Effect of different sowing time and seed rate on growth, yield and economics of chandrasur (Lepidium sativum L.)

Introduction

Garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.), widely known in India as Chandrasur, is a fast-growing annual herb of the Brassicaceae family. While it originated in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea, farmers have cultivated this versatile plant since ancient times for its nutrient-rich seeds and leaves. The seeds pack a strong nutritional profile, containing roughly 23.5% protein, 23.5% fat, and 30% dietary fiber, along with high levels of iron, calcium, and folic acid (Wadhwa et al., 2012) [1] . Beyond basic nutrition, Garden cress contains unique phytochemicals like the alkaloid lepidine, sinapic acid, and a functional mucilage. These compounds of this plant seed have been used in Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha systems of medicine since ancient times. They are useful in the preparation of medicines for asthma, cough with expectoration, poultice for sprains, leprosy, skin disease, dysentery, diarrhoea, splenomegaly, dyspepsia, lumbago, leucorrhoea, scurvy and seminal weakness (Kirtikar et al., 1933) [2] . Traditionally, the crop is considered a tonic for increasing height in children, enhancing milk production in lactating women and milch animals, and curing chronic bronchial asthma (Paranjape and Mehta, 2004). Commercial demand for Garden cress is currently on the rise, driven by both its traditional medicinal value and its emerging potential as a profitable oilseed. In India, the crop covers an estimated 8,450 hectares, mostly concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra (Meena et al., 2017) [3] . From a farming perspective, it is a highly attractive option. The plant requires very less water, stray animals tend to avoid grazing on it, and it naturally resists many common insect pests. Yet, despite these physical advantages and a strong market price, actual farm yields tell a different story. The national average productivity is stuck at a very low 320 kg ha⁻¹ (Meena et al., 2015) [4] . Much of this yield gap comes down to poor field management. Farmers usually broadcast the seeds right after monsoon waters recede, rarely paying attention to proper spacing or precise planting schedules (Chundawat et al., 2017) [5] . Basic, non-monetary agronomic practices like choosing the exact right sowing date and seed rate actually dictate how well the crop will grow. If planted too early or too late, the plants get hit by temperature stress during critical vegetative or reproductive stages, which severely damages the final yield (Choudhary et al., 2010) [6] . Along the same lines, using the correct seed rate through line sowing stops the plants from over-competing against each other. It gives them the physical space needed to properly absorb sunlight, water, and soil nutrients (Tiwari et al., 2002) [7] . The present investigation entitled to evaluate three different sowing time under three low, moderate and high seed rate condition at Raipur, Chhattisgarh, with emphasis on growth parameter, yield and economics performance, and to identify the suitable combination of sowing time and seed rate with superior overall performance.

Material and method

The experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2025-26, at the university farm of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh (21°23′ N, 81°69′ E, 295 m above MSL), in a subtropical humid climate with an average annual rainfall of 1326 mm. The soil was a vertisol (locally 'Kanhar') of clay loam texture (sand 20.0%, silt 34.0%, clay 46.0%; bulk density 1.36 Mg m -3

), with pH 7.07, EC 0.42 dS m -1 , organic carbon 0.45%, and available N 174.5 kg ha -1 (low), P 20.35 kg ha -1 (medium) and K 278 kg ha -1 (high). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. Main plots comprised three sowing times viz., D 1: 15 th November, D 2: 30 th November and D 3: 15 th December and sub-plots comprised three seed rates viz., S 1: 8 kg ha -1 (low), S 2: 10 kg ha -1 (moderate) and S 3: 12 kg ha -1 (high). The test variety was GA-2, a medium-duration (110-120 days) high-yielding cultivar. Seeds were sown in lines 30 cm apart at 5 cm depth in plots of 3 m × 2.4 m. Welldecomposed FYM at 10 t ha -1 was applied 15 days before sowing, and fertilizers were applied as per the treatment schedule in the form of urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash. Irrigations were given at sowing and thereafter at 25, 40, 60 and 75 DAS, and manual weeding was done at 20-25 days intervals. Growth observations (plant height, number of primary branches, number of leaves, dry-matter accumulation) were recorded from five randomly tagged plants per plot at 30, 60 and 90 DAS and at harvest. Seed yield per plant, test weight, seed yield, stover yield and harvest index were recorded at/after harvest. Economic analysis includes cost of cultivation, gross returns, net returns and B:C ratio. Gross return was calculated through seed and stover yield using prevailing market prices (Rs 70 kg -1 seed and Rs 1 kg -1 stover), and cost of cultivation includes fixed cost and temporary cost such as on seed, fertilizers, labour and other crop-management operations. Net return was calcu-lated as the difference between gross return and cost of cultivation, while the B:C ratio was calculated as gross return divided by cost of cultivation. The data were subjected to analysis of variance appropriate for split plot design. The effects of different sowing time, seed rate and their interaction were tested for statistical significance. The standard error of mean (SEm ±

) was used to indicate the precision of treatment means, and the critical difference (CD) at 5% probability was used for comparison of means when the treatment effect was significant. Non-significant differences were indicated as NS.

Result and discussion

Growth parameters

Sowing time significantly influenced growth of chandrasur at all stages. The 30 th November sowing recorded the tallest plants throughout the crop period (17.86, 54.20, 86.63 and 114.76 cm at 30, 60, 90 DAS and harvest, respectively), which was statistically at par with the 15 th November sowing at 30 DAS, 60 DAS and 90 DAS growth stage. Whereas, 15 th December sowing recorded comparatively minimum values. A similar trend was recorded for primary branches plant -1 , with 30 th November producing 18.5 branches at harvest, as compared to 15 th November and 15 th December (Table 3.1). The 30 th November sowing also produced significantly more leaves plant -1 (114.68 at 60 DAS), which was statistically at par with 15 th November sowing at 90 DAS and at harvest stage. However, the 15 th December sowing registered the minimum number of leaves plant -1 across all stages of observation, and significantly higher dry matter accumulation plant -1 (9.34 g at harvest) was recorded under 30 th November sowing across all stages, which was statistically at par with the 15 th November sowing at 30 DAS, 90 DAS stage. Whereas, 15 th December sowing recorded comparatively minimum values (Table 1 and2 Among seed rates, the moderate seed rate recorded significantly higher plant height (112.29 cm at harvest) at all growth, which was statistically at par with the low seed rate at 30 DAS stage. The lowest plant height was found under the high seed rate (103.95 cm at harvest) at all growth stages. A similar trend was followed by primary branches (18.02), leaves plant -1 (106.53 at 60 DAS) and dry matter accumulation plant -1 (9.13 g at harvest). However, dry matter accumulation was comparatively statistically at par with the low seed rate at 30 DAS and at harvest stage, while the high rate of seed gave the lowest values. The interaction of sowing time and seed rate was nonsignificant for all growth parameters (Table 1 and2). These results also corroborated with those of Yadav et al. (2013) [8] and Meena et al. (2017) [3] in chandrasur.

Yield attributes and yield

The interaction of sowing time and seed rate significantly influenced seed yield plant -1 , the combination of 30 th November sowing with moderate seed rate of 10 kg ha -1 produced the maximum seed yield of 5.44 g plant -1 , while delayed sowing to 15 th December with high rate of 12 kg ha -1 recorded the lowest (3.31 g plant -1 ). Test weight was not significantly influenced by either were significantly influenced by both factors. The 30 th November sowing produced the highest seed yield (17.74 q ha -1

) and stover yield (46.50 q ha -1 ), statisti cally at par with 15 th November for stover (44.22 q ha -1 ), whereas delayed sowing on 15 th December gave the lowest seed yield (12.27 q ha -1

) and stover yield (39.09 q ha -1

). Among varying seed rate, moderate seed rate of 10 kg ha -1 gave the highest seed yield (16.36 q ha -1

) and stover yield (46.01 q ha -1 ), whereas high rate of seed (12 kg ha -1 ) recorded the lowest values (14.18 and 41.28 q ha -1 ) (Table 3). These results also corroborated with those of Chundawat et al., (2017) [5] and Bhagora et al., (2022) [9] in chandrasur. In the interaction, the 30 th November sowing combined with moderate seed rate gave significantly the highest seed yield (18.3 q ha -1 ) (Table 4) and stover yield (47.5 q ha -1

) among all combinations. [3] .

Economics

Sowing time and seed rate significantly influenced the profitability of chandrasur (Table 5). The highest gross return (Rs 1,28,845 ha -1 ), net return (Rs 89,387 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (3.27) were recorded under the 30 th November sowing, as compared to 15 th November and 15 th December. With respect to seed rates, moderate seed rate of recorded the highest gross return (Rs 1,19,113 ha -1 ), net return (Rs 79,655 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (3.02), as compared to low and high rate of seed. In the interaction, 30 th Table 3. Effect on seed yield (g plant -1 ), test weight (g), seed yield (q ha -1 ) , stover yield (q ha -1 ) and harvest index (%) of chandrasur crop as influenced by different sowing time and seed rate

Treatment

Conclusion

Sowing chandrasur (cv. GA-2) on 30 th November with a moderate seed rate of 10 kg ha -1 (D 2 S 2 ) produced significantly higher growth, seed yield (18.3 q ha -1

), stover yield (47.5 q ha -1 ), net return (Rs 93,227 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (3.4) than all other combinations. The 30 th November sowing and the moderate seed rate were individually superior for growth, yield, quality and economics.

References

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