The objective of the study was to determine the profitability and employment-generation potential of different cropping systems involving menthol mint ( Mentha arvensis L.) as a component of sequential/intercropping in comparison with the most common paddy-wheat-green gram cropping system. Field experiments were conducted at Lucknow, India (26°5?N, 80°5?E and 120 m above mean sea level) for three years from July 2004 to June 2007. Menthol mint yielded the maximum fresh shoot biomass and essential oil (21.0 t and 151 kg ha -1, respectively) grown after sweet basil ( Ocimum basillicum)-potato followed by paddy-potato-menthol mint (18.9 t and 136 kg ha -1, respectively) and maize-mustard-menthol mint (17.7 t and 131 kg ha -1, respectively). Net returns of all the menthol-mint-based cropping systems were 82.6-354% higher than traditional paddy-wheat-green gram cropping system. Maize-garlic-menthol mint+okra was found to be most profitable (77,200 Rs ha -1) followed by pigeon pea+sweet basil-menthol mint+okra (76,120 Rs ha -1). Employment-generation efficiency was much higher in cropping systems involving menthol mint and vegetable crops, the highest (2.21 man days ha -1 day -1) being in a maize-cauliflower-onion-menthol mint+okra cropping system.
