Performance of Bt and non-Bt cotton cultivars under conservation agriculture practices in a cotton-wheat system

Abstract

Development of Bt cotton in recent years represents a significant technical change for cotton production and has proved to be a boon for cotton-wheat cropping system. This breakthrough has the potential to expand the production frontier of cotton and improve producers’ benefits. The direct benefits from use of Bt cotton is to control insect pests with reduced use of broad-spectrum insecticides, lower farming risks and production costs, better yields and profitability, expanded opportunities to grow cotton and a brighter economic output for the cotton industry. Field experiments were conducted during 2006 and 2007 at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to evaluate the performance of Bt and Non-Bt cotton cultivars under conservation agriculture practices vis-à-vis conventional tillage practices. The experiment was conducted in split plot design with five replications in a fixed lay out. The main plot treatments consisted of two tillage practices, viz. conventional tillage and conservation tillage, while the sub plot treatments were 8 cultivars of cotton (4 cultivars were Bt and 4 cultivars were non-Bt). The performance of Bt cotton was significantly higher than non-Bt cotton cultivars. The seed cotton yield was similar between the two tillage practices, thus, conservation agriculture practice was found potential to enhance the productivity and resource use efficiency. The pest populations were less in Bt cultivars than non-Bt cultivars.