CROP GEOMETRY-INTERCROPPING WITH WIDER INTER-ROW SPACING
The technology of successful raising of inter-crops like wheat, potatoes, brassica crops, Toria, Raya, Gobhi Sarson in autumn cane and Sunflower, Spring maize, summer pulses like green gram and black gram in spring cane has been developed, greatly improving the economics of sugarcane crop grown alone in comparison to the major rice-wheat cropping system in Northern India. This technology consists of planting sugarcane at wider inter-row spacing of 135-150 cm without reduction in cane yield as compared to closer inter-row spacing of 75-90 cm.
SUNFLOWER INTER-CROP WITH WIDER INTER-ROW SPACING
However, the seed rate per unit area has to be 50000 three budded seed
setts per hectare both in close and wider inter-row spacings. This
technology minimizes competition between the companion crops viz. the
sugarcane and inter-crops. The cane quality of wider row spaced crop is
better and less prone to insects like stalk borer. Moreover the yield of
ratoon crop of wider row spaced crop is higher than the plant crop.