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Abstract
This study evaluated the influence of crop rotation systems involving cereal, legume, green manure, and melon crops on productivity under rainfed conditions. The yields of winter wheat, chickpea, and watermelon cultivated after different green manure crops were analyzed. The results showed that green manure treatments significantly increased watermelon yield compared with the conventional fallow treatment. The highest yield (192.1 centners ha⁻¹) was obtained after a mixture of forage pea and triticale used as green manure, exceeding the control treatment by 11.9 centners ha⁻¹. The forage pea + barley mixture and forage pea alone produced average yields of 186.4 and 181.6 centners ha⁻¹, respectively. The positive effect of green manure crops was associated with improved soil fertility, enhanced biological nitrogen accumulation, increased organic matter content, better soil structure, and improved soil moisture conservation. The findings indicate that integrating legume–cereal green manure mixtures into crop rotation systems is an effective agroecological practice for improving soil productivity and increasing watermelon yield in rainfed farming areas.
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