Growth response of black Gram Varieties (Vigna MungoL.) Under Different Sowing Windows

Introduction

Pulses, also known as "grain legumes," are important food crops after cereals and constitute a key component of vegetarian diets worldwide (Ray et al. 2023) [7] . Black gram, also known as urdbean, is an important pulse crop and a rich source of nutrients. It contains approximately 20-25 per cent protein, making it an important component of a balanced vegetarian diet (Singh, 2011) [10] Sunilkumar et al. 2018; Yadav et al. 2019) [11,14] . When combined with cereals, pulses provide an ideal combination of proteins with high biological value (Andrews and Hodge, 2010; Ali and Gupta, 2012; Tomar et al. 2021) [2,4,12] . Thus, pulses play an important role in ensuring food and nutritional security, particularly in India. After cereals, pulses constitute the second-largest source of dietary protein, contributing about 27 per cent compared with 55 per cent from cereals. Food legumes are sometimes referred to as "rich man's vegetable" and "poor man's meat" because of their high protein content, affordability, and accessibility to economically weaker sections of society. Pulses also contribute to soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation, as they have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (Sunilkumar et al. 2018) [11] . Black gram is consumed in various forms, including fermented and unfermented flour, as well as dried whole or split grains commonly known as dal. Black gram flour is widely used in the preparation of popular Indian foods such as idli, dosa, and vada. It is also used in the preparation of cookies, cakes, biscuits, and various snack products. The seeds have potential applications in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries and are also used as functional food and nutraceutical products. In addition to its food value, black gram can be utilized as a green manure crop and may also serve as a catch crop, intercrop, and cover crop, thereby contributing to soil conservation and reducing soil erosion (Amuthaselvi et al. 2023) [3] .

Black gram is cultivated on approximately 4.63 million hectares in India, with a production of 2.78 million tonnes and productivity of 600 kg ha⁻¹. Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under black gram cultivation, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, while Andhra Pradesh has reported the highest productivity of 915 kg ha⁻¹ (Anonymous, 2024). In Maharashtra, black gram is cultivated on approximately 3.68 lakh hectares, producing 2.34 lakh tonnes with a productivity of 635 kg ha⁻¹, accounting for nearly 7 per cent of India's total production (Anonymous, 2024).

Materials and Methods

The field experiment was conducted at the Farm of the Department of Agronomy, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra, during the kharif season of 2025. The experimental site is situated at a latitude of 20.69° N and a longitude of 77.02° E and falls under the Western Vidarbha Zone of the agro-climatic region of Maharashtra. The gross plot size was 3.6 m × 3.2 m, while the net plot size was 2.5 m × 2.8 m. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with 20 treatment combinations and three replications. The treatments consisted of four sowing windows and five black gram Varieties. The four sowing windows were D 1 -24 MW (16 June), D 2 -26 MW (30 June), D 3 -28 MW (14 July), and D 4 -30 MW (28 July). The five Varieties were V 1 -PDKV Black Gold, V 2 -AKU-15, V 3 -TAU-1, V 4 -AKU-23/5, and V 5 -BDU-1. Black gram was sown at a 45 cm × 10 cm distance. The recommended basal dose of nitrogen (20 kg N ha⁻¹), phosphorus (40 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹), and potassium (40 kg K₂O ha⁻¹) was applied through urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), and muriate of potash (MOP), respectively. During the crop-growing season, a total rainfall of 773.4 mm was received, distributed over 46 rainy days. The soil of the experimental field was clayey in texture and nearly neutral in reaction (pH 7.68). The soil was low in organic carbon (0.57%), medium in available nitrogen (198 kg ha⁻¹) and available phosphorus (20.24 kg ha⁻¹), and high in available potassium (328 kg ha⁻¹). The bulk density of the soil was 1.40 Mg m⁻³, and the electrical conductivity was 0.28 dS m⁻¹ [9] . Among the Varieties, PDKV Black Gold (V 1 ) recorded significantly higher plant height (50.0 cm) than AKU-15 (47.6 cm), TAU-1 (45.4 cm), AKU-23/5 (46.4 cm), and BDU-1 (47.7 cm). TAU-1 recorded the lowest plant height (45.4 cm). Similar results were reported by Patidar et al.

(2018) [6] . The interaction between sowing windows and varieties was non-significant for plant height.

Number of branches plant⁻¹

The number of branches plant⁻¹ at harvest was significantly influenced by different sowing windows. Crop sown during 24 MW (16 June) recorded significantly higher number of branches plant⁻¹ (8.18), which was statistically at par with 26 MW (30 June) (7.60). Crop sown during 30 MW (28 July) recorded significantly lower number of branches plant⁻¹ (6.72). Similar results were reported by Aher et al.

(2006) [1] . Among the Varieties, PDKV Black Gold (V 1 ) recorded higher number of branches plant⁻¹ (7.75), which was statistically at par with BDU-1 (7.62), AKU-15 (7.48), and TAU-1 (7.40), but was significantly superior to AKU-23/5 (7.03). Similar results were reported by aher et al. (2006) [1] . The interaction between sowing windows and varieties was non-significant for number of branches plant⁻¹.

Leaf area plant⁻¹ (dm²)

Leaf area at 60 DAS was significantly influenced by different sowing windows. Crop sown during 24 MW (16 June) recorded significantly higher leaf area (7.72 dm²), whereas crop sown during 30 MW (28 July) recorded significantly lower leaf area (6.07 dm²). Similar results were reported by Singh et al. (2014) [9] . Among the Varieties, PDKV Black Gold (V 1 ) recorded higher leaf area (7.12 dm²), which was statistically at par with AKU-15 (6.86 dm²) and BDU-1 (6.98 dm²), while it was significantly superior to TAU-1 (6.74 dm²) and AKU-23/5 (6.61 dm²). The interaction between sowing windows and varieties was non-significant for leaf area.

Leaf area index

Leaf area index at 60 DAS was significantly influenced by different sowing windows. Crop sown during 24 MW (16 June) recorded significantly higher leaf area index (1.71), whereas crop sown during 30 MW (28 July) recorded significantly lower leaf area index (1.35). Among the varieties, PDKV Black Gold (V 1 ) recorded higher leaf area index (1.58), which was statistically at par with BDU-1 (1.55) and AKU-15 (1.52). AKU-23/5 (1.47) recorded the lowest leaf area index. The interaction between sowing windows and varieties was non-significant for leaf area index.

Dry matter weight plant⁻¹ at harvest was significantly influenced by different sowing windows. Crop sown during 24 MW (16 June) recorded significantly higher dry matter weight plant⁻¹ (16.88 g), whereas crop sown during 30 MW (28 July) recorded significantly lower dry matter weight plant⁻¹ (9.27 g). This could be attributed to comparatively less favourable weather conditions encountered across the growing period by later sown crop which consequently reduced the dry matter accumulation. Besides, growth period of the crop also decreased with each successive delay in sowing which also reflected in reduced dry matter weight in later sowings. Similar results were reported by Vijayalaxmi (2012). Among the varieties, PDKV Black Gold (V 1 ) recorded higher dry matter weight plant⁻¹ (14.14 g), which was statistically at par with BDU-1 (13.61 g), but significantly superior to AKU-15 (12.86 g), TAU-1 (12.56 g), and AKU-23/5 (12.27 g). Similar results were reported by Singh et al.

(2010) [8] . The interaction between sowing windows and Varieties was non-significant for dry matter weight plant⁻¹

Number of root nodules plant⁻¹

The number of root nodules plant⁻¹ at 40 DAS was significantly influenced by different sowing windows. Crop sown during 24 MW (16 June) recorded significantly higher number of root nodules plant⁻¹ (24.4) than the later sowing windows. Crop sown during 30 MW (28 July) recorded significantly lower number of root nodules plant⁻¹ (17.3). The higher nodulation under early sowing 24 MW may be attributed to favourable environmental conditions and optimum soil moisture during the vegetative period, which promoted better root growth, extensive lateral root development and enhanced rhizobial activity in the rhizosphere. Similar results were reported by Zammurad et al. (2006) [15] . Among the Varieties, PDKV Black Gold (V 1 ) recorded significantly higher number of root nodules plant⁻¹ (22.1) than the other Varieties, whereas AKU-23/5 (V 4 ) recorded the lowest number of root nodules plant⁻¹ (19.1). The interaction between sowing windows and Varieties was nonsignificant for number of root nodules plant⁻¹

Conclusion

Based on the results of the present investigation, sowing of black gram during 24 MW (16 June) was found to be significantly superior for obtaining better growth attributes under the agro-climatic conditions of Akola. The crop sown during 24 MW recorded significantly higher plant height, number of branches plant⁻¹, leaf area, leaf area index, dry matter weight plant⁻¹, and number of root nodules plant⁻¹ compared with the later sowing windows. Among the varieties, PDKV Black Gold performed better with respect to growth attributes. It recorded significantly higher plant height and number of root nodules plant⁻¹, while for number of branches plant⁻¹, leaf area, leaf area index, and dry matter weight plant⁻¹, it was statistically at par with one or more varieties, particularly BDU-1. The overall performance of the was followed by BDU-1, AKU-15, TAU-1, and AKU-23/5, with AKU-23/5 generally recording comparatively lower growth attributes.

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