Optimizing productivity and profitability of chickpea: A comparative study of different cultivars across diverse cropping systems in the arid hot climate of india

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a significant legume due to its outstanding nutritional profile. However, the growth and crop productivity are greatly affected by the adverse impacts of global climate change. Thus, in this investigation, we conduct a comparative study of different cultivars across diverse cropping systems in the arid hot climate of Rajasthan, India. A field experiment was conducted to assess the economics and profitability of five chickpea varieties: GNG-2144, GNG-2261, GNG-1958, GNG-2171, and GNG-1581 across seven chickpea-based cropping systems. The experimental design was a split-plot arrangement. The cropping systems were assigned to main plots, while the chickpea varieties were arranged in sub-plots, with three replications. Our findings revealed that the GNG-1581 variety, when grown in the fallow-chickpea system, achieved the highest grain yield (25.00 q ha⁻¹), straw yield (28.89 q ha⁻¹), net returns of ₹102,773 ha⁻¹, and a benefit-cost ratios (BCR) of 3.94 over the pooled data from both years. Conversely, GNG-2261 and GNG-2144 demonstrated significantly higher grain yields (19.56 q ha⁻¹ and 19.25 q ha⁻¹) and straw yields (25.20 q ha⁻¹ and 24.97 q ha⁻¹) within the groundnut-chickpea system, yielding net returns of ₹263,365 and ₹268,943 ha⁻¹, respectively. Moreover, CEGY and CESY were maximized for GNG-2261 and GNG-2144 under the groundnut-chickpea system, emphasizing their economic advantages. The net returns and BCR further support these findings. Thus, this study highlights the significant influence of both variety and cropping systems on chickpea productivity and profitability, potentially improving economic returns for farmers in in arid and hot climate regions worldwide.