Vol. 11, Issue 12 (2022)

Intercropping systems provide vast opportunities for farmers to get additional yield and income from component crops and are contingent against crop loss. This cropping system also enables efficient use of resources even under scarce conditions. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the effect of irrigation and intercropping on yield, water use efficiency, and economic viability of chia based cropping system. The field experiment was conducted with full (I₁₀₀) and deficit irrigation (I₅₀) and six intercrops in split plot design with 3 replications. Results demonstrated that deficit irrigation of 50% significantly reduced the chia seed yield (525 kg/ha) by 16% and vegetable yield by 24% compared to full irrigation (I₁₀₀). Among intercropping, chia + fenugreek resulted in higher chia equivalent yield (959 kg/ha) than other intercrops with high water use efficiency (3.61 kg ha mm^-1), net returns (0.91 lakhs/ha) and BC ratio (2.67) compared to chia monocrop. Therefore, it is concluded that the chia + fenugreek intercropping system is best for both sufficient and deficit irrigation for higher yield and income in semi-arid regions.