SummarySoil and nutrients losses due to soil erosion are detrimental to crop production, especially in the hilly terrains. An experiment was carried out in three consecutive cropping seasons (2012–2015) with four treatments: sole maize; sole maize with plastic mulch; maize and cowpea under plastic mulching; and maize and soybean under plastic mulching in randomized block design (RBD) to assess their impact on productivity, profitability, and resource (rainwater, soil, and NPK nutrients) conservation in the Indian sub-Himalayan region. The plot size was 9 × 8.1 m with 2% slope, and runoff and soil loss were measured using a multi-slot devisor. The results showed that mean runoff decreased from 356 mm in sole maize with plastic mulch plots to 229 mm in maize + cowpea intercropping with plastic mulch, representing a reduction of 36% and corresponding soil loss reduction was 41% (from 9.4 to 5.5 t ha−1). The eroded soil exported a considerable amount of nitrogen (N) (13.2–31.4 kg ha−1), phosphorous (P) (0.5–1.7 kg ha−1), and potassium (K) (9.9–15.6 kg ha−1) and was consistently lower in maize + cowpea intercropping. The maize equivalent yield (MEY) was significantly higher in maize + cowpea with plastic mulch intercropping than the other treatments. These results justify the need to adopt maize with alternate legume intercrops and plastic mulch. This strategy must be done in a way guaranteeing high yield stability to the smallholder farmers of the Indian sub-Himalayan region.

中文翻译：

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评价以玉米为基础的间作对印度亚喜马拉雅山麓的径流、土壤流失和产量的影响

摘要土壤侵蚀导致的土壤和养分损失对作物生产有害，尤其是在丘陵地带。在连续三个种植季节（2012-2015 年）进行了一项试验，采用四个处理：单一玉米；用塑料覆盖的单一玉米；塑料覆盖下的玉米和豇豆；以及采用随机区组设计 (RBD) 的塑料覆盖下的玉米和大豆，以评估它们对印度次喜马拉雅地区的生产力、盈利能力和资源（雨水、土壤和 NPK 养分）保护的影响。样地面积为 9 × 8.1 m，坡度为 2%，径流和土壤流失量采用多槽除法器测量。结果表明，平均径流从单一玉米地膜覆盖地块的 356 毫米下降到玉米 + 豇豆间作覆盖地膜的 229 毫米，-1）。被侵蚀的土壤输出了大量的氮（N）（13.2-31.4 kg ha-1), 磷 (P) (0.5–1.7 kg ha-1) 和钾 (K) (9.9–15.6 kg ha-1) 并且在玉米 + 豇豆间作中一直较低。玉米+豇豆与地膜间作的玉米当量产量（MEY）显着高于其他处理。这些结果证明了采用玉米与豆科间作和塑料覆盖物交替种植的必要性。这一战略必须以保证印度喜马拉雅以南地区小农的高产稳定性的方式实施。