Optimizing Productivity and Resource Use Efficiency Under a Finger Millet-Based Cropping System

Finger millet, known for its resilience to adverse climatic conditions, is integrated with various crops to assess the synergistic benefits of intercropping. To obtain intercropping system benefits, crop association, and species combination play a crucial role. Hence, to augment the productivity, profitability, and resource use efficiency under the millet-based system, field research was initiated for three kharif seasons (2021, 2022, and 2023) at the Project Coordinating Unit, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The outcomes indicated that crops under sole cropping outperformed their intercropping structure in yield. Amongst the intercropping systems, finger millet and groundnut at a 4:2 exhibited a significantly higher finger millet grain equivalent yield (3065 kg/ha), land equivalent ratio (1.64), and area time equivalent ratio (1.38). Also, net returns (Rs. 73,276 ha−1) were realized to be higher in the finger millet + groundnut intercropping system at 4:2 row proportion. Finger millet as a sole crop showed a higher energy output (72,432 MJ ha−1), net energy gain (60,227 MJ ha−1), and energy efficiency (5.95) in relation to other cropping systems. Still, it was analogous to finger millet + groundnut (62,279 MJ ha−1 and 60,378 MJ ha−1, 49,623 MJ ha−1 and 47,628 MJ ha−1, 4.93 and 4.74) at 6:2 and 4:2 row extents, correspondingly). The intercropping of the finger millet with groundnut has demonstrated superior carbon sequestration competencies making them more sustainable and carbon-efficient options compared to sole crops like niger, which showed net carbon loss. The present investigation concluded the adoption of the finger millet + groundnut (4:2) intercropping system as a feasible substitute for attaining overall enhanced productivity with profitability, resource use efficiency, carbon, and energy efficiency.