Raised and sunken bed land configuration for crop diversification and crop and water productivity enhancement in rice paddies of the north eastern region of India

The crop and water productivity (WP) of monocropped rice in lowland of north-eastern region of India is low mainly due to cultivation of long duration variety, meagre use of fertilizer and manure, and inefficient water management, which needs to be improved for sustaining food security. Raised and sunken bed (RSB) land configuration (removing the surface soil layer from an area and depositing on the adjacent area to a height of about 50 cm by cutting and filling method) was demonstrated in a participatory research mode in farmers' field during 2010-2012 for promoting crop diversification, enhancing crop and WP, and improving livelihood. The results indicated significant improvement in cropping intensity, productivity, employment, and income of farmers due to adoption of RSB land configuration compared to farmers' practice (FP) of rice monocropping. The average rice equivalent yield (REY) of RSB land configuration was 16.20 t ha(-1) compared to 3.24 t ha(-1) under FP. The enhancement in employment and water-use efficiency were 445 and 291 % due to RSB over FP, respectively. The WP enhanced by four times due to RSB (0.69 kg m(-3) water) compared to FP (0.18 kg m(-3) water). In raised beds, the highest gross (USD 7,346 ha(-1)) and net returns (USD 4,524 ha(-1)) were recorded under tomato-okra-broccoli sequence, while in sunken beds, the highest gross and net returns were obtained under rice-pea (USD 2,633 and 1,590 ha(-1), respectively) and these were substantially higher than those observed under FP (USD 775 ha(-1) and USD 383 ha(-1), respectively). Multiple cropping index, cultivated land utilization index, and diversity index also increased substantially due to RSB land configuration.