Research article · 2025 · Full text
International Journal of Horticulture and Food ScienceEffect of different time of sowing on growth and yield of pea (Pisum sativum L.) Var. Rachna
Volume 7(12) · Pages 112–116 · DOI: 10.33545/26631067.2025.v7.i12b.457 ↗
Research areasAgricultural Science and FertilizationAgronomic Practices and Intercropping SystemsNitrogen and Sulfur Effects on Brassica
Abstract
Author-writtenA field experiment entitled “Effect of different time of sowing on growth and yield of pea (Pisum sativum L.)” was conducted during the Rabi season to determine the optimum sowing date for maximizing productivity in the Gwalior region. Different sowing dates from Rabi season, 2024-25 were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replications. Growth attributes such as plant height, branches per plant, leaf area index, and dry matter accumulation increased steadily with crop age and were significantly higher in crops sown during the last fortnight of T3 and T4. Yield attributes including pods per plant, seeds per pod, and pod weight were also maximized under T4, which produced the highest grain yield T4 (2672.31) followed by T5 (2081.67), strover yield T4 (2026.93), followed by T3 (1929.06) and biological yield T4 (4699.24), followed by T3 (4465.38). Delayed sowings beyond mid-November significantly reduced growth and yield performance.
Summary
Source-checkedPlain-language reading of the full paper, prepared with AI and checked against the text. Each point links to the authors' own words.
Why it matters
- Pea is a critical cool-season legume in India due to its ecological, economic, and nutritional importance. View evidence ↗
- The crop supports sustainable farming by diversifying crops and improving soil fertility via biological nitrogen fixation, which lowers the need for synthetic fertilizers. View evidence ↗
- Sowing timing is critical because early planting may cause excessive vegetative growth and pests, while late planting can lead to terminal heat stress and reduced yield. View evidence ↗
The question
- The study aimed to evaluate how different sowing dates affect the growth, yield, and economics of pea in the Gwalior region to provide specific local recommendations. View evidence ↗
What they did
- The field experiment took place during the 2024-25 Rabi season at Vikrant University's research center in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. View evidence ↗
- Researchers used a Randomized Block Design with three replications to test eight different sowing dates ranging from October 7th to November 25th. View evidence ↗
- The 'Rachna' pea variety was planted manually at a seed rate of 60 kg ha⁻¹ with row spacing of 30 × 10 cm. View evidence ↗
- Growth measurements, including plant height, branching, leaf area index, and dry matter accumulation, were recorded at 30, 60, 90 days after sowing (DAS) and at harvest. View evidence ↗
What they found
- The highest initial plant population (10.00 plants/m²) occurred with November 4th sowing, while the lowest (9.25 plants/m²) was seen in the earliest sowing on October 7th. View evidence ↗
- Plants sown on October 28th (T4) reached the maximum height at harvest (81.41 cm), outperforming other dates. View evidence ↗
- Sowing on October 28th (T4) consistently produced the highest dry matter accumulation across all stages, peaking at 78.11 g at harvest. View evidence ↗
- The harvest index remained relatively stable across all sowing dates, with T4 recording 56.87%. View evidence ↗
What it means
- The authors conclude that sowing in the last fortnight of October, specifically on October 28th, maximizes growth, grain yield, biological yield, and profitability. View evidence ↗
- Sowing after the first week of November is not recommended for the Gwalior region as it leads to reduced yields and economic returns due to shorter crop duration and suboptimal temperatures. View evidence ↗
Visual summary
3 visualsIllustrations explain the paper; charts are replotted from the paper's own table values.
Sowing Window Impact
AI-generated conceptual illustration (pea plants (Pisum sativum L.)). It explains the idea and does not show study data.
View source evidence ↗
At harvesting stage: T₁ vs T₂ vs T₃ vs T₄ vs T₅
Replotted from Table 1 (page 2) of the original paper. Every bar is the paper's own table value.
View source evidence ↗
Yield / Grain yield and Strover yield and more: T₁ vs T₂ vs T₃ vs T₄ vs T₅
Replotted from Table 3 (page 4) of the original paper. Every bar is the paper's own table value.
View source evidence ↗Figures & tables
From the original paper
Table 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Table 2
Table 3
Figure 3Introduction
Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is one of the most important cool-season legumes in India, valued for its nutritional, economic, and ecological roles. It provides 20-25% protein, dietary fiber, essential vitamins (A, B-complex, C), and minerals such as iron, calcium, and magnesium. In addition to its food value, pea contains flavonoids and polyphenols that contribute to human health by improving digestion, heart health, and immunity. With a low glycemic index, it is also recommended for managing diabetes and obesity. Besides its dietary significance, pea plays a vital role in sustainable agriculture by enriching soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation, reducing the dependence on synthetic fertilizers, and supporting crop diversification. The major growing states are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Punjab. In Madhya Pradesh, pea is an important Rabi pulse grown mainly under irrigated or residual moisture conditions after Kharif crops. The Gwalior region, located in the Gird agro-climatic zone, provides favorable conditions for winter pea cultivation due to fertile black soils and moderate winter temperatures. The crop thrives best on loamy to clay loam soils with good drainage. Early sowing can lead to excessive vegetative growth and pest incidence, whereas delayed sowing shortens crop duration and exposes the crop to terminal heat stress, reducing yield and quality (Singh et al., 2018; Yadav et al., 2017) [12,19] . In the face of increasing climatic variability, the identification of an optimum sowing window becomes crucial. Despite the importance of sowing time, limited region-specific research is available for central India, particularly the Gwalior region. Climatic extremes such as terminal heat, frost, and irregular rainfall, coupled with pest and disease pressure, often reduce productivity by 20-30%. Therefore, systematic evaluation of sowing dates is needed to identify the most suitable window for maximizing growth, yield, and profitability. In this context, the present study was undertaken to assess the effect of different sowing dates on the growth, yield attributes, and economics of pea in the Gwalior region, with the aim of generating region-specific recommendations for sustainable intensification.
Materials and Methods
The present field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2024-25 at the agriculture research and Farm development centre, Sakatpura, School of Agriculture Science, Vikrant University, Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), to study the effect of different sowing dates on the growth and yield of pea (Pisum sativum L.). The experimental site is geographically situated at 26.21°N latitude and 78.18°E longitude with an elevation of 211 m above mean sea level, falling under the Gird agroclimatic zone of Madhya Pradesh. The climate of the region is subtropical, characterized by hot summers, a humid monsoon season, and cold winters with occasional frost, while the experimental soil was sandy loam, slightly alkaline in reaction, low in available nitrogen, medium in phosphorus, and rich in potassium. The field experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications and eight sowing dates as treatments (7 th October, 14 th October, 21 st October, 28 th October, 4 th November, 11 th November, 18 th November, and 25 th November). The pea variety 'Rachna,' recommended for the region, was used with a seed rate of 60 kg ha⁻¹, sown manually in rows spaced at 30 × 10 cm and covered with light planking. Fertilizer application was carried out uniformly across treatments at the rate of 20:60:40 kg N:P₂O₅:K₂O ha⁻¹ as basal dose, with nitrogen supplied through urea, phosphorus through single superphosphate, and potassium through muriate of potash. Standard cultural practices were followed, including one hand weeding at 25-30 DAS and need-based plant protection measures against aphids and diseases such as white rust and Alternaria blight, while irrigation was scheduled at pre-flowering, pod formation, and grain filling stages as per moisture requirement. Growth attributes were recorded at periodic intervals, including plant height (cm), number of branches per plant, leaf area index (LAI) calculated by the method of Watson (1947) [18] , and dry matter accumulation (g m⁻²) determined by oven-drying samples collected at 30, 60, 90 DAS, and at harvest. Yield attributes such as the number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, and 1000-seed weight (seed index) were recorded from five randomly selected plants per plot, while seed yield (kg ha⁻¹) was obtained from the net plot produce after threshing and adjusting to 8% moisture content, stover yield was derived from total biomass after subtracting grain yield, and biological yield was calculated as the sum of seed and stover yields. Harvest index (%) was determined as the ratio of economic yield to biological yield, expressed in percentage. The data recorded on growth and yield parameters were subjected to statistical analysis using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique as suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1967) under the Randomized Block Design framework, with treatment means compared using the Critical Difference (CD) test at a 5% probability level to ascertain the level of significance. Graphical and tabular presentations were also prepared for effective interpretation of results.
Results and Discussion
The results revealed that dates of sowing had a significant influence on the initial plant population at 15 DAS. The highest plant population was recorded with sowing on 4th November (10.00 plants/m²), which was statistically at par with 11 th November (9.95 plants/m²) and 18 th November (9.81 plants/m²). The lowest plant stand was observed in the earliest sowing on 7th October (9.25 plants/m²). The relatively higher plant population in later sowings could be attributed to favorable soil moisture and optimum temperature conditions during germination and seedling establishment, which enhanced seed germination and early vigor. In contrast, relatively higher soil temperatures during early October sowing might have adversely affected germination and crop stand. Similar findings were also reported by Singh et al. (2019) [8] , who observed that mid-November sowing in pea resulted in better plant population due to congenial weather conditions during germination. Plant height of pea increased progressively with crop age and was significantly influenced by sowing dates at all growth stages. At 30 DAS, maximum plant height T 4 (13.55) was recorded, followed by T 3 (13.21) and T8 (11.97). At 60 and 90 DAS, the tallest plants T 4 (44.08) and T 4 (67.83), were consistently obtained from 28 th October sowing, followed by 21 st October, whereas the shortest plants T 8 (27.75) and (42.71) were recorded. At harvest, sowing on 28 th October again registered the tallest plants T 4 (81.41), followed by T 3 (75.97) and T 5 (59.72) was observed. The superiority of mid to late October sowings in terms of plant height may be attributed to favorable climatic conditions, particularly optimum temperature and day length, which promoted cell division and elongation. In contrast, delayed sowing beyond November subjected the crop to lower temperatures and shorter photoperiods, thereby reducing vegetative growth. These findings are in agreement with Thapa et al. (2017) [16] , who also reported taller plants in October sowings of pea compared to late November sowings. Dry matter accumulation per plant increased progressively with crop age and was significantly influenced by sowing dates at all stages of growth (Table 2). At 30 DAS, the maximum dry matter accumulation T 4 (20.94), followed by T 3 (20.80) and T 5 (18.99) was observed. A similar trend continued at later stages, with 28 th October sowing producing the highest dry matter at 60 DAS T 4 (54.22), 90 DAS T 4 (71.01), and at harvest T 4 (78.11 g), followed by T 3 (72.90) and T 5 (57.30). In contrast, late November sowings accumulated significantly less biomass, with the minimum values recorded in T 8 (34.13), (39.12), and (43.03) at 60, 90 DAS, and harvest, respectively). The superiority of mid to late October sowings in terms of biomass production may be attributed to favorable weather conditions that supported greater photosynthetic activity, enhanced leaf area development, and longer vegetative duration. Delayed sowing, however, curtailed the vegetative period and exposed the crop to terminal cold stress, resulting in reduced biomass accumulation. These findings corroborate the results of Verma et al. (2020) [17] , who also reported that optimum sowing dates in pea ensured greater biomass accumulation.
| Treatments | Dry matter per plant (g) | — | — | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30DAS | 60 DAS | 90 DAS | At harvest stage | |
| T₁ | 19.50 | 43.84 | 54.98 | 60.47 |
| T₂ | 19.76 | 45.19 | 57.18 | 62.90 |
| T₃ | 20.80 | 51.69 | 66.27 | 72.90 |
| T₄ | 20.94 | 54.22 | 71.01 | 78.11 |
| T₅ | 18.99 | 42.25 | 52.09 | 57.30 |
| T₆ | 16.72 | 37.39 | 44.48 | 48.93 |
| T₇ | 16.07 | 36.13 | 42.19 | 46.41 |
| T₈ | 15.73 | 34.13 | 39.12 | 43.03 |
| S. Em± | 0.86 | 2.20 | 2.57 | 2.83 |
| C.D.(P=0.05) | 2.57 | 6.55 | 7.67 | 8.43 |
Table text extracted from the original PDF; superscript letters are shown inline. The original table image is below.
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Conclusion
It can be concluded that appropriate the present investigation demonstrated that sowing time had a significant impact on the growth and yield performance of pea. Growth parameters such as plant population, plant height, branching, leaf area index, and dry matter accumulation were maximized in sowings during the last fortnight of October, particularly on 28 th October, which also recorded the highest grain yield T 4 (2672.31) and biological yields along with maximum profitability T 4 (2026.93). In contrast, delayed sowings beyond the first week of November resulted in reduced growth, yield, and economic returns due to suboptimal temperature and shorter crop duration conditions of central India at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
Figures and tables from the paper
| Treatment | Plant population at initial stage (15 DAS) | Plant height (cm.) | — | — | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 DAS | 60 DAS | 90 DAS | At harvesting stage | ||
| T₁ | 9.25 | 13.11 | 35.63 | 54.8 | 63.02 |
| T₂ | 9.30 | 13.19 | 36.73 | 56.51 | 65.55 |
| T₃ | 9.46 | 13.21 | 41.95 | 64.38 | 75.97 |
| T₄ | 9.58 | 13.55 | 44.08 | 67.83 | 81.41 |
| T₅ | 10.00 | 12.95 | 34.34 | 52.85 | 59.72 |
| T₆ | 9.95 | 12.27 | 30.40 | 46.78 | 50.99 |
| T₇ | 9.81 | 12.07 | 29.37 | 45.19 | 48.36 |
| T₈ | 9.70 | 11.97 | 27.75 | 42.71 | 44.84 |
| S. Em± | 0.09 | 0.11 | 1.73 | 2.52 | 2.96 |
| C.D.(P=0.05) | 0.27 | 0.35 | 5.15 | 7.51 | 8.79 |
Table text extracted from the original PDF; superscript letters are shown inline. The original table image is below.
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| Treatment | Yield | — | — | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grain yield | Strover yield | Biological yield | Harvest index (%) | |
| T₁ | 2158.74 | 1653.08 | 3811.82 | 56.63 |
| T₂ | 2226.09 | 1703.77 | 3929.86 | 56.65 |
| T₃ | 2536.32 | 1929.06 | 4465.38 | 56.80 |
| T₄ | 2672.31 | 2026.93 | 4699.24 | 56.87 |
| T₅ | 2081.67 | 1597.18 | 3678.85 | 56.58 |
| T₆ | 1842.87 | 1417.15 | 3260.02 | 56.53 |
| T₇ | 1780.44 | 1377.94 | 3158.38 | 56.37 |
| T₈ | 1682.31 | 1309.39 | 2991.7 | 56.23 |
| S. Em± | 99.72 | 77.9 | 177.62 | -- |
| C.D.(P=0.05) | 296.31 | 231.48 | 527.79 | -- |
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