Energy-efficient strategies for maize-safflower cropping systems: comparative analysis of tillage and weed management practices

A two-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate tillage and weed management practices on productivity, profitability, and energetics in a maize-safflower cropping system under semi-arid tropical vertisols. Maize and safflower, being economically important crops with distinct cultivation requirements, require efficient tillage and weed management strategies for resource optimization and environmental sustainability. Results indicated that conventional tillage (CT) in maize produced 8.68% higher yields (5152 kg ha⁻¹) compared to reduced tillage (RT) (4705 kg ha⁻¹). Among weed management practices, hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS gave the highest maize yield (6625 kg ha⁻¹), comparable with Atrazine @ 0.5 kg a.i. ha⁻¹ + Tembotrione @ 120 g a.i. ha⁻¹ (early PoE) fb HW at 40 DAS (6442 kg ha⁻¹), and Atrazine @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha⁻¹ (PE) fb Tembotrione @ 120 g a.i. ha⁻¹ (PoE) (6236 kg ha⁻¹). In safflower, CT-CT produced significantly higher seed yield (1389 kg ha⁻¹) than RT-CT (1330 kg ha⁻¹), CT-RT (1214 kg ha⁻¹), and RT-RT (1171 kg ha⁻¹). Hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS yielded 1593 kg ha⁻¹, on par with Pendimethalin @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha⁻¹ (PE) fb maize residue mulching @ 5 t ha⁻¹ (1529 kg ha⁻¹). Profitability was highest under CT in maize (₹60,201 ha⁻¹) and CT-CT in safflower (₹47,298 ha⁻¹). Energy use efficiency was superior under RT in maize (9.58%) and CT-CT in safflower (9.21%).