Effect of harvest methods on the second flush yield of short-duration pigeonpea (Cajanus cajari)

Abstract

Short-duration pigeonpea can give up to three harvests in environments with mild winters (e.g. minimum temperature above 10 °C) such as those prevailing in peninsular India (Sharma, Saxena & Green. 1978; Chauhan, Venkataratnam & Sheldrake, 1984). This is mainly due to the short time (about 120 days) taken to produce the first flush, and the strong perennial character of pigeonpea. The seed yield of short-duration pigeonpea in this multipleharvest system may reach 5'2 t/ha (Chauhan et al. 1984). Venkataratnam & Sheldrake (1985) found that the yield of the second harvest of medium-duration pigeonpea was significantly influenced by the method of harvesting of the first flush. The lower the plants were cut, the smaller were the second-harvest yields. A positive relationship between the height at which the stem was cut and success of ratooning was also reported by Suarez & Herreara (1971). Tayo (1985), however, found that in the lowland tropics, plants of a dwarf pigeonpea variety ratooned at 0-3 m had better growth and yield than hand-picked plants; ratooning at 0-6 m height was intermediate. Information on the effect of different harvest methods on yield of short-duration pigeonpea in subtropical, semi-arid environments is not available. The objective of this study was to obtain this information.On both soils two short-duration pigeonpea genotypes, ICPL 81 (indeterminate) and ICPL 87 (determinate), were sown on 15 June 1984 on both sides of 0-6 m ridges at a spacing of 03 x0-1 m. At first-flush maturity the following three harvest methods were applied to the crop which had grown about 1 m tall:(1) cutting off the shoots 0 -6 m above ground level (ratooning), (2) hand picking the mature pods on the plant, and (3) no harvest (single-harvest only at the second-flush maturity). The experimental treatments of harvest methods and genotypes were laid out in a randomized-block design. There were four replications on each soil and the plot size was 6 x 4 m. On both soils, about 19 in 2 per plot was harvested for yield estimation. The experiment on the alfisol was irrigated 10 and 20 weeks after sowing (WAS) and that on the vertisol at 11 and 21 WAS. Labour records were kept during the first harvest. In all the treatments, at the second-flush maturity, all pods of plants were harvested by cutting the stems at ground level. All harvested material was threshed by machine and the seed was sun-dried to a moisture content of 8-9% before weighing. The pods that dropped off, mainly during the second flush and its harvest, were also carefully collected and threshed, and their seed yield was included in the second-flush yield of the ratooning and hand picking treatment, and in the total yield of the single-harvest treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe experiments were conducted on an alfisol (Udic Rhodustalf) and a vertisol (Typic Pellustert) at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Centre (17 °N, 78 °.E, 545 m elevation) in 1984-5. The alfisols generally hold less than 100 mm plant-available w...

Assessment of ratoonability of short-duration pigeonpea genotypes

“…Thus, the results of the present study and those of others (Chauhan et al 1987a;Rao & Sachan 1988;Ahmed & Carangal 1989) have confirmed the high ratoon yield potential of short-duration pigeonpea cultivars. In the earlier studies, among the limited number of genotypes tested, ICPL 87 was found to be the best genotype for ratooning (Chauhan et al 19876;Ahmed & Carangal 1989). The results of the present study suggest that several other genotypes may give a higher ratoon yield than ICPL 87.…”