day fluctuated from 26.1 to 44.58C; whereas the temperature atnight varied from 7.8 to 29.58C. The temperature was lowest during mid-Decemberto end of January and an increasing trend in mean temperature was noticed from thefirst week of February, reaching the highest values in mid May and declining onlyafter the onset of rains.

Treatments

Ten cropping systems, broadly two types: sequential and intercropping wereexamined. Details of crop varieties, maturity periods, sowing/planting time,spacing and fertilizers applied are given in Table 1 and details of treatments aregiven in Table 2. Food grain, pulse, oil seed, vegetable, spice and essential oilyielding crops, which are commonly grown by small-scale farmers in the northIndian plains, were included in the cropping systems. The first crops in each systemwere sown/planted during the first two weeks of July each year after the onset ofthe rains. Menthol mint was grown after harvesting potato, mustard and vegetablepea in mid March, after harvesting pigeon pea in first week of April, and in midApril in the remaining treatments. Forty-day-old plantlets of menthol mint weretransplanted at 60 6 15 cm spacing in flood-irrigated plots. In intercroppingtreatments, one row of sweet basil (Ocimum basillicum L.) and one row of okra(Abelmoschus esculentus L.) was planted/sown 4–5 days after sowing/planting inbetween the two rows of pigeon pea and menthol mint, respectively in additiveseries. All crops in sequential cropping received fertilizers, as given in Table 1. Thefull amount of P2O5 and K2O was applied as a basal dressing either 2–3 cm belowthe seeds or by mixing in the soil just before planting in all crops. No additionalfertilizer was applied to sweet basil and okra intercropped with pigeon pea andmenthol mint, respectively. In pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.), cowpea (Vignaunguiculata L. Walp.) and green gram (Vigna radiata L.) the whole amount of Nwas applied as basal. In other crops, N was applied in three equal splits; one-thirdas basal, one-third at 30 and one-third at 45–60 days after sowing/planting as a topdressing. The experiment was conducted under irrigated conditions. Most of theoperations, including layout preparation, sowing/planting, irrigation, weeding,harvesting, threshing and distillation of aromatic crops, were performed with thehelp of manual labor, except threshing of paddy, wheat and green gram, which wasperformed using a thresher.

Experimental design and analysis

In each year, the experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with threereplicates with an individual plot size of 8 6 6 m. Menthol mint oil and mentholmint oil equivalent yields were analysed statistically, although the yields of othercrops were not because of the very different types and amounts of yield produced.Cost of cultivation was calculated on the basis of the costs of different inputs,including land preparation, layout, seed, fertilizers, pesticides, planting, irrigation,harvesting, processing, labor cost, land rent and interest on working capital. Inintercropping treatments, only the costs of seeds, planting, harvesting and processingof the second crop were taken in to consideration. Gross returns and menthol mintequivalent yield were determined as the product of the prevailing market rates during2006–2007 and average 3-year yield of each crop within each rotation, including

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Table

1.

Varieties,daysto

maturity,spacing,sowing/plantingtimeandfertilizer

applied

todifferentcropsduring2004–2007.

Crop

Varieties

Daysto

maturity

Row-to-row

spacing(cm)

Within

row

spacing(cm)

Sowing/

plantingtime

Fertilizer

(N,P

2O

5,K

2O

kgha7

1)

Pigeonpea

Bahar

250

90

30

1st

weekJuly

25,50,50

Maize

Hybrid–Gangasafed7

270

45

20

1st

weekJuly

80,40,40

Paddy

Prasad

105

20

10

1st

weekJuly

120,60,60

Cowpea

Pusa

Komal

105

45

15

1st

weekJuly

25,50,50

Sweetbasil

Vikarsudha

80

45

30

1st

weekJuly

80,40,40

Mustard

Type-59

150

45

20

1st

weekOct

80,40,40

Potato

Kufri–Chandramukhi

105

45

15

1st

weekNov

120,60,60

Vegetable

pea

Arkel

120

30

10

Mid

Oct

25,50,50

Garlic

Local

180

15

10

Mid

Oct

120,60,60

Onion

Nasikred

90

15

10

Mid

Jan

80,40,40

Cauliflower

Snow

ball-16

95

45

30

Mid

Oct

60,40,40

Tomato

Pusa

ruby

135

45

30

Mid

Oct

120,60,60

Wheat

HD-2329

135

22.5

–Mid

Nov

120,60,60

Mentholmint

Kosi

90

60

15

Mid

Marto

mid

Apr

120,60,60

Okra

Arka–Anamika

105

60

15

Mid

Marto

mid

Apr

0,0,0

Green

gram

K-851

65

30

15

Mid

Apr

25,50,50

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Table

2.

Yield

from

variouscroppingsystem

s.

Croppingsystem

Totalduration

(day)

Yield

a

(tha71)

Straw

yield

b

(tha7

1)

Mentholmintoil

(kgha7

1)

Mentholmintfresh

shootbiomass

(tha7

1)

2004–2005

Paddy–wheat–green

gram

305

3.0–4.0–0.7

5.0

Paddy–potato–mentholmint

300

3.0–15.5

156

21.7

Sweetbasil–potato–mentholmint

275

0.07–15.5

185

25.7

Maize–mustard–mentholmint

310

1.2–3.0

3.6

123

17.1

Maize–vegetable

pea–mentholmint

280

1.2–5.0

3.6

127

17.7

Pigeonpea–mentholmint

340

3.8

15.8

110

15.5

Maize–garlic–mentholmintþ

okra

352

1.2–5.8–6.7

3.6

90

12.7

Maize–cauliflower–onion–mentholmintþ

okra

360

1.2–10.0–12.5–3.97

3.6

125

17.6

Pigeonpeaþ

sweetbasil–mentholmintþ

okra

355

3.2–0.02–4.95

13.2

80

11.3

Vegetable

cowpea–tomato–mentholmintþ

okra

345

0.7–14.5–6.69

95

13.4

LSD

(p¼

0.05)

12.0

1.7

2005–2006

Paddy–wheat–green

gram

305

3.5–3.5–0.4

5.0

Paddy–potato–mentholmint

300

3.5–13.5

150

20.8

Sweetbasil–potato–mentholmint

275

0.05–14.3

164

22.8

Maize–mustard–mentholmint

310

1.0–1.6

3.3

160

22.2

Maize–vegetable

pea–mentholmint

280

1.0–4.5

3.3

127

17.6

Pigeonpea–mentholmint

340

3.0

8.7

141

19.6

Maize–garlic–mentholmintþ

okra

352

1.0–6.83–1.35

3.3

106

14.9

Maize–cauliflower–onion–mentholmintþ

okra

360

1.0–10.0–12.2–1.65

3.3

103

14.5

Pigeonpeaþ

sweetbasil–mentholmintþ

okra

355

2.88–0.038–1.35

8.44

132

18.6

Vegetable

cowpea–tomato–mentholmintþ

okra

345

0.62–13.2–2.22

113

15.9

LSD

(p¼

0.05)

11.0

1.5

2006–2007

Paddy–wheat–green

gram

305

4.0–3.8–0.37

5.0

Paddy–potato–mentholmint

300

3.5–26.0

103

14.3

Sweetbasil–potato–mentholmint

275

0.075–26.0

104

14.4 (c

ontinued)

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Table

2.

(Continued).

Croppingsystem

Totalduration

(day)

Yield

a

(tha71)

Straw

yield

b

(tha7

1)

Mentholmintoil

(kgha7

1)

Mentholmintfresh

shootbiomass

(tha7

1)

Maize–mustard–mentholmint

310

1.1–1.5

3.2

100

13.9

Maize–vegetable

pea–mentholmint

280

1.1–4.8

3.2

108

15.0

Pigeonpea–mentholmint

340

2.5

13.0

97

13.5

Maize–garlic–mentholmintþ

okra

352

1.1–4.8–4.15

3.2

64

8.9

Maize–cauliflower–onion–mentholmintþ

okra

360

1.1–9.5–10.0–4.0

3.2

50

7.0

Pigeonpeaþ

sweetbasil–mentholmintþ

okra

355

2.61–0.025–6.7

11.7

62

8.2

Vegetab

lecowpea–tomato–m

entholmintþ

okra

345

0.65–12.5–3.15

88

12.4

LSD

(p¼

0.05)

1.4

Mean

Paddy–wheat–green

gram

305

3.5–3.77–0.49

5.0

Paddy–potato–mentholmint

300

3.3–18.33

136

18.9

Sweetbasil–potato–mentholmint

275

0.07–18.6

150

21.0

Maize–mustard–mentholmint

310

1.1–2.03

3.33

131

17.7

Maize–vegetable

pea–mentholmint

280

1.1–4.77

3.33

124

16.8

Pigeonpea–mentholmint

340

3.1

12.5

116

16.2

Maize–garlic–mentholmintþ

okra

352

1.1–5.81–4.07

3.33

87

12.2

Maize–cauliflower–onion–mentholmintþ

okra

360

1.1–9.83–11.57–3.21

3.33

93

13.0

Pigeonpeaþ

sweetbasil–mentholmintþ

okra

355

2.9–0.028–4.33

11.7

91

12.7

Vegetable

cowpea–tomato–mentholmintþ

okra

345

0.66–13.4–4.02

99

13.9

LSD

(p¼

0.05)

10.6

1.5

Note:aGrain

ofpaddy,maize,pigeonpea,wheat,mustard

andgreen

gram,tuber

ofpotato,freshfruit/podsofcowpea,tomato,pea,cauliflower

andokra,dry

bulbsofgarlic

andgreen

leafy

bulbsofonion,essentialoilofsw

eetbasil.

bDry

straw

ofwheat,strawþ

stalksofpigeonpea

andsemidry

stalk

ofmaize;

LSD,least

significantdifference.

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straw yield of wheat and stalks yield of pigeon pea and maize, which are valuable by-products. System productivity was worked out by dividing the mean menthol mintequivalent yield of a cropping system by total duration of the crops in that sequence.Land use efficiency (LUE) was calculated by dividing the total duration of acropping sequence by number of days (365) in a year and expressed in percentage.Sustainable yield index was computed for the sequences on the basis of menthol mintoil equivalent yield as follows:

Sustainable yield index ðSYIÞ

¼Mean menthol mint oil equivalent yield� standard deviation

Maximum menthol mint oil equivalent yield

Net returns for each crop within each rotation were calculated as the differencebetween the gross return and the cost of cultivation per hectare. Employment-generation efficiency and monetary return use efficiency were calculated by dividingthe total number of man months involved and the total net return of a sequence bythe number of days (365) in a year, respectively. The data on menthol mint freshbiomass and oil yield, menthol mint oil equivalent yield and net return were analysedstatistically as per standard procedure.

Results and discussion

Menthol mint fresh shoot biomass and essential oil yield

Menthol mint oil yield was significantly influenced by the preceding crops grown inthe rotations in all the three years (Table 2). Maximum fresh shoot biomass (25.7 tha71) and essential oil yield (185 kg ha71) of menthol mint were obtained whengrown in rotation with sweet basil–potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), particularly inthe first year (2004–2005), average values across the years were 21.0 t ha71 freshbiomass and 151 kg ha71 essential oil, followed by paddy (Oryza sativa L.)–potato–menthol mint (18.9 t biomass and 136 kg oil ha71), maize (Zea mays L.)–mustard(Brassica juncea L.)–menthol mint (17.7 t biomass and 131 kg oil ha71) and maize–vegetable pea (Pisum sativum L.)–menthol mint (16.8 t biomass and 124 kg oilha71). Intercropping of okra with menthol mint resulted in a 13.6–47.1% reductionin fresh biomass and a 14.7–42.4% reduction in menthol mint oil yield comparedwith sequential cropping; the highest reduction (47.1 and 42.4%) was recorded whenmenthol mint was grown in rotation with maize–garlic (Allium sativum L.) comparedwith sweet basil–potato–menthol mint sequential cropping. The highest fresh shootbiomass and essential oil yield of menthol mint in sequential cropping with sweetbasil–potato was due to timely (mid March) planting and the residual effect of higherdoses of fertilizers applied to potato (Singh A et al. 2006). In earlier studies, Singh Aet al. (1998a) also recorded a higher oil yield under mid March than mid Aprilplanting. The reduction in oil yield of menthol mint intercropped with okra was dueto competition for light, space, soil moisture and nutrients (Singh M et al.Forthcoming 2010).

System productivity

Pooled data indicated a significant variation in system productivity in terms ofmenthol mint oil equivalent yield of menthol-mint- and food-grain-based cropping

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systems. Among all the tested cropping systems, maize–garlic–menthol mint þ okraproduced the highest menthol mint oil equivalent yield (379.5 kg ha71 year71), anincrease of 131.8% over the yield (163.7 kg ha71 year71) recorded with a food-grain-based system (paddy–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–green gram) (Table 3)followed by pigeon pea þ sweet basil menthol mint þ okra, vegetable cowpea–tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)–menthol mint þ okra and sweet basil–potato–menthol mint. This indicates that menthol-mint-based cropping systems havean edge over a food-grain-based cropping system. Sweet basil–potato–mentholmint was significantly superior in terms of system productivity (1.23 kg mint oilha71 day71).

Sustainability and land use efficiency

Paddy–potato–menthol mint and maize–vegetable pea– menthol mint showed thehighest sustainable yield index (SYI) of 0.90 closely followed by maize–mustard–menthol mint and paddy–wheat–green gram (SYI ¼ 0.89 each), sweet basil–potato–menthol mint (SYI ¼ 0.88) and pigeon pea þ sweet basil–menthol mint þ okra(SYI ¼ 0.86). The lowest SYI of 0.64 was recorded in the maize–cauliflower(Brassica oleracea L.)–onion (Allium cepa L.)–menthol mint þ okra croppingsequence. The lower SYI in the above and other vegetable crop and pigeonpea-based cropping systems might be due to the adverse effects of weather, pests anddisease on the productivity of these crops because they are susceptible to adverseweather conditions, viz. storm, excess rainfall and frost, pests and diseases.

Land use efficiency (LUE) of maize–cauliflower–onion–menthol mint þ okrawas highest (99%), closely followed by maize–garlic–menthol mint þ okra andpigeon pea þ sweet basil–menthol mint þ okra (97%). Because of intensivecropping, LUE of menthol-mint-based intercropping systems was 490% comparedwith 75–85% for a sequential cropping systems (Table 3).

Employment-generation efficiency

Employment-generation efficiency was much higher in cropping systems involvingmenthol mint and vegetable crops (Table 3), the highest (2.21 man days ha71 day1)being in the maize–cauliflower–onion–menthol mint þ okra cropping system,followed by vegetable cowpea–tomato–menthol mint þ okra (2.05 man days ha71

day71) and maize–garlic–menthol mint þ okra ( 2.01man days ha71 day71). Thiswas due to the increased involvement of manpower in planting and harvestingvegetables and processing essential oil crops (menthol mint and sweet basil).

Economics

The economics for all the menthol-mint-based cropping systems were significantly,i.e. 82.6–354%, higher than the 17,000 Rs ha71 obtained from the traditionalpaddy–wheat–green gram cropping system found in the north Indian plains(Table 3). Maize–garlic–menthol mint þ okra was found to be most profitable(77,200 Rs ha71) followed by pigeon pea þ sweet basil–menthol mint þ okra(76,120 Rs ha71), because of the better selling price of garlic, okra, pigeon pea grainand stalk, menthol mint and sweet basil essential oil and the high yield of garlic(9.83 t ha71) and okra (44 t ha71). In earlier studies, intercropping of okra and

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Table

3.

Mentholmintoilequivalentyield,economicssystem

productivityandsustainabilityindex

ofdifferentcroppingsystem

s(3

yearmean).

Croppingsystem

Menthol

mintoil

equivalent

yield

(kgha71year7

1)

System

productivity

(kgha71day7

1)

Cost

of

cultivation

(6103Rsha71

year7

1)

Net

return

(6103Rsha71

year7

1)

B:C

ratio

Landuse

efficiency

(%)

Employment

generation

efficiency

(Mandays

ha7

1day71)

Monetary

return

use

efficiency

(Rsha71

day71)

Sustainability

index

Paddy–wheat–

green

gram

163.8

0.54

48.5

17.0

0.35

84

0.81

46.6.

0.89

Paddy–potato–

mentholmint

331.3

1.10

79.3

53.2

0.67

82

1.66

145.9

0.90

Sweetbasil–

potato–menthol

mint

339.3

1.23

80.1

55.6

0.69

75

1.66

152.3

0.88

Maize–mustard–

mentholmint

254.8

0.82

63.0

38.9

0.62

85

1.37

106.6

0.69

Maize–vegetable

pea–menthol

mint

240.1

0.86

65.0

31.0

0.48

77

1.74

85.1

0.90

Pigeonpea–

mentholmint

316.8

0.93

56.0

70.7

1.26

93

1.26

193.7

0.74

Maize–garlic–

mentholmint

þokra

379.5

1.08

74.6

77.2

1.03

97

2.01

211.5

0.78

Maize–cauliflower–

onion–menthol

mintþ

okra

321.0

0.89

83.5

44.9

0.54

99

2.21

123.0

0.64

Pigeonpeaþ

sweet

basil–menthol

mintþ

okra

349.1

0.98

63.5

76.1

1.20

97

1.97

208.5

0.86

Vegetable

cowpea–

tomato–menthol

mintþ

okra

341.0

0.99

70.1

66.3

0.95

95

2.05

181.7

0.78

LSD

(p¼

0.05)

18.5

0.07

5.2

Note:Saleprice

(Rskg71):Paddy,6;wheat,8;green

gram,15;maize,8;mustard,20;pigeonpea,20;potato,3;green

pea,8;cowpea,15;garlic,15;cauliflower,tomato

and

okra,5;green

leafy

onion,2;mentholmintoil,400;sw

eetbasiloil,300;wheatstraw,1.5;maizestalk,0.25;pigeonpea

stalkþ

straw,1.0.1$US¼

Rs46.0

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radish with menthol mint was found to be more profitable than sole cropping (Singhet al. 1998b; Singh et al. 2010). The benefit-to-cost (B:C) ratio was highest (1.26) withpigeon pea–menthol mint, closely followed by pigeon pea þ sweet basil–mentholmint þ okra (1.20). The lowest B:C ratio (0.35) remained the paddy–wheat–greengram cropping sequence. This may be because of higher production costs, resultingin a comparatively lower net return. The monetary return use efficiency of maize–garlic–menthol mint þ okra was highest (211.5 Rs ha71 day71), followed by pigeonpea þ sweet basil–menthol mint þ okra (208.5 Rs ha71 day71). The lowestmonetary return use efficiency (46.6 Rs ha71 day71) was recorded with thepaddy–wheat–green gram cropping system.

Conclusion

On the basis of results obtained in this study, the inclusion of menthol mint as asummer crop in an existing cropping system is suggested for higher productivity,economic return, sustainability and employment generation in the Indo-Gangeticplains of north India.

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants,Lucknow for providing facilities.

References

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