Growth, productivity, input use and economics of Indian mustard as influenced by variable nitrogen doses under micro-irrigation

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted on Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czernj and Cosson) to
evaluate the effect of variable nitrogen doses under micro-irrigation in the semi-arid conditions of
Rajasthan. The experiment was laid out in spilt plot design (SPD) with three replications during
winter (rabi) seasons 2010-11 and 2011-12. Irrigation through micro irrigation significantly increased
seed yield by 28% over check basin. The respective increase in seed yield was 79.6%, 27.6% and
11.7% up on the application of 40, 80 and 120 kg N/ha over control during 2010-11. The respective
values for 2011-12 were 64.5%, 45.5% and 28.4%. The photosynthetic rate due to various irrigation
and fertigation treatments varied from 8.0 to 13.3 during 2010-11 and from 8.5 to 15.5 during 2011-
12. The production efficiency obtained under micro-sprinkler was 19.6% and 44.4% higher over
check basin during 2010-11 and 2011-12. The highest sal yield, physiological parameters, production
efficiency, irrigation water use efficiency and profitability of Indian mustard were obtained under
micro-sprinkler over check basin method. Also, all these parameters significantly increased with
increasing application of N up to 120 kg/ha. Key words: Indian mustard, Irrigation water efficiency,
Micro irrigation, N fertilization, Production efficiency