Potato and Tuber Crops

Intercropping

• Potato productivity can be improved synergistically by using precision farming like laser leveler, rotavator and modern micro-irrigation systems for optimal water usage.
• Further, mechanization of sowing and harvesting operations of an intercropping system may reduce the hitch of farmers in their faster adoption.
• An innovation has been achieved by way of mechanization of potato + sugarcane intercropping.
• Potato planting with the help of planter followed by cane set planting in furrows and covering them with soil by using newly developed two row hand tool has made this venture practically labour-cost feasible.
• Not only this, manual harvesting of potatoes is a cumbersome process as it is difficult to dig out potatoes without damaging standing sugarcane.
• Offset type single row potato digger has also been developed.
• Thus production technology supported by system specific mechanization can help in adopting intercropping systems with higher production potential.