Symbiotic characters, thermal requirement, growth, yield and economics of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) genotypes sown at different dates under Punjab conditions

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during kharif (rainy season) 2008 and 2009 at research farm of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, to study the effect of four/three sowing dates (1 May, 15 May, 1 June and 15 June in 2008 and 15 May, 1 June and 15 June in 2009) on the symbiotic characters, thermal requirement, growth, productivity and economics of four pigeonpea genotypes (AL 201, AL 1507, AL 1578 and AL 1593). Days taken to 50% flowering, physiological maturity, and various agroclimatic indices i.e. AGDD, AHTU, APTU and HUE decreased with delay in sowing. The crop sown on 15 May recorded the highest nodule dry weight plant -1. The grain yield was significantly higher for the 15 May sowing compared to the 15 June sowing. During the two years, the crop sown on 15 May registered on average 6.7 and 48.0 percent higher grain yield than the1 June and 15 June sowings, respectively. The crop sown on 15 May gave the maximum gross returns, net returns and benefit-cost (B:C) ratio. Among the genotypes, AL 1507 recorded the highest nodule number plant-1 and AL 1578 recorded the maximum nodule dry weight plant-1.Genotypes AL 1507, AL 1578 and AL 1593 registered on average 19.4, 19.2 and 20.0 percent higher grain yield relative to AL 201, respectively. The genotype AL 1507 in 2008 and AL 1593 in 2009 performed better in terms of heat use efficiency for grain yield.

Thermal requirements, growth and yield of pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] genotypes under different agroclimatic zones of Punjab

“…On the basis of means of all the locations, 15 May sowing gave 23.3, 22.1 and 46.7% higher grain yield over 1 May, 1 June and 15 June sowing, respectively. Our findings are in line with those of Ram et al (2011) and Singh et al (2016) who reported that 15 May sown pigeonpea crop produced significantly higher grain yield than 1 June and 15 June sown crop. The increased grain yield due to early sowing could be ascribed to the high leaf area index and its persistence, photosynthetically active radiation interception and absorption, leading to higher dry matter accumulation before the pigeonpea crop reached the reproductive stage (Patel et al 2000).…”

“…Other researchers also reported sharp decline in the grain yield of pigeonpea with delay in sowing time (Kumar et al 2008;Singh et al 2016). Contrarily, harvest index increased with delay in sowing (Table 4) primarily due to reduction in vegetative biomass.…”

“…Its grains are rich in high digestible protein (21.7 g/100 g), low in fat (1.49 g/100 g) with no cholesterol and high dietary fibres. Being a non-monetary input, sowing time significantly influences the growth and grain yield of pigeonpea (Wilson et al, 2012;Egbe et al, 2013;Singh et al, 2016). Delayed sowings beyond the optimum period result in low grain yields of pigeonpea (Kumar et al, 2008).…”

“…Delayed sowings beyond the optimum period result in low grain yields of pigeonpea (Kumar et al, 2008). Genotypes may vary in productivity (Egbe and Vange, 2008;Bhavi et al, 2013;Umesh et al, 2013;Singh et al, 2016) and the yield potential of the genotypes can be fully exploited through providing appropriate microclimate temperature between 18 and 29 o C at different growth and development phases. All biological processes of crops respond to tempera-ISSN : 0974-9411 (Print), 2231-5209 (Online) All Rights Reserved © Applied and Natural Science Foundation www.jans.ansfoundation.org ture and all responses can be summarized in terms of three cardinal temperatures: a base or minimum, an optimum and a maximum temperature.…”

Assessment of Sowing Time and Cultivars on Growth, Development and Yield Parameters of Pigeonpea

“…The increase in number of pods was attributed due to increase in number of branches per plant and better balance between the vegetative and reproductive phases. These results are in accordance with the earlier findings of Rani and Reddy (2010) and Singh et al, (2016). Same trends were followed for number of seeds per plant and number of seeds per pod.…”