Productivity And Economics Of Redgram As Influenced By Density, Pattern Of Sowing And Mulching Under Irrigated Conditions

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Y.M. SWATHI*, M. SRINIVASA REDDY, G. PRABHAKARA REDDY, P. KAVITHA AND A. PRATAP KUMAR REDDY

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during late kharif, 2016-17 at Agricultural College Farm, Mahanandi to study the effects of plant density, planting patterns and mulching techniques on, yield and economics of irrigated redgram. The results revealed that spacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs recorded significantly higher seed yield (2,302 kg ha-1) of irrigated redgram. The net returns ( 69,014 ha-1) and B : C (3.30) ratio were realized with paired row spacing of 90/30 cm × 20 cm.

KEYWORDS:

Drip system, paired row, plastic mulching, redgram and seed yield.

INTRODUCTION

The importance of pulses is much more in country like India, where majority of the people are vegetarian. Redgram (Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.) is the fifth prominent pulses crop in the world and second most important grain legume of India after chickpea. It is mainly known as subsistence crop in the tropics and sub-tropics of India, Africa and South-East Asia. In India, redgram is cultivated in 3.90 million hectares, out of which around 4.4 percent under irrigation. Production of redgram is 3.17 million tones with productivity of 813 kg ha-1. Prakasham, Guntur and Kurnool are the major districts of Andhra Pradesh state in which redgram crop is grown on large area. However, there is large potential of increasing area under redgram in late kharif, due to the availability of improved high yielding varieties and higher market price of pulses. The yield potential of redgram can be realized only through efficient utilization of solar radiation and mitigating terminal drought for which canopy size and shape claim a paramount importance among the agronomic practices. Optimal plant population is a non-monetary input that appears to be the most formidable barrier in realizing higher productivity under even irrigated conditions. There is a need to evaluate the advanced practices of mulching, planting pattern and micro irrigation practices to increase the productivity and profitability of redgram.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted during late kharif 2016-17 at Agricultural College Farm, Mahanandi. The experimental soil was sandy loam in texture, neutral in reaction (pH 7.2), low in organic carbon (0.3 per cent), available nitrogen (156 kg ha-1), high in available phosphorus (28 kg ha-1) and potassium (856 kg ha-1). The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with nine treatments and three replications. The treatments comprised of sowing with 120 cm × 20 cm spacing (T1), sowing with 90 cm × 20 cm spacing (T2), sowing with 60 cm × 20 cm spacing (T3), sowing with spacing of 180/ 60cm × 20 cm as paired rows (T4), sowing with spacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows (T5), sowing with spacing of 90/30 cm × 20 cm as paired rows (T6), sowing with spacing of 180/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs (T7), sowing with spacing of 120/ 60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs (T8) and sowing with spacing of 90/30 cm ×20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs (T9). Surface drip irrigation system with 16 mm integral dripper lines laid out on the ground surface and emitters spaced at 0.60 m apart delivering 41 hr-1 giving an application rate 6.6 mm h-1 for all the plots. The black-sliver LDPE sheet of 25 µ was used in the study for the respective treatments and the sheet was spread within paired rows. To compute the total cost of cultivation of redgram under drip,

discounted cost of the irrigation system at ` 12,467 was considered taking the average life span of the system as 5 years with seasons (kharif and rabi). The cost of plastic mulch film and its laying charges was computed for respective treatments.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The higher seed yield of irrigated redgram was recorded at spacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired row with plastic mulch in pairs (2,302 kg ha-1) which was comparable with a spacing of 180/60 cm × 20 cm as paired row with plastic mulch in pairs (2,210 kg ha-1), spacing of 90/30 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs (2,104 kg ha-1) and was superior over rest of treatments. This might be due to higher yield attributing characters, maximum uptake of NPK, which was benefited because of mulch and drip irrigation that altered the microclimate. The increase in yield attributes under different treatments of mulch might be due to favorable environment and these results are in accordance with those reported by Gajera et al. (1998). Lowest seed yield was recorded with spacing of 120 cm × 20 cm (1,548 kg ha-1) due to poor growth and yield components of redgram.

Gross and net returns as well as benefit cost ratio were altered to a noticeable extent by drip system and plastic mulch film. An annualized cost of drip at ` 12,476, plastic mulch at ` 180 kg-1 and its laying charges was included in the cost of production for irrigated redgram for the respective treatments. The higher gross returns (` 1,16,258 ha-1) of irrigated redgram were obtained with spacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs (T8) (Table 1). The lowest gross returns (` 78,181 ha-1) were recorded at 120 cm × 20 cm (T1). It is obvious that realization of higher gross returns was due to higher seed yield and because of favorable soil moisture and nutrients facilitating growth and better translocation of photosynthates from source to sink i.e., seed. The economics of plastic mulching revealed that though initial investment is higher owing to higher input cost of plastic mulch, adoption of redgram under plastic mulch is economically feasible as the cost of plastic mulch is cheaper.

The highest net returns (` 69,014 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.30) were recorded at a spacing of 90/30 cm × 20 cm as paired rows (T6) (Table 1). The increase in net returns might be due to increased plant population, seed yield and cost incurred on plastic mulch film which was low

compared to yield advantage. The lowest net returns and benefit: cost ratio were recorded with spacing of 180/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs (T7) (` 59,516 ha-1). The results are in agreement with those reported by Gajera et al. (1998); Kulkarni et al. (2015) and Patel et al. (2015).

CONCLUSION

The results from present investigation revealed that paired row is advantageous for improving productivity and profitability of redgram under drip irrigation with less cost of production. However, higher initial cost of the plastic mulch material is the only hindrance in advocating this technology to the small and marginal farmers of our country. Appropriate government policies such as availability of subsidized polythene film as in the case drip system will go a long way in future for improving the productivity and profitability of farmers besides saving the precious water and creating lesser pressure on ground water resources.

LITERATURE CITED

  1. Gajera, M.S., Ahlawat, R.P.S and Ardeshna, R.B. 1998. Effect of irrigation schedule, tillage depth and mulch on growth and yield of winter pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.). Indian Journal of Agronomy. 43(4): 689-693.
  2. Kulkarni, M.V., Sushil, L., Yogesh, P and Prajapati, D.R. 2015. Influence of planting geometry and mulching on growth and yield of watermelon under drip irrigation. Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Food Technology. 2(1): 22-24.
  3. Patel, A.R., Gohel, T.J., Davara, D.K and Solanki, M.H. 2015. Effect of drip irrigation and mulching on growth, yield and water use efficiency of rabipigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.). Trends in Biosciences. 8(16): 4275-4279.
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