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Farming & Management

Harnessing relay cropping: Evaluating mustard varieties with broadcasted Aman rice in lowland ecosystems


DOI: 10.31830/2456-8724.2026.FM-191    | Article Id: FM-191 | Page : 52-61
Citation :- Harnessing relay cropping: Evaluating mustard varieties with broadcasted Aman rice in lowland ecosystems. Farm. Manage. 11: 52-61
S. K. BHOWAL, S. S. PROMA, S. K. BHOWMIK, S. ROY AND M. M. BASHIR shamal.bau@gmail.com
Address : Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
Submitted Date : 5-05-2026
Accepted Date : 5-06-2026
Online Published:

Abstract

Relay cropping presents a promising avenue for sustainably intensifying land use in lowland rice-based agro ecosystems by enabling temporal overlap between crop growth cycles. This study investigated the agronomic performance and economic returns of four mustard (Brassica spp.) varieties i.e BARI Sarisha-9, BARI Sarisha-14, BARI Sarisha-17, and the local check Tori-7, cultivated as relay crops with broadcast Aman rice in the agro-ecological zone AEZ-19 (Cumilla and Chandpur) during the 2020–2022 Rabi season conducted by On-farm research division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Cumilla, Bangladesh. A randomized full block design with four replications was used to measure plant height, yield components and economic indicators. BARI Sarisha-17 outperformed the other cultivars in terms of plant height (92.5 cm), seed yield (1.7 t/ha) and number of seeds per pod (41.8). Key characteristics for choosing high-yielding mustard varieties under relay cropping in Bangladesh's lowland ecosystem were identified by principal component analysis, which explained 95% of the total variation. PC1 (78%) was driven by seeds per pod, plant height, plant population, and seed yield, while PC2  (17%) was driven by pods per plant. It also fared better economically than others, with the largest gross margin (Tk. 92,000/ha) and gross return (Tk. 110,500/ha). With an output of 1.5 t/ha and a gross margin of Tk. 79,000/ha, BARI Sarisha-14 came in second. Tori-7, on the other hand, performed the worst in every category, producing only 0.96 t/ha with a gross margin of Tk. 43,900/ha. These findings underscore the suitability of BARI Sarisha-17 for relay cropping systems, offering a high-yielding and economically viable option to sustainably intensify rice-based farming systems in the lowlands of Bangladesh.

Keywords

Economic analysis mustard varieties relay cropping rice-based cropping system yield performance

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