Yield, economics and water use efficiency of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) under various irrigation regimes on raised bed planting system

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Kanpur during rabi seasons of 2005-06 and 2006-07 to elucidate the ef- fect of raised bed planting on growth, yield, water use efficiency and economics of chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) under various irrigation depths. Results revealed that raised bed planting increased nodulation significantly by 30.0% and nodule dry weight by 44.4% over flat bed planting. Raised bed planting also encouraged compara- tively more root growth than flat bed as evident through higher root: shoot ratio. Branching and podding were sig- nificantly higher in raised bed by 52.1% and 23.6%, respectively. Chickpea recorded maximum grain yield (aver- age 2.24 t/ha), water use efficiency (11.69 kg/ha-mm) and net return (Rs 20,810/ha) under raised bed planting system. Among depths, though 30 and 45 mm irrigation recorded significantly higher nodulation, root growth, branching and podding, the maximum grain yield was recorded with 30 mm irrigation (av. 2.22 t/ha) which was at par with 45 mm but significantly higher than 15 and 60 mm irrigations. Thus, on an average, raised bed planting increased grain yield by 17.3% and saved 37.5 to 50% irrigation requirement in chickpea.