**3. Results and discussions**

The sowing of maize was done with various planters (**Figures 10**–**12**) and techniques. The operational parameters were recorded for various planters and shown in **Table 4**. The fuel consumption and field capacity for raised bed inclined plate planter were 7.92 l ha<sup>1</sup> and 0.60 ha h<sup>1</sup> . The mean standard deviation in spacing was 0.92 cm for raised bed inclined plate planter whereas it was 1.67 cm (+0.75 cm) for raised bed vertical plate planter.

The view of ridge formation for manual sowing is shown in **Figure 12**. The field operational parameters of the various row crop planters/methods are shown in **Table 4**.

The maize sowing with pneumatic raised bed planter and pneumatic flat planter is shown in **Figures 13** and **14** respectively. The emergence of maize crop sown with raised bed inclined plate planter and pneumatic raised bed planter is shown in **Figure 15**.

The field observations revealed that higher missing index was either due to higher speed or the 'U'shaped design of metering plate which lead to stucking of two seeds in one cell. Thus this planter design requires human intervention and more human energy for planting accuracy. The design of plate of raised bed inclined plate planter was like 'open loop' (**Figure 10**) which encountered no stucking of seeds in the field operation.

The various parameters recorded at germination stage are shown in **Table 5** and represented in **Figure 16**.

Standard deviation remains a widely used standard of measure for within-row plant spatial variation, and targets the mechanics of the planter as causative for non-uniformity. The grain yields appeared to increase 110 kg ha<sup>1</sup> for every 1 cm decrease in standard deviation and change in yield per 1 cm improvement in plant spacing uniformity ranged from 27 to 152 kg ha<sup>1</sup> ; respective to location [66]. The correct seed metering unit setup is very critical to obtain expected performance from planting technology [24]. The planters were operated between speed range of 1.87–3.79 km h<sup>1</sup> . The low speed of planter minimizes the Intra-row spacing by reducing the creation of skips and multiple-plant hills that cause, more so the latter, barren stalks and reduced grain weight per ear [66, 67]. The lowest standard deviation in spacing was achieved by raised bed inclined plate planter design (0.92 cm), which shall lead to higher yield returns. However quality of feed index

**Figure 10.** *Maize sowing with raised bed inclined plate planter and view of metering plate.*

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

**Figure 11.** *Maize sowing with raised bed vertical plate planter.*

**Figure 12.** *Ridge formation with ridger for manual sowing.*


Fc*, fuel consumption;* <sup>S</sup>*, forward speed;* Ce*, effective field capacity;* <sup>d</sup>*, depth of seed placement.* \* *[61]—"Mean speed of ridger + manual sowing technique".*

#### **Table 4.**

*Field operational parameters for various row crop planters.*

**Figure 13.** *Maize sowing with pneumatic raised bed planter.*

**Figure 14.** *Maize sowing with pneumatic flat planter during 2017.*

**Figure 15.** *Emergence of maize crop sown with raised bed inclined plate planter (left, 1-row/bed) and pneumatic raised bed planter (right, 2-rows/bed).*


 **5.** *Performance of raised bed inclined plate and vertical plate planter based on germination data attributes.*

**Table**

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

#### **Figure 16.**

*Graphical representation of various performance parameters for maize planters based on field germination data of maize crop.*

was higher for pneumatic raised bed planter (87.99%) and pneumatic flat planter (85.25%). The lowest missing index (7.64%) was recorded for pneumatic raised bed planter and lowest multiple (3.79%) index was observed for pneumatic flat planter. The precision indices for raised bed inclined plate planter, pneumatic raised bed and flat planters were 4.63%, 6.35%, 7.74% respectively. The intra-row spacing for pneumatic raised bed and flat planter were 1.27 cm and 1.55 cm which resulted in higher grain yield. The Intra-row spacing of raised bed vertical plate planter, inclined plate planter were 1.67 cm, 0.92 cm and that of flat planter was 1.35 cm. The forward speed for vertical plate planter was 2.64 km h<sup>1</sup> and intra-row spacing was observed as 1.67 cm. The forward speed for raised bed inclined plate planter was 3.24 km h<sup>1</sup> and Intra-row spacing was observed as 0.92 cm. The SD increased at faster planting speeds but variation of intra-row spacing with change in forward speed of planter was low in case of inclined plate as compared to vertical plate. Thus sowing with different mechanical planters certainly affected plant population, stand uniformity with mean standard deviation (SD) of withinrow plant spacing and consequently maize yield [68]. A view of mechanical weeding operation in raised bed maize crop with sweep type weeder and crop at growing stage are shown in **Figures 17** and **18** respectively. After maturity, maize harvesting was done and yield data was recorded which is shown in **Figures 19** and **20** and represented in **Table 6**.

The yield for ridger + manual sowing method was found more for 60.0 cm spacing (5.38 t ha<sup>1</sup> ) and lower for 67.5 cm spacing (4.56 t ha<sup>1</sup> ). The optimum bed design, exposed bed area to sunlight is necessary for better root formation, canopy formation, irrigation water productivity and water drainage.

The maximum cob grain weight of 0.117204 kg (at 10% m.c., w.b.), grain yield of 8.61 t ha<sup>1</sup> was observed for pneumatic raised bed planter with number of grains per cob as 410, plant population as 84,095 [9, 69] and 1000 grain weight as 285.86 (at 10% m.c., w.b.), owing to highest QFI as 87.99%, appropriate seeding depth of 35.16 mm and wider row spacing of 67.5 cm appropriate spacing between plants (row spacing and plant to plant spacing) resulted into non overlapping of inter row maize canopies, uniform exposure for all plants to sunlight, higher grain filling and grain weight. The higher yield for pneumatic raised bed planter with 2-rows of maize per bed revealed that 2-rows per bed for 150 mm bed height to be optimum for better crop growth and yield. The difference between QFI for pneumatic raised bed and flat

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

**Figure 17.** *Mechanical weeding operation in raised with 3-row sweep type weeder.*

**Figure 18.** *A view of maize crop at growing bed maize crop stage.*

planter was found as 2.74% and corresponding yield increase for pneumatic raised bed planter was 3.14% .

The flat inclined plate planter had lower yield of 4.98 t ha<sup>1</sup> owing to high missing index and multiple index and low QFI as 41.09%. Due to more multiples, 1000 grain weight per cob was low as 267.40 g because of more competition among plants for nutrients [70]. The grain yield and QFI for raised bed vertical plate planter was 6.75 t ha<sup>1</sup> , 48.04% and for manual flat planter was 7.42 t ha<sup>1</sup> , 76.85% respectively. In mechanical vertical plate mechanism a slight jerk in field resulted in skip of seeds at various points and more multiples/missings at other points [22]. The difference in QFI for raised bed inclined plate planter and flat inclined plate planter was 26.35% and yield increase for raised bed inclined plate planter was 35.41%. The manual flat planter

**Figure 19.** *A view of maize crop at maturity stage.*

**Figure 20.** *A view of maize grain samples from various trials.*

is economical, easy to operate and suitable for maize planting by small and hilly area farmers [22].

The raised bed inclined plate planter had plant population as 63,623 and cob grain weight as 0.010109 kg. But due to highest precision index 4.63% and more accurate plant to plant spacing 19.35 cm, seed placement at appropriate depth of 40.26 mm, the maize plants sown with this planter recorded maximum 1000 grain weight as 286.57 g and higher grain yield as 7.71 t ha<sup>1</sup> [9]. Due to lower missing index, better crop stand and canopy formation it lead to more sunlight exposure and healthy grains with a recorded more maize yield [25, 71].

In case of manual and raised bed vertical plate planter the QFI was higher (76.85%) for manual planter and missings, multiples were higher in raised bed vertical plate planter as 17.52%, 34.33% respectively. The missings may be attributed to higher speed in case of raised bed vertical plate planter (2.64 km h<sup>1</sup> ) as compared to manual planter (0.46 km h<sup>1</sup> ). The difference in QFI for manual flat planter and


*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

> **Table 6.**

## *Results obtained for maize yield (t ha1) (at 10% m.c., w.b.) sown with various planters during different year experiments.*

raised bed vertical plate planter was 28.81% and yield increase for manual planter was 9.03%.

The more height of bed (290 mm) and low depth of sowing in manual method (23.45 mm) lead to lower germination/plant population and lower yield (4.56–5.38 t ha�<sup>1</sup> ). It may be attributed to fact that seed was placed close to soil crust and in low moisture, rapid drying zone and root formation was not appropriate. The difference in maize yield between manual flat planter and manual sowing method (2.04–2.86 t ha�<sup>1</sup> ) also shows the importance of initial soil tillage. However seed metering mechanism in planter is most crucial to obtain optimum plant population, crop stand, growth and yield [24, 72]. The seeding depth for full runner type furrow opener and reversible shovel type furrow opener were 35.16 mm and between 23.33 and 40.26 mm respectively and corresponding plant emergence ranged between 79,065–84,095 and 63,623–73,154 respectively due to low soil resistance. The full runner type furrow opener and reversible shovel type furrow opener were found suitable for sandy loam soil [73, 74]. The depth of seed placement can be attributed to furrow opener type, depth setting, downforce (applied due to weight of planter), pull force, weight of machine, bed maker attachments. The bed maker attachments facilitates tillage in front of furrow opener by cutting, breaking and moving of soil and facilitated deeper placement of seed [34] due to friable condition of soil, which ultimately resulted in maximum plant emergence. The plant population among various planters also showed the benefits of light weight covering device like M.S. strips and zero pressure pneumatic wheels behind the seeding line. The light weight covering device enables furrow closure and seed soil contact for maximum germination and minimal compaction of seeds [75] as low weight covering device leaves the soil in crumbly condition which enables germinated seed to emerge from soil crust with lowest force. The effect of various planting mechanisms (metering, furrow opener and soil covering device), planter speed was found significant on SD value, precision index and maize yield (p <0.05).

The saving in water with raised bed inclined plate planter, raised bed vertical plate planter, ridge planting, pneumatic raised bed planting was 31.25 cm, 15.87, 18.62, 38.85 cm ha�<sup>1</sup> , respectively as compared to flat planting (**Table 7**). The saving of irrigation water ranged between 9.68 and 23.69% for raised bed planting as compared to flat planting [14]. The CO2 emissions in kg ha�<sup>1</sup> for raised bed inclined plate planter, raised bed vertical plate planter, ridge planting and flat planting were found to be 20.91, 26.66, 24.73 and 21.20, respectively and for pneumatic raised bed planter was 19.80 kg ha�<sup>1</sup> . The maize yield increase were found to be 3.98, 3.39 and 1.33 t ha�<sup>1</sup> for raised bed inclined plate planter, raised bed vertical plate planter, ridge planting as compared to flat planting. The data collected from submountainous rainfed area revealed that under rainfed conditions (rainfall between 150–950 mm, yearly 944.87 mm, *Kharif* 770.21 mm June-October, *Rabi* 186.89 mm October To February) the maize crop yield lied in between 3.5 and 4.0 t ha�<sup>1</sup> during *Kharif* season.

It is clear from the graphical representation that the highest irrigation water requirement (656 mm/acre) was for flood irrigation (**Figure 21**). The prediction equation for irrigation water (cm/ha) as a function of height of bed (cm) was obtained as:

$$\mathbf{y} = \mathbf{0}.091\mathbf{x}^2\mathbf{-3.339x} + \mathbf{164.3} \tag{8}$$

The prediction equation for maize yield (t ha�<sup>1</sup> ) as a function of height of bed (cm) and planter design was obtained as:


**Table 7.** *Irrigation water requirement, maize yield and CO2 emissions with various planters.*

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

**Figure 22.** *Maize yield attributed to planter height, parameters like quality of feed index and precision index.*

$$\mathbf{y} = -0.011\mathbf{x}^2 + 0.263\mathbf{x} + 6.819\tag{9}$$

The graphical relation between maize yield and quality of feed index and precision index is shown in **Figure 22**. The prediction equation between quality of feed index (%) and maize yield (t ha�<sup>1</sup> ) was obtained as

$$\mathbf{y} = \mathbf{1}.687\mathbf{x}^2 \mathbf{-10.70x} + 67.78 \tag{10}$$

The prediction equation between precision index (%) and maize yield (t ha�<sup>1</sup> ) was obtained as

$$\mathbf{y} = -0.275\mathbf{x}^2 + 2.952\mathbf{x} + 2.891\tag{11}$$

#### *Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

The irrigation water was certainly affected by height of bed and plant population which was related to type of planter used. From all the planters under experiment the pneumatic raised bed (125.15 cm ha<sup>1</sup> ) and raised bed inclined plate planter (132.75 cm ha<sup>1</sup> ) recorded minimum water requirement. Thus bed height ranging between 150 and 230 mm (6″–9″) was optimum for irrigation water saving and optimum yield. The highest irrigation water requirement (164.00 cm ha<sup>1</sup> ) was observed for flood irrigation under flat planting system and lowest yield was recorded for flat planting system (4.98 t ha<sup>1</sup> ). Raised bed vertical plate planter observed higher irrigation water (148.13 cm ha<sup>1</sup> ) and lower yield (6.75 t ha<sup>1</sup> ) than raised bed inclined plate planter practice (132.75 cm ha<sup>1</sup> and 7.71 t ha<sup>1</sup> ). The ridge planting method had water requirement of 145.38 cm ha<sup>1</sup> and lower yield. Generally it was found that that more applied irrigation water has inverse relation on maize yield i.e. water at root zone must be not more than sufficient for optimum crop establishment, growth and higher yield. Along with this alternate irrigation ensures more soil aeration and better root growth and underground water saving. Groundwater accounts for 99% of all liquid freshwater on Earth and is present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. Therefore it is very important to make smarter use of the potential of still sparsely developed groundwater resources, and protecting them from pollution and overexploitation and it is essential to meet the fundamental needs of an ever-increasing global population, to address the global climate and energy crises". To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 we have to improve the ways for using and managing groundwater efficiently with minimum waste and pollution [76]. Among many contributors to the Polar motion (PM) excitation trend, groundwater storage changes are estimated to be the second largest (4.36 cm/yr) toward 64.16°E [77]. The unregulated anthropogenic activities (like municipal, industrialization, pollution, deforestation, urbanization, building dams, improper landfill practices improper chemical, product, fuel storage causing leaks in soil, agricultural, marine dumping, oil leaks and spills, radioactive waste, global warming killing water animals and thus water pollution, etc.) have drastically increased groundwater depletion and resultant pollution. Groundwater quality monitoring should be done, especially by industries to measure groundwater parameters like Ph, TSS, water level, flow rate, etc. through a telemetry system and if any problem is observed, prompt action should be taken. Climate change will further exacerbate groundwater challenges by affecting aquifers both quantitatively and qualitatively. Geogenic factors such as salinity, fluoride, arsenic and iron in groundwater affect the resource and cause significant long-lasting, intergenerational health detriment. Metals such as cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), molybdenum (Mo), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) are critical for plant growth and are classified as essential micro nutrients. Other metals that are commonly found as contaminants, and are non-essential for plants, include arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), selenium (Se), uranium (U), vanadium (V), Wolfram (W). Metals can have toxic effect on plants even at low concentration. The pollution and depletion of groundwater notoriously violate the right to access water and, in turn, the right to life, recognized as a human right by numerous judicial pronouncements. Water pollution laws must create sufficient legal safeguards against groundwater pollution. The water crises, draught are becoming more common place around the world as billions of people (approx. 6.04 bn) continue to suffer from a lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene in the event of natural water resources scenario in world disasters and increasing global water withdrawals due to growing demand. Projected global water consumption by 2040 is 1.72 trm<sup>3</sup> and highest water consuming sector

worldwide by 2050 will be irrigation to agricultural crops. Maize being a C4 plants, has a competitive edge over C3 plants. C4 plants use 3-fold less water, allowing them to grow in conditions of drought, high temperature, and carbon dioxide limitation. Along with this the resource conservation techniques like raised bed planting of crops on raised bed, drip/sprinkler irrigation systems, underground pipeline system (to save evaporation, seepage losses as compared to open channels), crop rotations, rooftop (on building roof) and on farm rainwater harvesting structures (for underground water recharge as well as for use in agricultural lands, industrial, rural and urban area), crop diversification (pulses, sugarcane, maize, etc., in place of rice), agroforestry, etc. will play a crucial role in preventing over-exploitation of existing water resources and saving of underground water and mitigating climate change. Overexploitation or pumping groundwater aggressively may release arsenic into the water and also cause land subsidence (sudden sinking of land). Arsenic is mainly present in clayey layer of underground surface and little of it seeps into the water, while groundwater is pumped. But if overdone, a substantial amount may get entered into aquifers due to high hydraulic gradient created. Similarly, phytoremediation


#### **Table 8.**

*Cost economics calculations for various row crop planters.*

### *Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

(with poplar and other trees, etc.) technique can be used which involves use of plants and associated microbes to reduce the concentrations or toxic effects of contaminants in the environment. However, it is limited to root zone of plant and has limited application where the concentrations of contaminants are toxic to plants. The processes affecting the quality are dissolution, hydrolysis, precipitation, adsorption, ionexchange, oxidation, reduction and bio-chemical mediated reactions. In general, the reactions that control the chemistry of ground water are:



*Machine equivalent 133 MJ/kg (Source: CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering Volume V Energy and Biomass Engineering, p. 18).*

#### **Table 9.**

*Energy consumption in maize production.*

**Figure 23.** *Total energy and energy productivity associated with various maize sowing planters/techniques.*

#### **Figure 24.**

*Maize energy distribution pattern (%) in maize crop for various sowing methods/planters.*


Ground water that is in perpetual motion, acquires various physical, chemical, and biological characteristics as it flows from recharge area to the discharge area. The factors that influence ground water quality are: local geology, land use, climatic conditions particularly pattern and frequency of rainfall and anthropogenic activities such as use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, disposal of domestic sewage and industrial effluents and extent of exploitation of ground water resources.

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

#### **3.1 Cost economics**

The cost economics of the different methods were worked out for pneumatic raised bed planter, vertical plate bed planter, flat inclined plate planter, raised bed inclined plate planter and ridger + manual which are presented in **Table 8**.

The cost of maize sowing operation was found highest for ridger and manual sowing method showing a cost value of Rs. 6209.70 per ha (\$ 77.62 per ha) and lowest for pneumatic flat planter showing a cost value of Rs. 746.44 per ha (\$ 9.33 per ha) followed by pneumatic raised bed planter as Rs. 1008.14 per ha (\$ 12.60 per ha).

The energy calculation for various row crop planters/sowing techniques is shown in **Table 9** and energy productivity is shown in **Figure 23** and pattern is represented in **Figure 24**.

The energy involved was found maximum as 62.04 GJ.ha<sup>1</sup> for flat inclined plate planter and energy productivity was lowest for ridger+manual method and flat inclined plate planter as 0.08 kg MJ<sup>1</sup> . The specific energy was found minimum for pneumatic raised bed planter as 7.02 MJ kg<sup>1</sup> followed by pneumatic flat planter as 7.38 MJ kg<sup>1</sup> and raised bed inclined plate planter as 7.89 MJ kg<sup>1</sup> . The specific energy for maize sowing was found maximum for flat inclined plate planter as 12.46 MJ kg<sup>1</sup> . The energy productivity was found maximum for pneumatic raised bed planter, pneumatic flat planter as 0.14 kg MJ<sup>1</sup> followed by raised bed inclined plate planter as 0.13 kg MJ<sup>1</sup> .

The major % contribution factor for total energy was diesel fuel (63.83%) in various row crop planters followed by fertilizer (18.29%) and electricity (9.37%). The higher diesel fuel energy is due to more mechanized operations involved in maize cultivation. The machine energy contributed 5.58% in total energy as shown in **Figure 24**. The variation in electricity energy required for irrigation can be attributed to design of planters and bed shapes variation in various planters. The energy associated with weedicide can be reduced by use of mechanical weeders. Similarly fall armyworm and other insects can be controlled naturally by birds. To give birds a shelter 5–10% of cultivable land should be permanently brought under tree like *Neem* (*Azadirachta indica*), Ashoka tree (*Asopalav*), Tamarind, Jamun tree (*Syzygium cumini*), Banyan (*Ficus benghalensis*), fast growing bamboo (*bambusa vulgaris, Bambusoideae*), Stone apple or aegle marmelos (*bilwa or bael*), Moringa oleifera (drought tolerant), *amla* or Indian gooseberry (*Phyllanthus emblica*), Sal (Shorea robusta), Cedrus deodara, the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar and Teak (Tectona grandis) tropical hardwood tree species, orchard (mango, guava, apple, kinnow, etc.), etc. Moreover tree act as a carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization unit (CCU). Bamboo plants have potential to convert barren lands into a fertile forest. The researchers, from the Mizoram University in Aizawl, India, found that above-ground biomass in the stands of two bamboo species—Bambusa tulda (BT) and Dendrocalamus longispathus (DL)—have

#### **Figure 25.**

*Maize crop intercropped with Poplar (*Populus deltoides*) as a mitigation to heavy rainfall, cyclones and floods and also as a diversification option to rice crop in coastal areas.*

**Figure 26.**

*View of agriculture and forest land (Agroforestry) and on-farm rainwater water harvesting and recharging structure (for hilly and flat terrains).*

high potential for storing atmospheric carbon. On an average, one hectare of bamboo stands absorbs about 17 tonnes of carbon per year [78]. If planted at optimum distance, tree also helps in natural groundwater recharge. In a study field data from wick lysimeters revealed that the percentage of the yearly rainfall percolating to 1.5m soil depth reached its maximum of 16% of the annual rainfall around the edge of the tree canopy, 4.4m from the nearest tree stem, and decreased to 1.3% in open areas, 37 m away from the nearest tree. The model was run repeatedly and valid for a tree density of 20 trees ha�<sup>1</sup> , average tree size (67 m2 canopy area), and 50% water uptake below 1.5 m soil depth [79]. Also during cyclones, storms, trees can protect the properties from debris attack and protect the structures situated downwind from damage . So selection of proper cyclone resistant tree species like *Terminalia arjuna*, *Azadirachta indica*, *Millettia pinnata* (L.) Panigrahi etc. is necessary in coastal areas [80]. Some farmers are practicing maize crop intercropping with poplar (*Populus deltoides*) tree for timber purpose which yields timber around after 5–6 years and good profit to farmers (**Figure 25**). A view of agro forestry concept and rainwater storage and harvesting structure is shown in **Figure 26**. On-farm rainwater harvesting structure can be used at hilly terrains at higher altitude than fields, or in flat terrains if the agricultural land is under organic practices.

The plants are planted at a spacing of 600 cm � 180 cm (20<sup>0</sup> � 6<sup>0</sup> ) and with a population of 1000–1250 per ha if grown alone and 750 per ha if grown with some field crops like maize, wheat or turmeric etc. The cost of planting is 25,000 per ha (USD 313 \$ ha�<sup>1</sup> ) and net returns vary between 10.0 and 12.5 lakh per ha (USD 12,500–15,625 \$ ha�<sup>1</sup> ) depending upon growth and girth of plant. Normally this tree grows to height of 85 feet and 36 inches in diameters and average weight of tree ranges between 80 and 120 kg (0.08–0.12 tonne). The average selling price ranges between Rs 12,000–13,000 per tone (USD 150–162 \$ ha�<sup>1</sup> ).

Maize grown in this way can be used for both grain and silage purpose. The populous deltoids tree can tolerate annual precipitation in the range of 600–1500 mm and more making it suitable for flood tolerance [81]. This means that the maize crop intercropping with high water requiring plants like Populus deltoids can be a good mitigation measure in heavy rainfall, flood prone, coastal areas like north-east, north-west and other zones in India and other regions. The water use of a Eucalyptus (2500 l/year) plantation and other tree species such as *Acacia auriculiformis* (1200–1300 litres/year), *Dalbergia sissoo* (1400–1600 litres/year), *Albizzia lebbek* (1200–1300 litres/year) is high. Permanent plantation of such high water demanding tree along with agricultural crops or as plants alone (in 5–10% of cultivable land by every farmer) can help mitigate the climate change effects in flood prone, coastal

*Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

**Figure 27.** *Maize crop is commonly sold on roadside after heat processing and is a good nutrition source.*

areas. Farmers can take advantage by selling timber also but plantation area should be maintained by again planting tree on same or new location of cultivable land for combating heavy rainfall, floods etc. Similarly eco friendly technique helps natural control of insects and pests. The eco friendly "Push-pull climate smart" technology entails using an attractive trap plant (Napier/Brachiaria grass as a "pull") and a repellent intercrop (Desmodium as a "push"). Around maize farms, the Napier grass is which attracts stemborers and fall armyworm (FAW) to lay eggs on it but it does not allow larvae to develop on it due to poor nutrition; so very few larvae survive. At the same time, Desmodium, planted as an intercrop emits volatiles that repels stemborers or FAW [82]. Thus energy associated with machine, diesel, electricity and various other inputs can be reduced by selection of appropriate maize planter, climate smart technologies like Push-pull along with Agro-Forestry concept and total energy involved in maize production can also be reduced in a sustainable way and also organic concept can be boosted. Maintaining Agro forestry, birds i.e. biodiversity concept can be useful for other fields crops also. They can protect field crops from excessive heat waves occurring due to climate change and from various insect pests through increased birds population, thus increasing economy of small and marginal farmers. The maize crop can be economical as it creates opportunity from low income families and they buy it from local market and sell them as roadside food on good prices between Rs 20–60 (0.25–0.75 US\$) (**Figure 27**).
