Effect of sowing dates and irrigation levels on growth and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties

Introduction

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important cool-season legume widely cultivated in semi-arid regions and plays a vital role in nutritional security and sustainable agriculture. India contributes nearly 70% of global chickpea production, cultivating the crop over 10.19 million ha with a production of 12.16 million tonnes and an average productivity of 1193 kg ha⁻¹, while Madhya Pradesh leads nationally in area and production (Indiastat.com., 2023-24) [5] . Despite its significance, chickpea productivity remains highly vulnerable to climatic variability, particularly terminal heat and moisture stress during reproductive stages (Ryan, 1997) [20] . In rainfed agroecosystems, narrow sowing windows, residual soil moisture dependence, and inadequate irrigation further intensify yield instability. Chickpea, a drought-tolerant and photoperiod-sensitive C₃ crop that originated in the region of Turkish Kurdistan (Lev-Yadun et al., 2000) [9] , is typically grown during winter under residual soil moisture conditions, where rising temperatures and soil moisture deficits toward maturity restrict yield potential. Flowering initiation and crop phenology are strongly governed by photothermal conditions, and exposure to stress during reproductive stages severely impairs pollination, pod formation, and grain filling (Krishnamurthy et al., 2011; Basu et al., 2009) [6,2] . Adjusting sowing time is therefore a critical agronomic strategy to synchronize crop phenology with favorable environmental conditions and minimize terminal stress. Sowing time plays a decisive role in determining crop phenology, growth duration, and exposure to environmental stresses. Timely sowing ensures synchronization of flowering and pod development with favorable temperature and moisture conditions, while delayed sowing often subjects the crop to terminal heat and moisture stress, reducing biomass accumulation and yield (Basu et al., 2009) [2] . Likewise, irrigation management is critical for chickpea, as adequate soil moisture during key growth stages especially flowering and pod filling enhances nutrient uptake, canopy development, and assimilate partitioning toward grain formation (Krishnamurthy et al., 2011) [6] . Both deficit and excessive irrigation can adversely affect crop performance and resource-use efficiency. Genotypic performance varies across environments due to strong genotype × environment interactions (Eberhart and Russell, 1966) [4] , necessitating the identification of suitable varieties for specific sowing windows and agro-climatic conditions to achieve stable and higher yields (Perkins and Jinks, 1968) [17] . A better understanding of varietal response to sowing time, temperature, and moisture regimes is essential for achieving stable and higher productivity. Hence, optimizing sowing time, irrigation scheduling, and genotype selection is crucial for aligning crop development with resource availability and enhancing chickpea resilience under changing climatic conditions. In this context, the present investigation was carried out to identify the optimum sowing time and irrigation schedule for chickpea varieties for higher productivity and profitability.

Materials and Methods

The investigation was carried out at research farm, Department of physics and agro-meteorology, college of agricultural engineering, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidylay, Jabalpur (M.P.) during rabi season of 2023-24. The experimental site lies between 23° 10′ N latitude and 79° 59′ E longitude and 411.78 m above mean sea level. It comes under "Kymore plateau and Satpura Hills" agro-climatic zone of M.P. The seeds were directly sown @ 75 kg ha -1 by line sowing with row to row distance 30 cm manually with the help of kudali in rows. Seeds were treated with Imidacloprid @10 ml kg -1 of seed for controlling pest infestation. Later, it was inoculated with Rhizobium Leguminosorum bacteria. All the fertilizers i.e Nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P 2 O 5 ) and potassium (K 2 O) were applied basally at the rate of 20, 60 and 20 kg ha -1 , respectively. Source for N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O were Di-ammonium phosphate and muriate of potash respectively. One hand weeding was done at 30 DAS for each sowing dates to maintain weed free conditions in each plot. Irrigation was scheduled as per the sub plot treatments at 5 cm depth. Suitable plant protection measures were followed during the cropping season. Five plants were randomly selected in each net plot area for taking observations on growth and yield attributing parameters as per the schedule. The crop in each net plot was harvested separately as per treatment and the values were converted into hectare basis and expressed in kilograms per hectare. The data recorded during the investigation were compiled and analysed for statistical significance as per the analysis of variance for the split-split plot design. Statistically analysed by analysis of variance utilizing split-split plot design (Panse and Sukhatme 1978) [16] . Statistical difference (CD) will be tested by applying F-Test at 0.05 level of probability. Standard error of mean and coefficient of variability have been worked out for a set of observations under each character at P = 0.05 to interpret the significance.

Results and Discussion

Effect on growth parameters Sowing chickpea on 25 th November resulted in significantly higher plant height and number of branches at all the stages compared to 10 th December and 25 th December (Table 1 andTable 2). This might be due to the temperature and other climatological parameters were favourable for above growth characters. Trivedi and Vyas (2000) [27] reported that the values of growth and yield attributes as well as yield were decreased with successive delay in sowing and also confirm those of Kumar et al. (2022) [7] and Sandeep et al. (2023) [21] . Among the different irrigation levels, three irrigations at 50% branch formation, flower, and pod development stages showed significantly highest plant height and number of branches at 90 DAS and harvest, compared to two irrigations (50% branching and pod development stage) and no irrigation (Table 1 andTable 2). All the growth parameters showed positive response to higher frequency of irrigation probably because of relative availability of soil moisture during the critical stages of crop development. Besides, due to increase in water availability the absorption of water and nutrients from the soil increases which might have resulted in better growth and development of crop. Similar results were reported by Reeta (2019) [19] and Lende and Patil, (2017) [8] . JG 18 variety recorded taller plants compared to JG 52 variety at all the growth stages but number of branches were higher for JG 52 variety (Table 1 andTable 2). The differences in growth parameters due to varieties may be attributed to their inherent characteristics and also due to staggered weather situation, as also reported by Mekonnen (2020) [10] .

Effect on yield attributes

Number of pods per plant was significantly higher (48.96) in first date of sowing i.e 25 th November compared to other dates of sowing. Number of seeds per plant and 100 seed weight were not significantly influenced by dates of sowing. Less number of yield attributes under delayed sowing may be due to exposed to higher temperature during the reproductive phase. Singh et al., (2007) [25] reported that the highest number of pods plant -1 , seed weight g plant -1 and seed index 100 seed weight were 225 observed with 30th November sowing. This may be due to better balance between vegetative and reproductive growth. Similar findings were obtained by Thombre et al. (2019) [26] and Sandeep et al. (2023) [21] . Irrigation levels did not show significant effect on number of pods plant -1 and 100 seed weight. But number of seeds plant -1 was significantly influenced by irrigation with three irrigations (50% branching, flowering and pod development stages) recorded higher number of seeds plant -1 (1.38) which was statistically similar to two irrigations (50% branching and pod development stage). This may be due to increased water availability resulted in absorption of water and nutrients from soil which gives ultimately vigorous growth and reproductive capacity of chickpea plants. These findings are in line with Singh et al. (2017) [24] . Lowest number of seeds plant -1 (1. 19) was observed in no irrigation treatment. Highest number of pods plant -1 (46.51) and seeds plant -1 (1.35) was found in JG 52 variety compared to JG 18. However, 100 seed weight (30.07) was more for JG 18 variety. This may be due to genetic character of the chickpea varieties as well as environmental factors. These findings are also close to findings of Ulemale et al. (2013) [28] and Mekonnen (2020) [10] .

Effect on yield

The results revealed that, first date of sowing (25 th November) significantly improved seed yield (1527 kg ha -1 ) and stover yield (2481 kg ha -1 ) over other dates of sowing. The higher seed and stover yield in 25 th November sown crop may be attributed to better plant growth leading to significantly more plant height, number of branches plant -1 , number of pods plant -1 and better partitioning of photosynthesis compared to delayed sowing dates. Sharma and Sharma (2002) [23] reported highest seed yield was obtained during 25 th November sowing crop and delayed sowing by 30 days resulted in decrease in grain yield up to 6.5 kg ha -1 day -1 . Similar results were found by Abdullah et al. (2024) [1] and Ray et al. (2025) [18] . Seed yield was higher (1278 kg ha -1 ) for the irrigation treatment with 50% branching and pod development stage than the other treatments. The seed yield was significantly superior under two irrigation levels probably due to increased water availability resulted in absorption of water and nutrients from soil which gives ultimately vigorous growth and reproductive capacity of chickpea plants. These findings are nearby with Chandu et al. (2024) [3] and Mhaske et al. (2019) [11] . JG 18 recorded higher seed yield (1183 kg ha -1 ) compared to JG 52 variety. This may be due to genetic character of the chickpea types as well as environmental factors and yield attributing characters. These findings are also close to findings of Muruiki et al. (2018) [15] and Mohammed et al. (2020) [13] .

Conclusion

Early sowing by 25 th November was found effective in terms of growth and yield. Scheduling two irrigations at 50% branching and pod development stage of chickpea found to be beneficial in terms of yield. Among the varieties JG 18 found to be higher in growth and yield compared to JG 52.

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