Effect of Nitrogen Levels and its Scheduling on Growth, Yield and Grain Quality of Malt Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under Normal and Late Sown Conditions in North-West Rajasthan

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted to find out the effect of nitrogen levels and its split application on growth, yield and quality of malt barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under normal and late sown conditions during winter seasons of 2005-06 and 2006-07. The results showed significantly higher yield attributing characters, grain and straw yield, harvest index, husk content and net returns of malt barley under normal sown condition while, grain protein concentration was significantly higher under late sowing. Increasing nitrogen from 60 to 90 kg ha-1 significantly enhanced plant height, yield attributes and yields, harvest index, grain protein concentration and net returns of malt barley. Scheduling of nitrogen at 1/3 as basal+1/3 at 1st irrigation+1/3 at 2nd irrigation substantially improved yield attributing characters and yields, harvest index, grain protein concentration and net returns while husk content was decreased. Scheduling of N in three equal splits affected the quality of malt barley grains. This treatment increased the protein content in grain, but it remained under the prescribed limit as per Indian standards in north-west Rajasthan conditions. Key words: Nitrogen levels, growing environments, nitrogen application scheduling, malt barley.