Assessing the Influence of Crop Diversification of Intercrops with Cotton on Growth and Yield Characteristics of Cotton

Background: Intercropping cotton with pulses and millets, forming a multi-tier system, has the potential to shift the cost-intensive cotton production system towards a more profitable and sustainable approach. The study aimed to explore suitable intercrop combinations for multitier cultivation in cotton under rainfed conditions. Methods: The experiment involved seven multi.tier Bt cotton intercropping systems and two sole Bt cotton treatments with different spacing tried in a randomized block design with three replications during the kharif seasons of 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23. Result: The study showed significant effects of various multi-tier cropping systems on cotton’s growth attributes, yield traits and yield. Seed cotton equivalent yield varied between 864 to 1401 kg/ha in different intercropping systems. In comparison, sole Bt cotton yielded 1103 kg/ha and the farmer’s practice resulted in 827 kg/ha.