Effect of integrated crop management practices on root-shoot characteristics, yield and nutrient harvest index of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) under irrigated north Indian Plains

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during rainy season of 2017 at experimental farm of ICARIndian Agricul- tural Research Institute, New Delhi under pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp]wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] crop- ping system to assess the effect of different integrated crop management (ICM) modules [04 conventional tillage (CT) based: (ICM ICM ); 04 conservation agriculture (CA) based: (ICM ICM ); 01 organic agriculture based: 1 4 5 8 (ICM )] on root-shoot characteristics, seed yield and nutrient harvest index (NHI) in pigeon pea. The experiment 9 was planned in a randomized block design with 03 replications. The results show that ICM modules (ICM , ICM , 8 6 ICM , and ICM ) supplied with 75% NPK through chemical fertilizers + arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) + NPK- 4 2 biofertilizer (NPK-bf) had an edge over the 100% NPK alone supplied ICM , ICM , ICM , ICM modules with re- 7 5 3 1 spect to root characteristics. However, branches/plant (22.7) and pigeon pea productivity (1.92 t/ha) were signifi- cantly higher under ICM module over ICM . Similarly, the 100% NPK supplied ICM modules had an edge over 7 8 75% NPK + AMF + NPK-bf supplied ICM modules with respect to number of branches/plant and seed yield owing to balanced supply of plant nutrients readily available to crop. The effect of different ICM modules on nutrient har- vest index (NHI) for NPK was found non-significant. In general, the CA based ICM modules showed an edge over CT based ICM modules with respect to root-shoot characteristics, seed yield and NHI. Overall, the CA based mod- ules like ICM and ICM can be recommended to the farmers for enhancing the crop productivity in pigeon pea 7 8 alone or on pigeon peawheat cropping system based in irrigated Indo-Gangetic plains region.