Navneet Aggarwal

IRRIGATION OF CHICKPEA ( CICER ARIETINUM L.) INCREASES YIELD BUT NOT WATER PRODUCTIVITY

The depth to ground water is increasing in several regions of the world due to use of high-yielding, but also high water-requiring crops such as rice ( Oryza sativa ) and wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), in order to maintain food security for an ever increasing world population. There is a need not only to increase the water productivity of food crops, but also to find less water-requiring crops. Irrigated chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.), traditionally grown without irrigation, may provide an alternative crop to irrigated wheat in some regions. Two field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of irrigation on chickpea yields, yield components and grain and biomass water productivity (based on irrigation (WP I ) and irrigation + rainfall (WP I+R )) grown in a loamy sand soil. In the first year, 75 mm of irrigation at the vegetative stage and at the vegetative plus podding stages resulted in a 59% and a 73% increase in grain yield, respectively, compared to no irrigation, but with little change in WP I+R . Overall yields in the second year were significantly higher due to warmer temperatures and fewer frosts during flowering and podding. Compared to no irrigation, 75 mm of irrigation at flowering or at podding resulted in a 7% and a 27% increase in grain yield, but a decrease in grain and biomass water productivity (WP I+R ). Irrigation had a significant effect on the number of pods plant −1 in both the years and on 100-seed weight in the first year. We conclude that application of a single irrigation during podding to chickpea grown in a loamy sand soil will reliably increase yields and may provide a water-saving alternative to wheat in water-scarce environments.

Agronomic Approaches to Stress Management

Droughts affect the agriculture sector greatly by reducing the productivity of crops and thereby influencing food security, livestock and the national economy. Droughts may be managed to some extent, to lower their adverse effects on agriculture. Agronomic approaches may play an important role in this management. In drought-prone areas, only those crops and/or varieties should be grown which can tolerate drought due to their specific characteristics based on growth pattern, crop duration, rooting pattern, etc. Tillage operations before the rains help in capturing rain water efficiently. In the Mediterranean region, the productivity of cool-season grain legumes can be enhanced by shifting sowing time from spring to winter season, through better utilization of moisture by the crop. Deep sowing, straw mulch application and seed priming help in improving the plant stand and productivity of crops under moisture stress conditions. Adequate nutrient application and weed removal have been found beneficial in raising crop yields. Intercropping of grain legumes with other crops may also be followed to lower the risk of the total crop failure under adverse conditions. Water harvesting and supplemental irrigation need to be encouraged to improve water use efficiency and grain yields under moisture stress conditions.

Yield enhancement and phosphorus economy in lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) with integrated use of phosphorus, Rhizobium and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria

ABSTRACT The study evaluated the effects of phosphorus (0, 20, 30, and 40 kg P2O5 ha−1) and biofertilizers [Rhizobium (Rhizobium leguminosarum bv viciae), plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) (Pseudomonas fluorescens), Rhizobium + PGPR, and uninoculated control] in lentil. Application of 40 kg P2O5 ha−1 resulted in the highest number of nodules, nodule dry weight, leghemoglobin content in nodules, chlorophyll content, yield attributes, and grain yield. Coinoculated treatment performed better than uninoculated control, and individual inoculations of Rhizobium and PGPR in terms of all above mentioned parameters. Application of 20 kg P2O5 ha−1 + Rhizobium inoculation gave statistically similar and 20 kg P2O5 ha−1 + Rhizobium + PGPR inoculation gave significantly higher grain yield than that by 40 kg P2O5 ha−1 alone. The use of Rhizobium alone and Rhizobium + PGPR consortium can save not only 20 kg P2O5 ha−1 but also increase the grain yield of lentil.

Genetic variation for tolerance to post-emergence herbicide, imazethapyr in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

ABSTRACT Weeds pose a serious constraint to lentil production. Identification and deployment of post-emergence herbicide tolerance in improved varieties can help reduce the production cost and increase the productivity and area under lentil cultivation. Imazethapyr, a post-emergence herbicide was tested on 180 lentil genotypes for two consecutive years. Significant variation among the genotypes was observed for tolerance to imazethapyr. On a 1–5 scale, 12 genotypes were found tolerant, 46 moderately tolerant, 112 sensitive and 10 highly sensitive during the first season, and 11 genotypes were found tolerant, 51 moderately tolerant, 110 sensitive and 8 highly sensitive during the second season. Based on the first year’s result, 30 genotypes, representing tolerant, moderately tolerant, sensitive and highly sensitive reactions, were evaluated to determine the effect of herbicide on morpho-physiological and yield traits. The adverse effect of imazethapyr was significant on growth and yield attributes of lentils. Five genotypes namely LL699, LL1397, IPL406, EC78452 and LL1203 demonstrated tolerance to imazethapyr with limited phytotoxic effect on various morpho-physiological traits. These genotypes showed less reduction (<19%) for seed yield in imazethapyr treated plots as compared to control. These genotypes offer scope for developing post-emergence herbicide tolerant cultivars in lentil.

Symbiotic parameters, growth, nutrient accumulation, productivity and profitability as influenced by integrated nutrient management in lentil (Lens culinaris)

ABSTRACT Field experiments evaluated the effects of integrated nutrient management on symbiotic parameters, growth, nutrient accumulation, productivity and profitability of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus). Application of recommended dose of nutrients (RDN, 12.5 kg N ha−1 + 40 kg P2O5 ha−1) + 25 kg ZnSO4 ha−1 + seed inoculation with biofertilizers [Rhizobium + phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) + plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR)] + 1.0 g ammonium molybdate kg−1 seed recorded the highest number & dry weight of nodules, leghaemoglobin content, root & shoot dry weight, plant height, number of pods plant−1 and 100-seed weight. The next best treatment was RDN + seed inoculation with biofertilizers + 1.0 g ammonium molybdate kg−1 seed. On the basis of mean of three-year data, the treatment of RDN + 25 kg ZnSO4 ha−1 + seed inoculation with biofertilizers + 1.0 g ammonium molybdate kg−1 seed proved the best in realizing the highest grain yield (34.0%), gross returns (34.0%) and net returns (54.8% higher over control). Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the grains and straw were significantly improved where RDN was applied in combination with seed inoculation, basal application of ZnSO4 and seed treatment with 1 g ammonium molybdate than their single applications.

Growth, Productivity and Economics of Kabuli Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Genotypes in Response to Seed Rate in Northern India

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important grain legume in the world. During 2014, globally it was grown on 13.98 million ha area, with the total production of 13.73 million tonnes (FAOSTAT, 2017) and average productivity of 982 kg ha -1 . The important chickpea growing countries are India, Turkey, Pakistan, Australia, Myanmar and Ethiopia. In many countries, the average chickpea yields are very low. Many biotic and abiotic constraints limit chickpea yield (Sekhon et al., 1994, 2002, 2004; Virk et al., 2005; Singh et al., 2011, 2016; Sharma and Singh, 2013; Singh, 2016). Major biotic constraints include Ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta rabiei, Botrytis grey mould caused by Botrytis cinerea and gram pod borer Heliothis armigera whereas major abiotic factors are very low as well as very high temperatures, moisture stress, salinity etc.