Yield of Soybean, Nutrient Uptake and Nutrient Availability in an Inceptisol as Influenced by Irrigation at Critical Growth Stages

Abstract

A field study was conducted at Irrigation Water Management Farm, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India during kharif season of 2015-16. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with eight treatments and three replications. The treatments consisted of application of irrigation to soybean at different critical growth stages, viz., No irrigation (T1), one irrigation at branching, flowering and at pod filling stage, respectively (T2 to T4) and two irrigations at branching and flowering stage (T5), two irrigations at branching and pod filling stage (T6), two irrigations at flowering and pod filling stage (T7) and three irrigations at branching, flowering and pod filling (T8). Significantly higher grain and straw yield was obtained where three irrigations were given at branching, flowering and pod filling stage (30.43 q ha-1 and 55.92 q ha-1, respectively) followed by two irrigations at flowering and pod filling stage (28.89 q ha-1 and 54.12 q ha-1, respectively). The growth and yield contributing characters were improved with irrigations at critical growth stages of soybean. The highest nutrient availability of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in soil was 181.9 kg ha-1, 17.1 kg ha-1 and 434.5 kg ha-1, respectively was observed in no irrigation treatment at harvest. The highest nutrient uptake was observed in treatment of three irrigations at branching, flowering and pod filling stage was 200.26 kg ha-1, 41.54 kg ha-1 and 84.02 kg ha-1 N, P and K respectively.