International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 299-311 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 299 Research Article Open Access Economic Analysis of Solo Cropping and Mixed Cropping with Maize in Yield of Potato in Rasuwa, Nepal Preeti Yadav, Saroj Yadav , Bibas Chaulagai, Samikshya Poudel Agriculture and Forestry University, Faculty of Agriculture, Rampur, Chitwan, 44209, Nepal Corresponding author: saroj8030y@gmail.com International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.6 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0030 Received: 22 Jul., 2025 Accepted: 27 Oct., 2025 Published: 10 Dec., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Yadav et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Yadav P., Yadav S., Chaulagai B., and Poudel S., 2025, Economic analysis of solo cropping and mixed cropping with maize in yield of potato in Rasuwa, Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 15(6): 299-311 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0030) Abstract Potato, the second most produced crop in Nepal, is critical for rural livelihoods, yet farmers in the Rasuwa district lack an economic comparison between solo potato cropping and mixed potato-maize cropping to optimize their practices. This study's primary objective was to comprehensively assess and compare the yield and profitability of these two systems. Utilizing a structured household survey, data were collected from 90 farmers selected through simple random sampling in the Kalika and Gosaikunda municipalities, with analysis centered on the Benefit-Cost (B/C) ratio. The results conclusively demonstrate that mixed cropping is significantly more profitable, achieving a B/C ratio of 2.77 compared to 1.62 for solo cropping (p-value=0.001). Although mixed cropping had a higher total average cost (NRs/ha 228,557 vs. NRs/ha 193,123 with p value of 0.001), it yielded vastly greater average benefits (NRs/ha 379,915 vs. NRs/ha 100,523 (p-value=0.012)). Crucially, the mixed system's primary benefit was its effectiveness in reducing the risk of crop failure, and regression analysis identified chemical fertilizer and potato tuber costs as key positive determinants of cost. These findings strongly advocate for the adoption of mixed potato-maize cropping as a superior, more economical strategy to enhance both farm productivity and financial stability in the region. Keywords Agricultural economics; Benefit-cost ratio; Economic profitability; Input cost analysis; Mixed cropping systems 1 Introduction Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a starchy food and a root vegetable native to the Americas. It is perennial plant belonging to the family Solanaceae. Potato is fifth major crop of Nepal in terms of coverage and second in the terms of production with total production of 3,521,794 tons in 2023 (MoALD, 2023/24). In Rasuwa, potato was cultivated in 2,629 ha area with production of 42,466 tons (MoALD, 2023/24) . Growing scope of potato in the form of vegetables, fries, chips and other foods has provided a motivation to cultivated potatoes in rural areas of Nepal. Maize is a rich source of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamin B, minerals (mg, P) belonging to the family Poaceae. Solo cropping and mixed cropping are two prevalent agricultural practices with varying implications on crop yield and economic returns. Solo cropping, where only one crop is cultivated in a field, has been a traditional practice in the region. However, mixed cropping, involving the simultaneous cultivation of two or more crops in the same fields, has gained attention for its potential benefits such as increased yield stability, soil fertility and income diversification. Rasuwa District, is known for its diverse agricultural practices and challenging terrain, relies heavily on agriculture for livelihoods, with Potato and Maize being key crops cultivated by local farmers. Maize is most compatible crop with potato for their contrasting phenology, Maize is widely spaced crop and there is ample scope to grow short duration intercrops in the interspaces (Begum et al., 2016). The maximum advantage in terms of yield and Land Equivalent Ratio can be obtained from potato and maize inter-cropping when both the crops are planted with 75% of their normal population, Net profit and benefit: cost ratio were also maximum under this treatment (Fan et al., 2016). Potato intercropped with maize can reduce the population and the damage of PTM by enhancing the number of parasitoids and parasitism rate (Zheng et al., 2020). On sloping land, the maize and potato intercropping can decrease the surface runoff and the soil evaporation, increase the soil moisture content and increase the yield of crops (Fan et al., 2016). In low Potato yielding areas, the intercropping is beneficial but
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==