Effect of different sowing dates on growth and yield performance of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties in the gird agro-climatic zone of Madhya Pradesh

Introduction

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop of India and is commonly known as gram or Bengal gram. It occupies a prominent place among pulse crops due to its high nutritive value and ability to improve soil fertility through symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Chickpea grains contain a high amount of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins and therefore form an important part of the vegetarian diet (Ali et al., 2018) [1] . In India, it is mainly grown in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, etc. India is the largest producer of chickpea in the world and Madhya Pradesh contributes a major share in total chickpea area and production. In India, chickpea covers about 9.12 million hectares with a production of 11.11 million tonnes and an average productivity of 1218 kg/ha. Madhya Pradesh alone contributes nearly 19% of national production with a productivity of 1558 kg/ha, higher than the national average (Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, 2024). Sowing date is a critical factor influencing chickpea performance. Timely sowing ensures favorable temperature and moisture during flowering and pod formation, whereas delayed sowing exposes the crop to terminal heat stress, leading to poor seed development and reduced yield. Varietal differences in growth duration, drought tolerance and yield potential further contribute to variability. The interaction between sowing date and variety significantly affects growth attributes and yield (Neenu et al., 2017) [13] . Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is highly sensitive to environmental conditions, particularly temperature and moisture during the reproductive stage. Optimum sowing time plays a vital role in ensuring proper vegetative growth, flowering and pod development. Timely sowing helps the crop to utilize favorable climatic conditions, whereas delayed sowing exposes the crop to terminal heat stress during grain filling stage, resulting in poor seed filling and reduced yield. In addition, different chickpea varieties exhibit variable responses under different sowing environments due to differences in their growth duration, adaptability and yield potential. Therefore, identification of suitable sowing dates along with appropriate varieties is essential for achieving higher productivity and stable yield under changing climatic conditions. Several researchers have reported significant effects of sowing dates and varietal interaction on growth and yield attributes of chickpea (Neenu et al., 2017; Richards et al., 2020) [13,18] .

Materials and Methods

The field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2025-26 at the Agriculture Research and Development Centre, Vikrant University, Sakatpura, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The experimental site is located in the Gird agro-climatic zone of Madhya Pradesh. The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications. The treatments consisted of three sowing dates and three chickpea varieties (Shubra -V₁, RVKG -1 51 -V₂, RVG-202 -V₃) and three sowing dates (15th October -42nd SMW, 1st November -44th SMW, and 15th November -46th SMW), making a total of nine treatment combinations. The treatments comprised: T₁ -Shubra + 15th October (42nd SMW), T₂ -RVKG -1 51 + 15th October (42nd SMW), T₃ -RVG-202 + 15th October (42nd SMW), T₄ -Shubra + 1st November (44th SMW), T₅ -RVKG - 1 51 + 1st November (44th SMW), T₆ -RVG-202 + 1st November (44th SMW), T₇ -Shubra + 15th November (46th SMW), T₈ -RVKG -1 51 + 15th November (46th SMW), and T₉ -RVG-202 + 15th November (46th SMW). The crop was sown at row spacing of 30 cm and plant spacing of 10 cm. Recommended agronomic practices were followed uniformly for all treatments. Observations on growth parameters, yield attributes, and production were recorded at harvest from randomly selected plants in each plot, and the data were statistically analyzed following the procedure suggested by Gomez and Gomez (1984).

Results and Discussion

Effect of Sowing Dates and Varieties on Growth Attributes

In the present experiment, observations on plant height, number of branches per plant and dry matter accumulation were recorded at different growth stages. These growth parameters showed a progressive increase with advancement in crop age and maximum values were recorded at harvest stage. The effect of sowing dates and varietal differences on growth parameters are presented in Tables 1, 2 and3. Plant height increased continuously with advancement in crop age and maximum height was observed at harvest stage. Among the sowing dates, significantly higher plant height was recorded under sowing on 15 October (D1), which produced 52.32 cm plant height at harvest. However, sowing on 1 November (D2) was found statistically at par with D1 at some stages. The lowest plant height (45.00 cm) was recorded under delayed sowing on 15 November (D3). The significantly higher plant height under early sowing might be due to favourable environmental conditions such as optimum temperature, better soil moisture availability and longer vegetative growth period, which enhanced cell elongation and vegetative development. Delayed sowing shortened the crop growth duration and exposed the crop to comparatively unfavourable temperature conditions during vegetative growth, thereby reducing plant height. Similar observations 53 regarding the beneficial effect of timely sowing on chickpea growth were also documented by Bazvand et al. (2015) [2] , Dhote et al. (2019) [4] , Rathod et al. (2024) [16] and Krishna et al. (2025) [10] . Among the varieties, RVKG -1 51 recorded significantly higher plant height (49.89 cm at harvest) compared to Subhra and RVG-202. The superiority of RVKG - 1 51 may be attributed to its genetic potential for vigorous vegetative growth and better adaptability under prevailing agroclimatic conditions. Similar varietal differences in plant height were also reported by Sikdar et al. (2015) [21] . [9] . Among the varieties, RVKG -1 51 recorded comparatively higher number of branches per plant (8.67) followed by Subhra, whereas RVG-202 remained lower during early growth stages but produced comparatively higher branches at harvest. The better performance of RVKG -1 51 may be due to its genetic ability for vigorous vegetative growth and branching habit. Similar findings were also reported by Sikdar et al. (2015) [21] and Krishna et al. (2025) [10] . The interaction effect between sowing dates and varieties was found non-significant up to 90 DAS, whereas at harvest stage it became significant. The treatment combination RVKG -1 51 + 15 October sowing recorded the maximum number of branches per plant (10.16). [13] and Dubey et al. (2024) [6] . Among the varieties, RVKG -1 51 recorded comparatively higher dry matter accumulation during initial stages, whereas RVG-202 recorded slightly higher dry matter accumulation at harvest stage (22.73 g plant⁻¹). The superiority of RVG-202 at later stages may be due to its better biomass production and efficient assimilate translocation. Similar findings were also reported by Sikdar et al. (2015) [21] .

Response of Sowing Dates and Varieties on Yield Attributes and Yield

The results presented in [9] , Kumar et al. (2022) [11] and Gopichand et al. (2025) [7] . Among the varieties, RVG-202 recorded significantly maximum number of pods per plant (51.88), which may be attributed to its superior genetic potential and better reproductive efficiency. Similar varietal differences in pods per plant were also reported by Sikdar et al. (2015) [21] and Pokhrel et al. (2025) [14] . Seeds per pod were significantly influenced by sowing dates and varieties, whereas interaction effect remained non-significant. Among sowing dates, significantly higher seeds per pod (1.44) were recorded under 1 November sowing (D2), while comparatively lower values were recorded under other sowing dates. The higher number of seeds per pod under optimum sowing time might be due to favourable temperature and moisture conditions during flowering and seed setting stages, which improved fertilization and seed development. Similar findings were reported by Rao et al. (2018) [15] , Kumar et al.

(2022) [11] and Goud and Karunakar (2023) [8] . Among the varieties, RVG-202 recorded significantly maximum seeds per pod (2.10), whereas RVKG -1 51 recorded minimum seeds per pod. The superiority of RVG-202 may be due to its better genetic potential and efficient assimilate translocation towards reproductive growth. Test weight was not significantly influenced by sowing dates, whereas varietal differences significantly affected test weight.

Among the varieties, RVKG -1 51 recorded significantly higher test weight (322.78 g), followed by Subhra, whereas RVG-202 recorded minimum test weight (210.17 g). Variation in test weight among varieties might be due to inherent genetic differences in seed size and grain development capacity. Similar observations were reported by Thombre et al. (2019) [22] and Choudhary et al. (2023) [3] . Seed yield was significantly influenced by sowing dates, varieties and their interaction effect. Among sowing dates, significantly higher seed yield (2113.77 kg ha⁻¹) was recorded under 15 October sowing (D1), whereas the lowest seed yield (1949.34 kg ha⁻¹) was recorded under delayed sowing on 15 November (D3). Higher seed yield under timely sowing might be due to better crop establishment, favourable temperature conditions, improved vegetative growth and better pod development. Early sowing also ensured efficient utilization of available resources, resulting in higher biomass production and assimilate partitioning towards grain yield. Similar findings were reported by seth et al. (2020) [20] , Kumar et al. (2024) [12] and Gopichand et al. (2025) [7] . Among the varieties, RVG-202 recorded significantly higher seed yield (2487.83 kg ha⁻¹) compared to Subhra and RVKG -1 51. The higher yield of RVG-202 may be due to higher number of pods per plant, seeds per pod and better harvest index. Similar varietal differences in seed yield were also reported by Dubey et al. (2024) [6] and Pokhrel et al. (2025) [14] . Straw yield was significantly influenced by sowing dates and varieties. Among sowing dates, significantly higher straw yield (3188.33 kg ha⁻¹) was recorded under 15 October sowing, whereas delayed sowing recorded comparatively lower straw yield. Higher straw yield under timely sowing might be due to better vegetative growth, higher dry matter accumulation and efficient utilization of environmental resources during crop growth period. Similar findings were also reported by Tiwari and Meena (2014) [23] , Neenu et al. (2017) [13] and Choudhary et al. (2023) [3] . Among the varieties, RVG-202 recorded significantly higher straw yield (3433.00 kg ha⁻¹) due to better vegetative growth and biomass accumulation.

Harvest index was significantly influenced by sowing dates and varieties, whereas interaction effect remained non-significant. Among sowing dates, significantly higher harvest index (39.76%) was recorded under 15 October sowing, while delayed sowing recorded comparatively lower harvest index. Higher harvest index under timely sowing might be due to better translocation of photosynthates towards economic yield under favourable climatic conditions. Richards et al. (2022) [18] reported that early sowing increased biomass but lowered harvest index due to reduced efficiency of biomass conversion into grain. In contrast, Choudhary et al. (2023) [3] found that timely sowing (5 November) in chickpea enhanced harvest index along with higher seed yield and economic returns, highlighting the importance of optimal sowing dates for better partitioning of assimilates into grain Among the varieties, RVG-202 recorded significantly maximum harvest index (42.01%), indicating better partitioning efficiency of assimilates towards grain yield.

Interaction effect of sowing date and variety

The interaction between sowing dates and varieties showed significant variation in yield attributes and productivity of chickpea ( [17] also noted that maturity duration and yield varied considerably depending on both sowing date and cultivar, supporting the present results. The advantage of RVKG -1 51 under early sowing (15 October) for branching agrees with the observations of Sikdar et al.

(2015) [21] , who found that varietal response to sowing time significantly influenced growth and yield attributes. Likewise, Neenu et al. (2017) [13] and Ali et al. (2018) [1] reported that improved varieties performed better when sown at optimum time, while delayed sowing reduced yield potential. The present findings also resonate with Rathod et al. (2024) [16] and Sandeep et al. (2023) [19] , who documented those specific varietal combinations with appropriate sowing dates resulted in higher seed yield, stover yield and economic returns.

Conclusion

Based on the results of the present investigation, it may be concluded that sowing dates and varietal selection significantly influenced growth, yield attributes and yield of chickpea under the Gird agro-climatic zone of Madhya Pradesh. Early sowing on 15 October provided favourable environmental conditions, which resulted in superior vegetative growth, dry matter accumulation and higher yield. Among the tested varieties, RVKG -1 51 recorded superior plant height and test weight, whereas RVG-202 performed better with respect to pods per plant, seeds per pod, harvest index and seed yield. The interaction effect further revealed that RVG-202 maintained better productivity under different sowing dates and recorded the highest seed yield under 15 November sowing.

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