Effect of sowing date and spacing on yield and economics of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.)

Introduction

Greengram or mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) is one of the important pulse crop in India. It is becoming an important crop, as it is the best alternative to meet the food needs of the large population of developing countries due to its nutritional superiority and nitrogen fixing characters (Raza et al., 2012) [6] . Greengram is originated from India and Central Asia. In India, Greengram is grown over an area about 4.26 Mha with an average production of 2.01 mt Average grain yield of 472 kg/ ha (Annual report 2017-2018) greengram seeds contain 25% protein, 1-15% oil, 3.5-4.5% ash and 56.7% carbohydrates. High lysine content makes its protein an excellent complement to rice in terms of balanced human nutrition. During 2017-2018 the total coverage under mungbean in uttarpradesh 0.72 Lha with a production 0.40 Lt. and the productivity 555.56 (kg/ha). It is estimated that Indian population will be around 1460 million by 2030 and demand for pulses would further grow in the years to come. India is the largest producer of mungbean which accounts for 65 percent of the world's area and shares 54 percent of the world's production. The important mungbean growing states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar and annual production of mungbean is about 1.8 million tones (Soren et al., 2012) [8] . Among the various agronomic practices, sowing time is the most important factor influencing the yield of mung bean (Malik M.A et al. 2006) [12] . Optimum sowing time of mung bean may vary from one variety to another and also from one region to another due to variation of agro-ecological conditions (Sarkar et al., 2004) [7] . Late sowing which result in flowering during the high temperature to low moisture periods will reduce yield. Early sowing date in humid and sub-humid areas of may lead to high disease pressures and maximum yield loss may be observed (Itefa, 2016) [1] . Spacing is one of the most important cultural practices to determine the grain yield. Stand density affects architecture, alters growth and development pattern and influence carbohydrate production and partition. Ideally spaced equidistantly from each other competes minimally for nutrients and other growth factors.

Narrow rows make more efficient use of available light and also shade the surface soil completely during the early part of the season while the soil is still moist. This results in lower moisture evaporation from the soil surface. With the utilization of higher densities, it soon became clear that distribution within the row could be a limiting factor in wide rows, preventing the full expression of the crop yield potential.

Materials and Methods

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif season 2023 at Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, SHUATS, Prayagraj (U.P.) which is located at 25° 39' 42"N latitude, 81° 67' 56"E longitude, and 98 m altitude above the mean sea level (MSL). The soil is sandy loam in texture and have neutral in soil reaction (pH 7.8), low in organic carbon (0.62%), available N (182 kg/ha), available P (32.2 kg/ha), available K (240.7 kg/ha). Urea, SSP and MOP were the source of N, P, K nutrients to fill the requirements. The recommended dose of 20kg of N/ha, 40kg of P/ha were applied. The treatment consisted 3 levels of sowing date and 3 levels of spacing along with recommended doses of N:P:K (20:40:20). The experiment was laid out in Randomize Block Design with nine treatments each replicated. The treatment combinations are mentioned as T1: 2 nd fortnight of June + Spacing 20 cm × 10 cm, T2: 2 nd fortnight of June + Spacing 30 cm × 10 cm, T3: 2 nd fortnight of June + Spacing 40 cm × 10 cm, T4: 1 st fortnight of July + Spacing 20 cm × 10 cm, T5: 1 st fortnight of July + Spacing 30 cm × 10 cm, T6: 1 st fortnight of July + Spacing 40 cm × 10 cm, T7: 2 nd fortnight of July + Spacing 20 cm × 10 cm, T8: 2 nd fortnight of July + Spacing 30 cm × 10 cm, T9: 2 nd fortnight of July + Spacing 40 cm × 10 cm. Plot was replicated three times to determine the effect of Sowing date and Spacing on Growth and Yield of Mung bean. Seeds are sown in line manually at depth of 4-5 cm in furrows with seed rate of 15kg/ha. In the period from germination to harvest several plant growth parameters were recorded at frequent intervals along with it after harvest several yield parameters were recorded those parameters like pods/plant, seeds/pod, test weight (g)) and seed yield (t/ha) were recorded statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) as applicable to Randomized Block Design.

Result and Discussion

Yield and Yield attributes Number of pods / plant

The significant and maximum number of pods/plants was observed in sowing on 1 st fortnight of July at a spacing of 30 cm x 10 cm spacing with a record of 14.68 (table 1). This resulted from early seeding, when photosynthates were better divided between pod formation and growth, and favorable environmental circumstances. Rainfall occurrences coincided with the pod development stage at later sowing dates, leading to subpar pod formation. Similar findings were reported by Rabbani et al. (2013) [4] .

Number of seeds / pod

The significant and maximum number of pods/plants was observed in sowing on 1 st fortnight of July at a spacing of 30 cm x 10 cm spacing with a record of 8.64 (table 1). It might be due to the sufficient availability of nutrients and their absorption by the plants, with better photosynthetic activity, resulting in a higher number of seeds per pod. Delay in sowing hampered the number of seed per pod. The normal sowing (1 st fortnight of July) had relatively more seeds per pod than late sowing (2 nd fortnight of July). The early sown crop (2 nd fortnight of June) has less seeds per pod due to high temperature and minimum rainfall. Similar findings were reported by Miah et al., (2009) [3] .

Test Weight (g) Higher test weight was observed in sowing on 1 st fortnight of July at a spacing of 30 cm x 10 cm spacing with a record of 44.53. The effect of spacing on mung bean test weight is reported by numbers of researchers. Higher test weight of Green gram was recorded with spacing 30 cm x 10 cm. This might due to better growth of crop, efficient dry matter partitioning and better translocation to the sink, leading to the formation of large sized grains. Similar findings were reported by Rao et al. (2013) [5] .

Seed Yield (t/ha): The higher and more significant seed yield was obtained in 1 st fortnight of July at 30 cm x 10 cm spacing with a record of 1.88. The lowest grain yield was obtained from 2 nd fortnight of July at 40 cm x 10 cm spacing with a record of 0.94. When plants are planted early, they have more time to grow and flourish. The reduction in seed production observed in the late July sowing is ascribed to a shorter growing period for the late-planted crop, as the crop's maturity time fell with the sowing delay. The crop sown on 1 st fortnight of July resulted significantly in highest yield due to more pod per plants, the longest pod length and also for suitable temperature which is enhance the vegetative growth of the crop. Similar findings were reported by Miah et al., 2009 [3] .

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgmentThe authors are thankful to Department of Agronomy, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj-211007, Uttar Pradesh, India for providing us necessary facilities to undertake the studies.

References

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