Studies in Multiple Cropping II. Effects of Preceding Grain Legumes on the Nitrogen Requirement of Wheat

Summary A study was undertaken to find out the nitrogen requirement of wheat (WH-157) when grown after various grain legumes on the sandy loam soils at Hissar (NW India). Yields of wheat were significantly increased when grown after black gram (110%), green gram (108%) and soyabean (41%) compared with those after pigeonpea. Preceding crops of green gram and black gram reduced the nitrogen requirement of a succeeding wheat crop by 30–60 kg ha −1 , compared with only 30 kg ha −1 after pigeonpea or soyabean. Pigeonpea was least beneficial in this regard but a pigeonpea-wheat cropping sequence produced the maximum net profit.