Increased Net Returns .
This is made possible through increased cane productivity as well as additional income from intercrops. By adopting intercropping and proper intercultural operations, the per unit profitability will be improved (Prabhakar 1999; Mahadevaswamy 2001; Panghal 2010). The cumulative effects of wider row planting, mechanized cane operations including harvesting and multi-ratooning facility will boost up profit margin to the cane growers (Nagendran 2009). When pulse crops are grown as intercrops, it improves the soil fertility by adding organic matter and nitrogen fixation in the soil.
The other advantages of wide row spacing are: decrease in insect pests survival (Panghal 2010); more space for germinating shoots, facilitate higher tillering and better tiller survival (Vasantha et al. 2011) and legumes as intercrops improves soil fertility (Sundara 2007). Under wide row, it is easy for the human labour to move inside the field for operations like trashing, plant protection, guiding irrigation water etc. (Gopalasundaram 2009).
Constraints in Wider Row Spacing.
In spite of realizing high cane yield and good crop stand in wider row spaced sugarcane, farmers face certain specific constraints. Farmers are reluctant to take up the wider row planting since majority of the farmers are having small land holdings which is not ideal for wider row spacing. Besides,