Performance of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties under late sown conditions

Introduction

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important rabi pulse crops cultivated in India belonging to family Fabaceae, and serves as a major source of protein (18-22%), carbohydrates, vitamins and essential minerals. India is the largest producer as well as consumer of chickpea, contributing nearly 70-75 per cent of global production. During 2021-22, chickpea occupied 10.91 million ha with a production of 13.75 million tonnes and an average productivity of 1260 kg ha -1 , accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the total pulse production of the country (DES, 2023; IIPR, 2024) [, 9] . In Andhra Pradesh, chickpea is an important rabi pulse crop cultivated predominantly under rainfed conditions. Climate change has emerged as a major challenge to chickpea production due to rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns. Exposure of the crop to terminal heat and moisture stress during flowering and pod development accelerates phenological development, reduces pod set and seed filling duration and ultimately lowers yield (Gaur et al., 2015; Devasirvatham and Tan, 2018) [6,3] . Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the performance of chickpea varieties under varying sowing dates and identify suitable genotype-environment combinations for higher productivity.

Materials and Methods

A field experiment was conducted during rabi, 2025-26 at Agricultural College, Mahanandi, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh. The soil of the experimental site was sandy loam in texture, neutral in soil reaction (pH 7.4), low in organic carbon (0.42%), low in available nitrogen (140.2 kg ha -1 ), medium in available phosphorus (24.8 kg ha -1 ) and high in available potassium (556.3 kg ha -1 ). The treatments comprised of four times of sowing viz., November 1 st FN (D 1 ), November 2 nd FN (D 2 ), December 1 st FN (D 3 ) and December 2 nd FN (D 4 ) as main plot treatments and three chickpea varieties viz., NBeG-49 (V 1 ), NBeG-776 (V 2 ) and JG-11 (V 3 ) as sub plot treatments. There were twelve treatment combinations, each replicated thrice, and the experiment was laid out in a splitplot design.

Sowing was carried out in four intervals as D 1 on 01-11-2025 and harvested on 11-02-2026, D 2 on 16-11-2025 and harvested on 24-02-2026, D 3 on 01-12-2025 and harvested on 07-03-2026 and D 4 on 16-12-2025 and harvested on 18-03-2026. Seed rate @ 50 kg ha -1 was adopted and sown in the open furrows made with the help of hand hoe. The seeds were dropped to a depth of 5 cm and covered thoroughly. The optimum plant population was maintained by gap filling. Normal cultural operations and plant protection measures were carried out as and when required.

Results and Discussion

Time of sowing did not significantly influence plant height, whereas varieties differed significantly at all growth stages (Table 1). NBeG-776 (V 2 ) recorded significantly taller plants than NBeG-49 (V 1 ) and JG-11 (V 3 ). Numerically higher plant height under early sowing might be to favourable temperature and moisture conditions during vegetative growth, while delayed sowing restricted plant growth because of higher temperatures and reduced moisture availability. Similar findings were reported by Kumar et al. (2022) [11] and Nivedita et al. (2022). The interaction effect was non-significant. Drymatter accumulation was significantly influenced by time of sowing and varieties. Drymatter accumulation increased with crop age but declined with delayed sowing. November 1 st FN (D 1 ) recorded the highest drymatter production at harvest (5959 kg ha - 1 ), while December 2 nd FN (D 4 ) recorded the lowest (3351 kg ha - 1 ). Early sowing provided a longer growth duration and favourable weather conditions, resulting in greater biomass accumulation. Among the varieties, NBeG-776 (V 2 ) recorded the highest drymatter production, whereas JG-11 (V 3 ) recorded the lowest. Similar results were reported by Thombre et al. (2019) [18] and Sujathamma and Nedunchezhiyan (2025) [16] . Number of branches plant -1 was significantly affected by time of sowing and varieties. November 1 st FN (D 1 ) recorded the highest number of branches, followed by November 2 nd FN (D 2 ), while delayed sowing reduced branching. Among the varieties, NBeG-776 (V 2 ) produced significantly more branches than NBeG-49 (V 1 ) and JG-11 (V 3 ). The superior branching under early sowing was attributed to exposure to optimum temperatures during crop growth (Kiran and Chimmad, 2018) [10] . Leaf area index (LAI) was significantly influenced by both sowing time and varieties. The highest LAI was recorded with November 1 st FN (D 1 ) sowing, while the lowest was observed under December 2 nd FN (D 4 ). Delayed sowing exposed the crop to less favourable weather conditions, adversely affecting leaf development. Among the varieties, NBeG-776 (V 2 ) recorded the highest LAI and was on par with NBeG-49 (V 1 ), whereas JG-11 (V 3 ) recorded the lowest values. Similar findings were reported by Hembram et al. (2025) [8] .

Effect on yield attributes

Time of sowing and varieties significantly influenced the number of pods plant⁻¹ at 60 DAS and harvest (Table 2). November 1 st FN (D 1 ) recorded the highest number of pods plant⁻¹, which may be attributed to greater drymatter accumulation and favourable weather conditions during crop growth. Among the varieties, NBeG-776 (V 2 ) produced significantly more pods plant⁻¹ and was on par with NBeG-49 (V 1 ), while both were superior to JG-11 (V 3 ). The interaction effect at harvest was significant, with D 1 V 2 recording the highest number of pods plant⁻¹. Similar findings were reported by Sujathamma and Nedunchezhiyan (2025) [16] and Sekhar et al. (2015) [14] . Seed yield plant⁻¹ was significantly affected by sowing time and varieties, whereas the interaction effect was non-significant. November 1 st FN (D 1 ) recorded the highest seed yield plant⁻¹ and was on par with November 2 nd FN (D 2 ), but superior to later sowings. Among the varieties, NBeG-776 (V 2 ) produced significantly higher seed yield plant⁻¹, while JG-11 (V 3 ) recorded the lowest. The reduction in seed yield plant⁻¹ under delayed sowing was also reported by Sikdar et al. (2015) [15] . Number of seeds pod⁻¹ was not significantly influenced by sowing time, varieties or their interaction. Similarly, test weight was not significantly affected by sowing time, although numerically higher values were recorded under November 1 st FN (D 1 ). Among the varieties, NBeG-49 (V 1 ) recorded the highest test weight, while JG-11 (V 3 ) recorded the lowest, indicating varietal differences due to genetic makeup. Similar results were reported by Chaitanya and Chandrika (2006) [2] . The interaction effect for seeds pod⁻¹, seed yield plant⁻¹ and test weight was nonsignificant.

Effect on seed and stover yield

Among the different times of sowing, chickpea sown during November 1 st FN (D 1 ) recorded significantly higher seed yield (2036 kg ha -1 ) and stover yield (3310 kg ha -1 ), followed by November 2 nd FN (D 2 ) (1792 and 3115 kg ha -1 , respectively). Further delay in sowing significantly reduced both seed and stover yields, with the lowest values recorded under December 2 nd FN (D 4 ) sowing (1027 and 2209 kg ha -1 , respectively) (Table 3). The higher yields under early sowing were attributed to favourable growing conditions that promoted better growth, drymatter accumulation and assimilate partitioning, whereas delayed sowing exposed the crop to higher temperatures during reproductive stages, resulting in reduced biomass production and yield. Similar findings were reported by Suryakala et al. (2019) [17] , Thombre et al. (2019) [18] and Dhote et al. (2019) [5] . Among the varieties, NBeG-776 (V 2 ) recorded the highest seed yield (1731 kg ha⁻¹) and stover yield (3072 kg ha -1 ), which was on par with NBeG-49 (V 1 ) (1612 and 2912 kg ha -1 , respectively) and significantly superior to JG-11 (V 3 ) (1340 and 2526 kg ha -1 , respectively). The higher yields of NBeG-776 may be attributed to its superior growth and drymatter production potential. Similar results were reported by Sekhar et al. (2015) [14] . Harvest index was significantly influenced by time of sowing, whereas varieties and their interaction effect were non-significant (Table 3). Among the sowing dates, November 1 st FN (D 1 ) recorded the highest harvest index, which was on par with November 2 nd FN (D 2 ) and significantly superior to December 1 st FN (D 3 ) and December 2 nd FN (D 4 ). The decline in harvest index under delayed sowing may be attributed to heat stress during reproductive stages, resulting in reduced assimilate partitioning to seeds. Similar findings were reported by Chaitanya and Chandrika (2006) [2] and Goud et al. (2023) [7] . The non-significant effect of varieties indicated comparable drymatter partitioning efficiency among the tested genotypes. The interaction effect was also non-significant, suggesting a consistent varietal response across sowing dates. These results are in agreement with the findings of Ali et al. (2018) [1] , Pokhrel et al. (2025) [13] and Goud et al. (2023) [7] .

Thermal indices (GDD) and thermal use efficiency

Growing degree days (GDD) required to reach different phenological stages were significantly influenced by time of sowing, while varieties and their interaction effect were nonsignificant (Table 4). November 1 st FN (D 1 ) accumulated significantly higher GDD from emergence (125 °C day) to harvest (2205 °C day), followed by November 2 nd FN (D 2 ), whereas the lowest values were recorded under December 2 nd FN (D 4 ). Higher thermal accumulation under early sowing was mainly due to longer crop duration and favourable temperature conditions. Thermal use efficiency (TUE) for drymatter and seed yield was significantly affected by sowing time and varieties, while their interaction effect was non-significant. Among the sowing dates, D 1 recorded the highest drymatter TUE (2.69 kg ha -1 °C day -1 ) and seed yield TUE (0. 94 kg ha -1 °C day -1 ), whereas D 4 recorded the lowest values (1.80 and 0.54 kg ha -1 °C day -1 , respectively). This indicated more efficient utilization of accumulated heat units under timely sowing. Among the varieties, NBeG-776 (V 2 ) recorded the highest drymatter TUE (2.58 kg ha -1 °C day -1 ) and seed yield TUE (0.83 kg ha -1 °C day -1 ), which were on par with NBeG-49 (V 1 ) and significantly superior to JG-11 (V 3 ). The higher TUE of NBeG-776 may be attributed to its greater biomass production and seed yield potential.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that timely sowing is a simple and costeffective agronomic strategy for improving chickpea productivity under scarce rainfall environments. Sowing during the first fortnight of November provided favourable environmental conditions that enhanced crop growth, drymatter accumulation, yield attributes, and seed yield. Among the varieties evaluated, NBeG-776 exhibited superior growth performance and produced the highest seed yield, followed by NBeG-49. The combination of November 1st FN sowing and NBeG-776 recorded the best performance for most growth and yield parameters. Therefore, cultivation of chickpea variety NBeG-776 during the first fortnight of November can be recommended for achieving higher productivity in the scarce rainfall zone of Andhra Pradesh.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementI express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. K. Prabhakar and all the faculty members of the Department of Agronomy, Agricultural College, Mahanandi, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (A.P), India for providing all necessary facilities to undertake the studies.

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