Effect of Cultural Practices and Integrated Nutrient Management in Green gram cv. BGS-9 on Plant Growth and Seed Yield Parameters

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the summer season of 2016-17 to study the effect of dates of sowing, planting geometry and integrated nutrient management in green gram (Vigna radiata) cv. BGS9 during the summer season on plant growth attributing characters. Six levels of fertiliser doses, three different dates of sowing and three spacing levels were imposed along with control under split plot design with three replications. Field data were recorded on plant height at 30, 60 DAS and at harvest, number of branches per plant, days to 50 per cent flowering, pod length, number of pods per plant and seed yield per hectare. Results revealed that all the characters significantly differ among the treatments. Early sowing during summer i.e. on March 30th with the spacing of 30 x 10 cm and seeds treated with rhizobium (20g kg-1 of seeds) and phosphate solubilising bacteria (20g kg-1 of seeds) + 100 % recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) as basal + borax spray (100 ppm) at flower initiation was recorded higher plant height at 30, 60 days after sowing (DAS) and at harvest [(30.86, 39.42 and 44.04 cm), (30.12, 39.50 and 43.88 cm), (30.17, 40.04 and 44.33 cm, respectively)], maximum number of branches per plant (4.33, 4.45 and 4.39, respectively), lesser number of days to taken 50 per cent flowering (33.76, 33.65 and 29.54, respectively), highest pod length (10.33 cm, 10.41 cm and 10.42 cm, respectively), maximum number of pods per plant (12.93, 12.84 and 14.84, respectively) and higher seed yield per hectare (682 kg, 676 kg and 751 kg, respectively). Early sowing on March 30th with the spacing of 30 x 10 cm and seed treatment with rhizobium and phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB) + RDF as a basal + borax spray (100 ppm) at flower initiation stage found best among all the treatment combinations for achieving higher plant growth and higher yield