ISSN: 0970-6380

Online ISSN : 0976-2434

Journal of
FOOD LEGUMES
Volume 35 | Number 3 | July-September, 2022

I SPR D
1987

Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development

ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research
Kanpur, India
www.isprd.in
 Journal of
FOOD LEGUMES
An Official Journal of Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development (Registration No. 877)
ISSN: 0970-6380; Online ISSN: 0976-2434

The Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development (ISPRD) was founded in April 1987 with the following
objectives:
• To promote research, development and extension activities in pulses
• To facilitate close association amongst pulse workers nationally and internationally
• To publish “Journal of Food Legumes”, a quality research journal of the Society
Membership: any person interested in pulses research and development is eligible for membership of the Society
by becoming ordinary, life or corporate member by paying respective membership fee as detailed below:
Membership Fee Indian (Rs.) Foreign (US$)
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Contribution to the Journal, except in case of invited articles, is open to the members of the society only. Any
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Communication regarding transfer of membership fee alongwith the transfer receipt should be communicated
to Secretary, ISPRD, ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur-208024, India at secretary.isprd@gmail.com.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 2020-2023

Chief Patron
Dr Trilochan Mohapatra
Patron Co-Patron
Dr TR Sharma Dr Bansa Singh
President: IP Singh, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur
Vice-President: Rajeev Varshney, Murdoch University, Australia
Secretary: Aditya Pratap, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur
Joint Secretary: CS Praharaj, ICAR-DGR, Junagarh
Treasurer: DR Mishra, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur
Councilors
AK Srivastava, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur; Ravinder Singh, PAU, Ludhiana; C. Bharadwaj, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi;
Mudalgiriyappa, GKVK UAS, Bengaluru; S.S. Punia, CoA, Bharatpur, Rajasthan; RP Singh, RAK College, Sehore
Editor-in-Chief
Meenal Rathore
ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, India
Editorial Board
SK Sharma, Palampur, India; Pooran Gaur, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, India; Nguyen, Henry T, Columbia, USA; Suk-Ha
Lee, Seoul, Korea; Kadambot Siddique, Perth, Australia; Shiv Kumar, ICARDA, Morocco; Ramakrishnan Madhavan
Nair, WorldVeg, Hyderabad, India; Liao Boshou, China; Sushil Chaturvedi, Jhansi, India; AR Sharma, Jhansi, India;
Jayamani P, Coimbatore, India; PS Basu, Kanpur, India; Jitendra Kumar, Kanpur, India; Dinesh Yadav, Gorakhpur,
India; Harsh Nayyar, Chandigarh, India; Harsh K Dikshit, New Delhi, India; A Amarender Reddy, Hyderabad, India;
Uma Sah, Kanpur, India; Mohd. Akram, Kanpur, India; Gaurav K Taggar, Ludhiana, India; ; Sanjeev Kumar, Patna,
India; Sanjay Singh Rathore, New Delhi, India; Narendra Kumar, Kanpur, India; Prasoon Verma, Kanpur, India;
Senthil Kumar, Kanpur, India; Om Gupta, Jabalpur, India; Awnindra K. Singh, Kanpur, India; Vikas Singh, Varanasi,
India; Manoj K. Tripathi, Bhopal, India.
 Journal of
FOOD LEGUMES
An Official Journal of Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development
ISSN: 0970-6380; Online ISSN: 0976-2434

Vol. 35 (3) July-September, 2022

Contents
CURRENT AFFAIRS
1. Molecular insights into the genome of an arid legume: Clusterbean (Cyamopsis
tetragonoloba) 161
Kishore Gaikwad

RESEARCH PAPERS
2. Study on heterosis for seed yield and its components in pigeonpea
[Cajanus Cajan (L.) Millsp.] under early sown condition in Chhattisgarh 163
Ajay Tiwari, Rajesh Kumar Pandey, RN Sharma and Abhinav Sao
3. Assessment of genetic variability and trait association in mungbean
(Vigna radiata L.) genotypes during summer season 170
Samita, Rajesh Yadav and Ravika
4. Potassium and zinc influence on green gram yield, nutrient content, uptake
and post harvest soil fertility in course textured soil of south-west Haryana 175
Satender Kumar, MK Jat, Harender, Raj Kumar, Sawan Kumar and Sandeep Bedwal
5. Different levels of phosphorus and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB)
influence growth, yield and economics of green gram [Vigna radiata L.] 180
Myaka Sai Teja, Awadhesh Kishore*, Jai Dev Sharma, S Prem Kumar,
K Suresh Reddy, and T Pramod
6. Influence of sowing time on phenology, thermal indices and yield of field
pea varieties (Pisum sativum L.) in Gangetic delta of West Bengal 184
Somdatta Achar, Mrityunjay Ghosh, R Nath, Saon Banerjee, SK Gunri,
Tarun Sarkar, and N Mudi
7. Effect of site-specific nutrient management on growth indices of soybean
(Glycine max (L.) Merrill) under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh 189
Navneet Kaur, Janardan Singh and Shilpa
8. Biocontrol of actinomycetes against chickpea wilt pathogen
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri. 193
S B Latake*, YV Bele and VS Shinde
9. Investigating the in vitro regeneration potential of mungbean cultivar Samrat 198
Ayushi Tripathi, Neetu S Kushwah, Samir C Debnath, Susmita Shukla and Meenal Rathore
10. Cluster frontline demonstrations in enhancement of production and
productivity of green gram 207
Rupesh Kumar Meena, Bhupender Singh, Kuladip Prakash Shinde,
Ravi Kumar Meena, and Seema Chawla
11. Performance evaluation of improved cultivars of pigeonpea under cluster front line
demonstration in changing climatic condition of Samastipur District, Bihar 212
Sanjay Kumar, Shailesh Kumar, Bharati Upadhaya, RK Tiwari, Ranjan Kumar,
Vidyapati Choudhary and Nisha Rani

SHORT COMMUNICATION
12. Effect of sequential application of herbicides on the growth and yield of
greengram (Vigna radiata L.) 217
Masapalli Himaja, Awadhesh Kishore, Sunkara Sarada Devi,
Jai Dev Sharma, Veerbhadrayya R.M
13. Effect of post-emergence herbicides on weeds, yield and economics of
kharif blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) 221
Mandra Durga Bhavani, Awadhesh Kishore, Jai dev Sharma, Siddu Khanadale,
and Manthati Hari Chandana

COMMENTARY
14. Yes, breeders can smash the low yield plateau in pigeonpea! 224

Obituary 226

List of Referees for Vol. 35 (3) 227

 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 161-162, 2022
Tiwari et al. : Study on heterosis for seed yield in pigeon pea 161

Current Affairs

Molecular insights into the genome of an arid legume: Clusterbean

(Cyamopsis tetragonoloba)
Dr Kishore Gaikwad

Principal Scientist Dr. Kishor Gaikwad, Ph.D. (Agricultural Biotechnology), is a

National Institute of plant Biotechnology, molecular biologist and biotechnologist whose major areas of
LBS Building, New Delhi research revolve around the utilization of advanced molecular
biology and breeding tools in the elucidation of genes and
Email: kish2012@gmail.com
pathways regulating vital traits, with prime emphasis on Cajanus
cajan, Vigna mungo and Cyamopsis tetragonoloba. With over
two decades of teaching and research experience in genomics and over 100
research papers under his name, Dr. Gaikwad has been a vital group member
of several genome sequencing projects like the Rice Genome Sequencing
Consortium, Tomato Genome Sequencing Consortium, and Pigeonpea
genome sequencing team.

Legumes are a vital component of agriculture
as well as global economy. Most of the major grain
species of the subcontinent have limited genomic
resources vis a vis a rice or wheat genomics data. This
has to some extent limited the genetic improvement
in the new genomics era. Among these major grain
legumes, soybean was the first leguminous crop
to be sequenced (Schmutz et al., 2010). This was
followed by pigeonpea (Varshney et al., 2012 &
Singh et al., 2012), chickpea (Varshney et al., 2013),
common bean (Schmutz et al., 2014), mung bean
(Kang et al., 2014), adzuki bean (Kang et al., 2015),
peanut (Bertioli et al., 2015) and cowpea (Lonardi
et al., 2019) which were sequenced and assembled to
draft levels and improved versions came thereafter.
Once the entire genome sequence at chromosomal
scale is available, it aids to generate a wealth of
useful information including number of genes,
repeat sequences and their positions, copy number
variation of a gene, and so on.
The current understanding of the cluster
bean genome is the first among galactomannan
(gum) generating plants. Clusterbean (2n=14), also
known as guar, is one of the underutilized legume
crops having immense economic importance.
It is a climate-resilient annual legume bearing
considerable potential as an alternative crop in arid
and semi-arid environments. Only one of the four
species in the Cyamopsis genus, C. tetragonoloba (L.)
Taub, is cultivated. The other two species, C. serrata
Schinz and C. senegalensis Guill & Perr, are its wild
relatives, whereas C. dentate Tarre is cosidered to be
evolved as a result of an inter-species hybridization
between C. serrata and C. senegalensis. About 80-
90% of the endosperm is made up of guar gum
(or) galactomannan, a very viscous water-soluble
hetero-polysaccharide with a galactose-to-mannose
ratio of 1:2. Besides being a rich source of commercial
products such as gum, clusterbean is also a highly
nutritious legume crop, with a high protein content
(18%) and dietary fiber (32%).
A significant portion of genome-level studies
have been conducted, mostly by our group, including
studies on genetic diversity, genes and pathways
governing gum biosynthesis, organelle genomics
etc. Simultaneously, we have been working towards
developing a high-quality reference genome of the
well-known RGC-936 (known for its high yield and
high galactomannan content) clusterbean cultivar.
Using a hybrid assembly approach to assemble
the sequencing data, we could assemble the entire
550Mb of the guar genome which were further
anchored to the genetic map with 7 linkage groups.
A total of >34000 protein coding genes
were predicted, of which 28000 (78.93%) were
successfully annotated in the genome. The genome
assembly has high BUSCO scores and LAI index.
This high-quality reference genome of clusterbean
enabled us to perform comparative analysis among
some of the representative plant genomes. Through
comparative genomics, we conducted a gene family
clustering analysis using cluster bean and 11 other
162 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
representative angiosperm species of crop and
model plants. The results indicated that clusterbean
and other legumes may have shared a common
ancestor ~80 mya.
The "-omics" era has given rise to a new
set of tools and approaches that are having a
substantial influence on the advancement of genetic
engineering, metabolic engineering, and synthetic
biology. This has sped up the search for the genes
and enzymes of specific pathways that are used in
metabolic engineering applications and has helped
to build the metabolic pathways, which in turn has
assisted in the creation of the desired molecules.
The current understanding of the cluster bean
genome is the first among galactomannan (gum)
generating plants. As a result, our research gives
valuable information that might be used in future
for clusterbean enhancement.
 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 163-169, 2022
Tiwari et al. : Study on heterosis for seed yield in pigeon pea 163

Study on heterosis for seed yield and its components in pigeonpea

[Cajanus Cajan (L.) Millsp.] under early sown condition in Chhattisgarh
Ajay Tiwari, Rajesh Kumar Pandey*, RN Sharma and Abhinav Sao

Department of Genetics and Plant ABSTRACT

Breeding, College of Agriculture,
Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya,
Raipur, (C.G.), *Department of
Botany, Bundelkhand University,
Jhansi-284128, U.P.
E-mail: rkp_vam@rediffmail.com
*
Received: March 03, 2022
Accepted: October 04, 2022
Handling Editor:
Dr Awnindra Singh, ICAR-Indian
Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
An experiment was conducted to evaluate heterosis for seed yield and its
components in pigeon pea. Twelve parents and 35 F1’ s produced from Line
x Tester mating design in randomized block design were evaluated for for
thirteen quantitative characters. All the crosses showed positive heterosis
over mid parent and better parent for seed yield per plant showed by crosses
positively significant for mid-parent heterosis observed for ICP7376 X ICPL
87119 followed ICP7376 X ICPL-87, ICP7382 X UPAS-120, ICP7406 X UPAS-
120, ICP7382 X ICPL-87, ICP7004 X JKM-189, ICP7406 X JKM-189 and 12.26
ICP7406 X ICPL 87119. The significant positive heterobeltiosis were observed
for seed yield per plant for crosses ICP7382 X UPAS-120 and ICP7004 X
JKM-189. The hybrids showed heterosis for one or more yield related traits
indicated that hybrid vigour in small magnitude for any one yield component
may have additive effects on seed yield. The parents with good cross value
could be further used in the future hybridization programmes.

Key words: Better Parent, Heterosis, Line x Tester Analysis, Mid Parent,
Pigeonpea

INTRODUCTION and drought at reproductive stage. Thus there is an

Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]
belonging to the Family Leguminosae (Fabaceae)
Genus Cajanus, Species Cajan, Tribe Phaseoleae,
Sub-tribe Cajaninae, Order Fabales, is an often
cross pollinated (20-70%) crop with diploid species
(2n = 2x = 22) comprising a genome of 833.1 Mb
arranged into 11 linkage groups. It is one of the
major food legumes of the world which is widely
grown in tropical and subtropical regions and
occupies an important position in the economy of
India (Varshney et al., 2012). In India during 2019-20
pigeonpea covered an area of 4.23 M ha producing
around 3.89 M tones with the average productivity
of 917 kg/ha (Anonymous, 2021). But yield plateau
in the crop is evident as the productivity is stagnant
at around 900 kg/ha despite of the yield potential of
1500-3000 kg/ha (Kumar et al., 2014).
This crop is being grown in Chhattisgarh since
long back in Surguja, Rajnandgaon, Gariyaband,
Raipur, Durg, Bastar, Bilaspur, Dantewada
and Kabeerdham. In Chhattisgarh, acreage
under pigeonpea is 65.9 thousand hectares with
production and productivity of 39.9 thousand
tons and 605 kg ha-1, respectively (Anonymous,
2021). However, major constraints in growing
pigeonpea in Chhattisgarh are water logging, frost
urgent need to evolve high yielding, early-medium
duration varieties which can tolerate biotic and
abiotic stresses. Heterosis is the most important
tools for breeding programme that has provided
major breakthrough in not only for yield but also
for improving various other agronomically and
economically important traits in case of several
major crops. Performance of various hybrids of
pigeonpea at past have registered whooping 75-
100% higher yield in comparison to the most
popular cultivars (Saxena and Sawargaonkar, 2014).
Therefore utilization of heterosis for developing
of high yielding hybrid varieties can be very
impactful to increase the yield, reproductive ability,
adaptability, disease and insect resistance, general
vigour and quality, etc of pigeonpea. ICRISAT and
ICAR have joint developed several hybrid varieties
utilizing both GMS and CGMS. Currently new
generation hybrids are being developed using A2
and A4 CGMS systems (Saxena et al., 2006).
In current usage heterosis and hybrid vigor are
used as synonyms and interchangeable. The amount
of heterosis plays a key role in selecting of ideal
parents for making superior crosses and also forms
the basis for estimating genetic diversity (Swindell
and Poehlman, 1976). The important genetic factors
164 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
which effect magnitude of heterosis in crop plants
include mode of pollination, genetic diversity
of parents their genetic base and adaptability.
Heterosis and hybrid vigor can bring about yield
improvement in pigeonpea by exploiting additive
and non additive component of gene action (Saxena
and Sharma, 1990). Several researchers have already
reported heterosis for grain yield in pigeonpea.
Therefore, estimation of heterosis for yield and
yield attributing traits will help in identifying
superior crosses which will increase the probability
of obtaining better transgressive segregants in later
segregating generations.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The field experiment was conducted during the
Kharif 2012-13 and 2013-14 at Department of Genetics
& Plant Breeding at Research cum Instructional
Farm, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya,
Raipur-Chhattisgarh. The protein analysis work
was done in the Quality Laboratory, Department of
Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture,
IGKV Raipur-Chhattisgarh. In hybridization
programme (Table-1) 5 varieties (ICPL 87119, BDN-
2, UPAS-120, ICPL-87 and JKM-189) were used
as male while 7 germplasm accessions were used
as female (ICP7004, ICP7373, ICP7376, ICP7382,
ICP7391, ICP7393 and ICP7406) to generate a set
of hybrids in a Line x Tester fashion as proposed
by Kempthorne (1957). A total of 35 hybrids were
developed by hand emasculation and pollination.
Sufficient numbers of hand pollinated F1 seeds
were produced during 2012-13 rainy season. The
experimental material consisted 35 crosses. The
experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete
Block Design (RCBD) with three replications during
Kharif 2013-14. The material was sown in single row
of 4.0 m length and 60 cm apart with 20 cm plant
to plant spacing. Sowing of 35 F1s was done in
first week of June. Recommended dose of fertilizer
of 20:50:20 kg per ha of NPK was applied before
sowing. All the recommended package of practices
were followed to raise a healthy crop. Single plant
per hill was maintained, border rows were planted
to eliminate the border effect. Five plants were
randomly selected and tagged in each genotype per
replication for recording the observations for the 13
characters viz: days to flowering initiation, days to
50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height (cm),
number of primary branches per plant, number of
pod clusters per plant, number of pods per cluster,
number of pods per plant, pod length (cm), number
of seeds per pod, 100 seed weight, seed yield per
plant and protein content. The data were analyzed
for heterosis as per statistical methods given by
(Nadarajan and Gunasekaran, 2005).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Heterosis over mid parent (Relative
heterosis) and over better parent (heterobeltiosis)
was estimated for all the characters under study.
The estimates of mid parent and better parent are
given in Table 2, 3 and 4. Days to flowering initiation
are significant relative heterosis for the trait ranged
from -6.95 (ICP7382 X ICPL 87119) to 11.05 (ICP7393
X BDN-2). Among 35 hybrids, ICP7391 X UPAS-
120 hybrids showed significant negative heterosis.
Whereas, hybrid ICP7393 X BDN-2 showed
significant positive heterosis in respectively for
this trait. The significant heterobeltiosis ranged
from -13.26 (ICP7004 X ICPL-87) to -9.47 (ICP7382
X ICPL-87). Heterosis for early flowering was also
reported by Patel et al., (1991), Gupta et al., (1997),
Patel and Tikka (2008) and Mallikarjuna et al.,
(2012). The significant relative heterosis for days to
50% flowering varied from -11.54 (ICP7376 X ICPL-
87) to 10.72 (ICP7393 X BDN-2). The significant
heterobeltiosis for the trait ranged from -15.40
(ICP7376 X ICPL-87) to 10.17 (ICP7393 X BDN-2).
The findings are in general supported by the result
obtained by Chandirakala and Raveendran (2002),
Lohithaswa and Dharmaraj (2003), Banu et al., (2007),
Dheva et al., (2008), Shoba and Balan (2010) and Saroj
et al., (2014). The significant relative heterosis for
days to maturity varied from -4.88 (ICP7382 X ICPL
87119) to 6.70 (ICP7393 X JKM-189). The significant
heterobeltiosis for days to maturity ranged from-
9.98 (ICP7004 X ICPL-87) to 5.15 (ICP7406 X JKM-
189). The findings are in accordance to the findings
of Gupta et al., (1997), Aher et al., (2006), Banu
et al., (2007), Dheva et al., (2008), Bhavani and Bhalla
(2009), Shoba and Balan (2010) and Saroj et al.,
(2014). The significant relative heterosis for plant
height ranged from -15.03 (ICP7004 X BDN-2) to 9.55
(ICP7376 X ICPL-87). The significant heterobeltiosis
for plant height was -26.83 (ICP7004 X BDN-2) and
all hybrids exhibited negative heterosis while there
was no positive heterosis for the trait. These findings
of heterosis are similar to observations of Banu et al.,
(2007), Dheva et al., (2008), Shoba and Balan (2010)
and Gite et al., (2014).
The number of primary branches per plant
showed significant relative heterosis ranging from
-26.82 (ICP7004 X BDN-2) to 25.42 (ICP7376 X ICPL
87119). The heterobeltiosis for the trait had a range
of -42.89 (ICP7004 X BDN-2) to 11.19 (ICP7376 X
ICPL-87). These findings are similar to the results of
 Tiwari et al. : Study on heterosis for seed yield in pigeon pea
Kumar and Srivastava (1998), Kumar et al., (2009),
Phad et al., (2009), Sarode et al., (2009), Pandey et al.,
(2013) and Gite et al., (2014). The relative heterosis
for the number of pod clusters per plant varied from
-27.96 (ICP7373 X UPAS-120) to 143.96 (ICP7382 X
ICPL 87119). The significant heterobeltiosis for the
trait ranged from -44.19 (ICP7382 X BDN-2) to 139.04
(ICP7382 X ICPL 87119).These results of heterosls
are in accordance to the findings of Chandirakala
and Raveendran (2002), Banu et al., (2007), Kumar
et al., (2009) and Prasad et al., (2013). The significant
relative heterosis for the trait ranged from -23.08
(ICP7393 X BDN-2) to 36.83 (ICP7391 X ICPL 87119).
The highest significant heterobeltiosis for number of
pods per cluster was exhibited ranged from -28.29
(ICP7393 X BDN-2) to 36.83 (ICP7391 X ICPL 87119).
Similar results were observed by Chandirakala
and Raveendran (2002), Mallikarjuna et al., (2012),
Prasad et al., (2013) and Saroj et al., (2014). The
significant relative heterosis for number of pods per
plant varied from -40.66 (ICP7004 X ICPL 87119) to
29.51 (ICP7376 X ICPL-87). The negative heterosis
significant heterobeltiosis for number of pods per
plant from -58.64 (ICP7004 X ICPL 87119), only
observed in results. Similar results for heterors
were reported by Patel and Patel (1992), Patel and
Tikka (2008), Kumar et al., (2009), Phad et al., (2009),
Sarode et al., (2009), Shoba and Balan (2010), Pandey
et al., (2013) and Gite et al., (2014).
The significant relative heterosis for the pod
length ranged from -11.30 (ICP7373 X BDN-2) to
9.79 (ICP7393 X ICPL 87119). The highest significant
heterobeltiosis for the trait ranged from -13.15
(ICP7406 X ICPL 87119) to 7.46 (ICP7382 X ICPL-
87). Similar reports were given by Banu et al., (2007),
Mallikarjuna et al., (2012), Prasad et al., (2013) and
Saroj et al., (2014). The significant positive relative
heterosis for the number of seeds per pod 18.03
(ICP7004 X UPAS-120) followed by 9.17 (ICP7406
X UPAS-120) and 8.26 (ICP7004 X JKM-189). All
hybrids were showing positive heterosis. The
significant positive heterobeltiosis for the trait 16.13
(ICP7004 X UPAS-120) followed by 9.17 (ICP7406 X
UPAS-120). These findings of heterosis are similar
to observations of Aher et al., (2006), Banu et al.,
(2007), Sarode et al., (2009), Shoba and Balan (2010),
Pandey et al., (2013), Prasad et al., (2013) and Saroj
et al., (2014). The range of relative heterosis for 100
seed weight was observed between -27.72 (ICP7393
X ICPL-87) to 15.31 (ICP7406 X ICPL 87119). The
significant heterobeltiosis for the trait range from
-30.80 (ICP7382 X ICPL-87) to 9.91 (ICP7382 X
ICPL 87119). The findings are in accordance to the
165
findings of Chandirakala and Raveendran (2002),
Banu et al., (2007), Kumar et al., (2009), Prasad
et al., (2013) and Gite et al., (2014). The significant
mid-parent heterosis (relative heterosis) for the
seed yield per plant varied from -45.22 (ICP7004
X BDN-2) to 27.16 (ICP7376 X ICPL 87119). The
heterobeltiosis for the trait ranged from -63.08
(ICP7004 X BDN-2) to 18.41 (ICP7382 X UPAS-120).
The significant positive mid-parent heterosis were
observed for 27.16 (ICP7376 X ICPL 87119) followed
24.73 (ICP7376 X ICPL-87), 23.47 (ICP7382 X UPAS-
120), 21.29 (ICP7406 X UPAS-120), 21.11 (ICP7382
X ICPL-87), 19.94 (ICP7004 X JKM-189), 19.02
(ICP7406 X JKM-189) and 12.26 (ICP7406 X ICPL
87119). The significant positive heterobeltiosis were
observed for 18.41 (ICP7382 X UPAS-120) and 16.30
(ICP7004 X JKM-189). The hybrids showed heterosis
for one or more yield related traits indicated that
hybrid vigour in small magnitude for any one yield
component may have additive effects on seed yield.
More or less similar findings were also reported
earlier by Patel et al., (1991), Kumar and Srivastava
(1998), Chandirakala and Raveendran (2002),
Sekhar et al., (2004), Aher et al., (2006), Baskaran
and Muthiah (2006), Banu et al., (2007), Kumar and
Krishna, (2008), Chandirakal et al., (2010), Lay et al.,
(2011), Prasad et al., (2013) and Saroj et al., (2014).
The range of relative heterosis for protein content
was observed from -17.52 (ICP7376 X ICPL 87119) to
20.05 (ICP7391 X JKM-189). The heterobeltiosis for
the trait ranged from -19.92 (ICP7376 X ICPL 87119)
to 19.74 (ICP7382 X BDN-2). More or less similar
findings were also reported earlier by Lohithaswa
and Dharmaraj (2003) and Shoba and Balan (2010).
CONCLUSION
Heterosis analysis for all the crosses showed
positive over mid parent and better parent for plant
height (cm) except ICP7373 X ICPL 87119, ICP7004 X
JKM-189, ICP7376X ICPL-87, ICP7382 X UPAS-120
ICP7382 X ICPL-87 and ICP7406 X UPAS-120. All
the cross combinations showed negative heterosis
over better parent for plant height. Hence, here
is sufficient scope of developing dwarf heterotic
genotypes. All the crosses showed positive heterosis
over mid parent and better parent for number of
primary branches per plant, except ICP7004 X JKM-
189, ICP7373 X ICPL 87119, ICP7376 X ICPL-87,
ICP7382 X UPAS-120 and ICP7382 X ICPL-87. The
one cross ICP7376 X ICPL-87 combination showed
significant heterosis over better parent for number of
primary branches per plant. All the crosses showed
positive heterosis over mid parent and better parent
166 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Table 1. List of the pigeonpea germplasm accession use in the research study

S. No. Name of genotypes Parents used as a line and tester Pedigree source
1 ICP7004 Line ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
2 ICP7373 Line ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
3 ICP7376 Line ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
4 ICP7382 Line ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
5 ICP7391 Line ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
6 ICP7393 Line ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
7 ICP7406 Line ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
8 ICPL 87119 Tester ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
9 BDN-2 Tester IGKV, Raipur (C.G.), India
10 UPAS-120 Tester IGKV, Raipur (C.G.), India
11 ICPL-87 Tester ICRISAT, Pantancheru (A.P.), India
12 JKM-189 Tester IGKV, Raipur (C.G.), India

Table 2. Heterosis for seed yield and its components in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] under early sown condition
in Chhattisgarh
S. Crosses (F1’s) Characters
No Days to flowering Days to 50% flowering Days to maturity Plant height (cm) No. of primary
initiation branches per plant
MP BP MP BP MP BP MP BP MP BP
1 ICP7004 X ICPL 87119 0.53 -2.06 -3.37* -4.44** 0.84 -0.17 -14.33** -25.20** -23.28** -38.33**
2 ICP7004 X BDN-2 -1.20 -4.12* 5.36** 0.45 0.68 -2.16 -15.03** -26.83** -26.82** -42.89**
3 ICP7004 X UPAS-120 2.63 0.52 3.73* 1.14 4.10** 1.33 -0.69 -11.32** -6.40 -24.26**
4 ICP7004 X ICPL-87 -3.71* -13.14** -6.81** -11.36** -3.82* -9.98** -2.19 -13.68** -4.42 -22.86**
5 ICP7004 X JKM-189 -5.87** -6.82** -7.94** -9.09** -1.29 -4.16* 5.57** -7.79** 15.63** -6.67
6 ICP7373 X ICPL 87119 2.84 2.43 -4.04** -7.56** -0.43 0.68 5.94** -7.43** 14.90** -7.11
7 ICP7373 X BDN-2 7.88** 7.01** 8.09** 5.76** 4.42** 2.73 -4.92** -18.04 -9.78* -29.20**
8 ICP7373 X UPAS-120 -4.17** -4.30* -2.99 -3.11 -2.86* -4.27* 0.42 -10.24** -2.24 -20.42**
9 ICP7373 X ICPL-87 -3.37* -11.05** -8.60** -10.79** -3.78* -8.87** -4.46** -15.60 -12.35* -28.83**
10 ICP7373 X JKM-189 1.17 -2.05 5.20** 3.73* 0.87 -0.85 -5.27** -17.17** -7.62 -25.00**
11 ICP7376 X ICPL 87119 3.65* 3.23 -5.99** -7.56** -1.01 -1.51 8.80** -8.30** 25.42** -8.64
12 ICP7376 X BDN-2 10.05** 9.16** 8.63** 4.14* 5.68** 3.19* -11.69** -26.54** -19.11** -42.50**
13 ICP7376 X UPAS-120 2.83 2.69 0.82 -1.15 -1.03 -3.19* 4.46** -10.04** 11.26 -18.50**
14 ICP7376 X ICPL-87 -4.25** -11.86** -11.54** -15.40** -2.77 -8.57** 9.55** -6.71** 21.50** 11.19*
15 ICP7376 X JKM-189 -3.26* -6.31** -4.40** -5.06** -4.05** -6.39** 1.99 -14.00** 10.75 -19.05**
16 ICP7382 X ICPL 87119 -6.95** -8.42** -10.03** -11.33** -4.88** -5.77** -11.26** -24.03** -13.65** -36.90**
17 ICP7382 X BDN-2 0.13 -1.84 0.96 -3.43* 1.83 0.87 -7.13** -21.55** -9.15 -35.22**
18 ICP7382 X UPAS-120 3.46* 2.37 3.86* 1.60 4.27** 3.46* 8.09** -5.40** 18.72** -12.75*
19 ICP7382 X ICPL-87 -0.58 -9.47** -10.31** -14.42** -1.81 -6.40** 7.63** -6.89** 20.94** -11.31*
20 ICP7382 X JKM-189 2.32 0.25 2.08 1.14 4.72** 3.63* -7.91** -21.12** -5.42 -30.64**
21 ICP7391 X ICPL 87119 0.82 0.54 -4.24** -7.11** 0.00 0.00 -6.82** -19.26** -12.00* -30.30**
22 ICP7391 X BDN-2 -3.42* -3.55* 0.00 -2.84 -1.21 -3.06 -2.73* -16.85** -2.26 -24.78**
23 ICP7391 X UPAS-120 -3.25* -4.03* -6.54** -7.09** -3.63* -5.26** 2.55 -9.12** 4.54 -16.66**
24 ICP7391 X ICPL-87 -3.54* -10.66** -11.22** -13.95** -1.89 -7.30** -9.24** -20.51** -19.16** -35.71**
25 ICP7391 X JKM-189 0.00 -3.79* 3.29* 2.56 4.59** 2.55 -0.13 -13.41** 4.19 -17.14**
26 ICP7393 X ICPL 87119 9.19** 6.52** 1.52 -3.78* 2.73 2.21 -0.74 -13.37** 4.06 -17.59**
27 ICP7393 X BDN-2 11.05** 8.77** 10.72** 10.17** 5.57** 4.12* -11.55** -23.86** -19.21** -37.83**
28 ICP7393 X UPAS-120 4.71** 1.61 0.61 -1.20 0.17 -1.03 3.48* -7.61** 6.13 -15.39**
29 ICP7393 X ICPL-87 0.91 -4.57* -8.00** -8.68** -2.44 -7.38** -8.75** -19.49** -15.87** -33.10**
30 ICP7393 X JKM-189 6.97** 0.76 7.69** 4.43* 6.70** 5.15** 0.67 -12.08** 6.59 -15.24**
31 ICP7406 X ICPL 87119 7.55** 6.68** 1.25 -0.67 3.50* 2.89 2.81* -11.61** 7.67 -15.23**
32 ICP7406 X BDN-2 8.25** 6.95** 4.57** 0.46 4.26** 2.92 -11.40** -24.85** -20.45** -39.13**
33 ICP7406 X UPAS-120 0.80 0.53 2.00 0.23 3.39* 2.23 6.25** -6.60** 9.41 -13.30**
34 ICP7406 X ICPL-87 -0.87 -9.09** -10.36** -14.09** -1.27 -6.19** -8.44** -20.45** -15.66** -33.33**
35 ICP7406 X JKM-189 -0.26 -3.03 0.46 0.00 3.48* 2.06 3.27* -11.17** 9.04 -13.81**
 Tiwari et al. : Study on heterosis for seed yield in pigeon pea 167

Table 3. Heterosis for seed yield and its components in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] under early sown condition
in Chhattisgarh
S. Crosses (F1’s) Characters
No No of pod clusters No. of pods per No. of pods per Pod length No. of seeds per
per plant cluster plant (cm) pod
MP BP MP BP MP BP MP BP MP BP

1 ICP7004 X ICPL 87119 39.51** 11.00** 9.27* 7.69 -40.66** -58.64** -2.41 -3.03 3.23 3.23
2 ICP7004 X BDN-2 -4.06 -10.14** 15.08** 11.21* -40.35** -58.85** -3.47 -8.39* 0.00 -1.61
3 ICP7004 X UPAS-120 22.65** 14.34** 7.46 -1.21 -7.62** -30.33** -4.62 -8.84** 18.03** 16.13**
4 ICP7004 X ICPL-87 19.20** 10.53** -1.82 -6.90 -7.82** -31.26** 1.18 1.06 -1.63 -2.42
5 ICP7004 X JKM-189 30.12** 25.92** 8.41** 5.45 10.84** -22.03** -1.01 -5.67 8.26* 5.65
6 ICP7373 X ICPL 87119 128.75** 103.93** 4.27 0.00 10.52** -22.78** 7.32* 1.56 3.44 1.77
7 ICP7373 X BDN-2 61.74** 34.19** -1.85 -2.51 -22.53** -46.44** -11.30** -12.14** 5.83 5.83
8 ICP7373 X UPAS-120 -27.96** -40.47** -12.82** -17.74** -4.94** -28.11** -10.17** -11.67** 3.75 3.75
9 ICP7373 X ICPL-87 1.81 -4.11 12.39** 9.48* -11.83** -34.07** -1.99 -7.71* 2.89 2.05
10 ICP7373 X JKM-189 17.65** 0.37 21.18** 21.18** -21.83** -44.88** 2.43 1.04 -0.84 -1.67
11 ICP7376 X ICPL 87119 91.71** 71.08** 30.54** 29.90** 14.76** -24.83** 2.04 -3.24 -3.17 -4.69
12 ICP7376 X BDN-2 70.35** 19.68** 4.92 0.45 -35.68** -58.23** -6.74** -7.43* -1.61 -4.69
13 ICP7376 X UPAS-120 72.52** 20.86** 0.44 -8.47* 3.74 -27.39** -4.19 -5.60 0.00 -3.12
14 ICP7376 X ICPL-87 64.49** 26.91** 32.11** 24.14** 29.51** -10.21** 5.32 -0.63 -5.60 -7.81
15 ICP7376 X JKM-189 103.33** 45.80** 10.85* 6.82 -11.46** -41.56** 3.97 2.77 -2.85 -6.64
16 ICP7382 X ICPL 87119 143.96** 139.04** 6.22 -3.63 -30.36** -53.60** 6.64* 6.30 -2.54 -4.11
17 ICP7382 X BDN-2 -27.42** -44.19** 2.76 -2.42 -22.95** -49.13** 8.28** 3.08 -1.08 -1.08
18 ICP7382 X UPAS-120 67.26** 28.17** 7.26* 7.26 27.83** -8.66** 3.85 -0.43 0.00 0.00
19 ICP7382 X ICPL-87 38.01** 18.77** 5.00 1.61 25.20** -11.43** 7.68* 7.46* -1.98 -2.79
20 ICP7382 X JKM-189 45.50** 14.68** 2.99 -2.82 -21.41** -47.21** 2.55 -1.98 0.84 0.00
21 ICP7391 X ICPL 87119 98.86** 74.09** 36.83** 36.83** -21.67** -47.33** -0.39 -5.73 -0.81 -1.61
22 ICP7391 X BDN-2 33.12** 12.32** 23.86** 18.03** -14.86** -43.29** 0.32 -0.63 -6.61 -7.38
23 ICP7391 X UPAS-120 15.61** -2.84 13.78** 3.23 7.40** -22.42** -7.31* -8.85** 6.20 5.33
24 ICP7391 X ICPL-87 1.07 -2.89 21.01** 13.19** -18.45** -41.70** -2.82 -8.49** 6.07 -6.07
25 ICP7391 X JKM-189 47.58** 28.15** 22.18** 17.18** -5.72** -36.08** -0.74 -2.08 -1.67 -3.28
26 ICP7393 X ICPL 87119 94.95** 65.45** -7.13 -17.21** -7.01** -36.96** 9.79** 6.59 4.10 2.42
27 ICP7393 X BDN-2 5.14 -8.51** -23.08** -28.29** -29.03** -52.34** -3.73 -5.36 3.33 3.33
28 ICP7393 X UPAS-120 10.34** -4.39 -5.14 -6.98 12.02** -18.28** 2.99 1.99 -4.50 -4.50
29 ICP7393 X ICPL-87 64.17** 63.54** -2.04 -6.98 -14.56** -38.31** 5.23 1.65 -0.83 -1.64
30 ICP7393 X JKM-189 49.90** 34.40** -3.60 -10.70** -2.79 -33.53** 4.01 2.68 0.84 0.00
31 ICP7406 X ICPL 87119 35.85** 24.83** -0.93 -6.58 -1.23 -33.84** -9.69** -13.15** -4.82 -6.45
32 ICP7406 X BDN-2 70.71** 22.27** 8.65* 7.46 -28.32** -52.44** -9.09** -9.77** 4.17 4.17
33 ICP7406 X UPAS-120 73.87** 24.16** -12.44** -15.97** 19.82** -13.85** -10.72** -10.72** 9.17* 9.17*
34 ICP7406 X ICPL-87 118.76** 72.79** 4.35 3.45 -14.22** -38.95** -3.49 -7.65* 0.83 0.00
35 ICP7406 X JKM-189 76.08** 28.83** -3.39 -5.09 5.62** -28.68** -4.62 -4.93 7.56 6.67

for number of pods per plant except ICP7004 X
JKM-189, ICP7373 X ICPL-87119, ICP7376X ICPL-
87119, ICP7376 X ICPL-87 and ICP7382 X ICPL-
87. All the crosses showed negative heterosis over
better parent for traits number of pods per plant.
All the crosses showed positive heterosis for both
types for seed yield per plant except ICP7004 X
JKM-189, ICP7376X ICPL-87, ICP7382 X UPAS-120
and ICP7382 X ICPL-87, better parent for number
of pod clusters per plant except ICP7004 X JKM-189
and ICP7382X UPAS-120. The positive heterosis
of plant height was noted with primary branches
per plant and number of pods per plant. Similarly,
number of primary branches per plant showed
positive heterosis with number of pods per plant.
Hence, direct selection for the trait showing positive
heterosis with seed yield per plant would lead to
the development of high yielding, hybrid seed
production with hybrid vigor genotypes. All the
crosses showed positive heterosis over mid parent
and better parent for seed yield per plant except
ICP7004 X JKM-189, ICP7376X ICPL-87, ICP7382 X
UPAS-120 and ICP7382 X ICPL-87 and better parent
for number of pod clusters per plant except ICP7004
X JKM-189 and ICP7382X UPAS-120.
168 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Table 4. Heterosis for seed yield and its components in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] under early sown condition
in Chhattisgarh
Crosses (F1’s) Characters
100 seed weight (g ) Seed yield per plant (g) Protein content (%)
MP BP MP BP MP BP
1 ICP7004 X ICPL 87119 -8.95** -17.82** -40.14** -58.28** -9.72** -12.42**
2 ICP7004 X BDN-2 -13.72** -21.32** -45.22** -63.08** -4.15 -7.54*
3 ICP7004 X UPAS-120 3.03 -1.40 -15.64** -40.59** -8.03** -10.75**
4 ICP7004 X ICPL-87 -12.69** -15.15** -16.92** -41.96** -9.00** -16.58**
5 ICP7004 X JKM-189 0.40 -5.27* 19.94** 16.30** 4.75 4.14
6 ICP7373 X ICPL 87119 -2.00 -6.45* 18.28** -16.53** -2.72 -9.76**
7 ICP7373 X BDN-2 4.34 0.70 -23.04** -47.53** -0.53 -1.57
8 ICP7373 X UPAS-120 -21.00** -22.22** -13.29** -38.14** -0.16 -7.34*
9 ICP7373 X ICPL-87 -15.22** -22.18** -19.12** -42.79** -8.35** -19.42**
10 ICP7373 X JKM-189 -10.67** -10.74** -18.89** -42.68** 5.53 1.33
11 ICP7376 X ICPL 87119 7.70** 3.56 27.16** -18.03** -17.52** -19.92**
12 ICP7376 X BDN-2 -7.84** -10.40** -38.97** -61.69** -6.58* -9.98**
13 ICP7376 X UPAS-120 -7.98** -10.08** -4.38 -37.85** -8.74* -11.35**
14 ICP7376 X ICPL-87 -9.15** -17.18** 24.73** -19.45** -6.92* -14.59**
15 ICP7376 X JKM-189 -7.05** -7.83** -2.48 -37.06** 5.69 4.97
16 ICP7382 X ICPL 87119 10.43** 9.91** -33.09** -56.17** -7.64* -14.37**
17 ICP7382 X BDN-2 6.82** 5.13 -22.79** -50.82** 21.06** 19.74**
18 ICP7382 X UPAS-120 6.01* -0.74 23.47** 18.41** 13.12** 4.92
19 ICP7382 X ICPL-87 -21.04** -30.80** 21.11** -20.51** 9.44** -3.83
20 ICP7382 X JKM-189 -7.13** -11.81** -15.00** -44.25** 16.41** 11.73**
21 ICP7391 X ICPL 87119 -0.52 -1.20 -17.81** -44.52** 17.98** 10.32**
22 ICP7391 X BDN-2 0.79 0.34 -12.24** -42.55** 17.81** 17.59**
23 ICP7391 X UPAS-120 9.16** 3.34 -0.13 -31.93** -6.04* -12.10**
24 ICP7391 X ICPL-87 0.63 -10.92** -33.40** -54.95** -3.90 -14.88**
25 ICP7391 X JKM-189 -2.43 -6.32* -1.44 -33.38** 20.05** 16.24**
26 ICP7393 X ICPL 87119 -4.48* -14.35** -2.74 -32.50** -13.78** -16.68**
27 ICP7393 X BDN-2 -12.63** -20.86** -29.54** -52.69** 15.53** 11.85**
28 ICP7393 X UPAS-120 -7.68** -12.28** 2.50 -28.12** 12.25** 8.53**
29 ICP7393 X ICPL-87 -27.72** -29.24** -23.51** -46.79** -6.95* -14.99**
30 ICP7393 X JKM-189 -13.36** -18.82** 0.86 -29.90** -11.55** -11.73**
31 ICP7406 X ICPL 87119 15.31** 8.75** 12.26** -26.44** -6.81* -17.31**
32 ICP7406 X BDN-2 3.48 -1.36 -30.73** -55.86** 12.65** 6.29
33 ICP7406 X UPAS-120 -9.73** -9.99** 21.29** -19.83** 11.86** -0.71
35 ICP7406 X ICPL-87 -22.53** -28.05** -24.52** -50.44** 10.06** -7.17*
35 ICP7406 X JKM-189 -2.29 -3.45 19.02** -21.92** 1.19 -7.21*
*Significant at 5% probability level, ** Significant at 1% probability level, MP- Mid Parent Heterosis, BP- Better Parent Heterosis

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT at Idina Council of Agricultural Research-Indian

Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur U.P. India, May
First author acknowledges the Department of 27-28th.
Genetics and plant breeding, College of Agriculture,
Banu, MR, Muthaiah, AR and Ashok, S. 2007. Heterosis
IGKV, Raipur (CG) for providing for education and studies in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.].
research programme. Advances in Plant sciences, 20(1): 37-38.

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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 170-174, 2022
170 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Assessment of genetic variability and trait association in mungbean

(Vigna radiata L.) genotypes during summer season
Samita, Rajesh Yadav* and Ravika

Department of Genetics and Plant ABSTRACT

Breeding, Chaudhary Charan Singh
Haryana Agriculture University,
Hisar-125004, India
*Email: rajeshyadav65@rediffmail.com
Received: June 10,2022
Accepted: October 07,2022
Handling Editor:
Dr Awnindra Singh, ICAR-Indian
Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
Twenty four genotypes of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) were studied to assess
the parameters of genotypic variability, correlation and path coefficients
among the yield and its contributing traits. Analysis of variance revealed
significant differences between the genotypes for seed yield and its attributing
traits except for the number of seeds per pod. Traits like harvest index, days
to maturity, 100-seed weight, biological yield per plot, days to flowering and
seed yield per plot exhibited high heritability estimates. High heritability
coupled with high genetic advance was observed for biological yield per
plot, harvest index, 100-seed weight and seed yield per plot, indicating the
preponderance of additive gene action. Biological yield per plot, the number
of pods per plant, the number of seeds per pod and the number of branches
per plant exhibited highly significant positive correlation with seed yield.
Biological yield per plot and harvest index had high positive direct effects on
seed yield per plot.

Key words: Correlation, Genetic advance, Heritability, Path analysis, Variation

INTRODUCTION 2001). Besides high-quality protein, mungbean seeds

The simplest way to achieve the world’s
mounting nutritious food requirement lies in
diversifying agriculture with crops having better
yields and nutritional quality. Mungbean [Vigna
radiata (L.) Wilczek], popularly known as green gram,
moong or mungi, green bean, golden gram, is one
of the most desirable options for defeating protein
malnutrition as it has got numerous nutritional
advantages and fits well in different cropping
systems due to its short duration nature (Anuragi et
al. 2022). It is a wide-spreading herbaceous, annual,
self-pollinated crop with 2n=2x=22, (Karpechenko,
1925). It is grown as sole as well as inter and
multiple crop in different crop seasons (Sunayana
et al. 2017). In North India, it is cultivated during
spring/summer and rainy season; however, in
South India, it is also grown in the Rabi season
after rice on the residual soil moisture. Mungbean
is utilized in various ways, where seeds and young
pods are consumed as sources of protein, vitamins,
and minerals, while plant parts are used as fodder.
It is a good source of low flatulence easily digestible
protein, vitamins, and minerals with amino acid
profiles complementary to cereals (Khattak et al.,
contain carbohydrates, folate and iron (Keatinge et
al., 2011) and have no anti-nutritional factors such as
trypsin inhibitors, phytohemagglutinin, and tannin
(Chen et al. 2003).
Disease resistant short-duration mungbean
varieties with varying maturity groups have opened
new niches for various cropping systems and
bringing an additional area under its cultivation.
However, the realized average productivity of
mungbean is well below the economic level. The
major reasons for stagnancy in its productivity
are limited genetic variability, negative impact
of high genotype x environment interaction, and
susceptibility of the existing cultivars to various
biotic and abiotic stresses, ultimately leading to yield
instability (Pratap et al. 2019). Genetic variability
is prerequisite for selection, while correlation and
path coefficient analysis is essential to find out
the desired traits which could be included in the
selection criteria. For the improvement of plant
genotype with a desirable combination of traits,
complete information regarding the association of
these traits with yield as well as detailed information
on the genetic mechanism controlling various traits
 Samita et al. : Assessment of genetic variability and trait association in mungbean 171

is important (Rohilla et al. 2022). Therefore, the
present study was undertaken to assess the genetic
parameters and trait associations in advanced
mungbean genotypes for use in crop improvement
programmes.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The plant materials comprising of 24 advanced
mungbean genotypes were sown during summer
season during 2020 and 2021 at three locations i.e.
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture
University (CCS HAU), Hisar; CCS HAU, Cotton
Research Station, Sirsa and CCS HAU Regional
Research Station, Uchani, Karnal in Randomized
Block Design with three replications. The plot
size was kept 4m × 0.3m × 8 rows (9.6 m2) with
plant to plant spacing 8-10 cm. The recommended
agronomic and plant protection practices were
followed to maintain healthy plants stands. The
phenotypic observations recorded were days to
50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height (cm),
number of branches per plant, number of seeds per
pod, number of pods per plant, 100 seed weight (g),
biological yield per plot (g), harvest index (%) and
seed yield per plot (g). The observations on metric
traits were recorded on five randomly selected
plants in each genotype in all replications and
averaged whereas, for days to 50% flowering, days
to maturity, biological yield and seed yield, data
were recorded on plot basis.
Genetic parameters i.e. variance, genotypic and
phenotypic coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV)
were estimated according to the methods suggested
by Burton and Devane (1953), whereas estimation
of heritability and expected genetic advance were
computed using the formula suggested by Hanson
et al. (1956) and Johnson et al. (1955), respectively.
Genotypic and phenotypic of correlations were
calculated as per method of Al-Jibouri et al. (1958).
Path analysis was carried out as per method
suggested by Dewey and Lu (1959).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Analysis of variance and mean performance
Analysis of variance revealed significant
differences among the genotypes of mungbean
for seed yield per plot and its contributing traits
under study except for the number of seeds per
pod, indicating the prevalence of sufficient genetic
variation among the mungbean genotypes for these
traits (Table 1).
DF: Days to 50% flowering, DM: Days
to maturity, PH: Plant height, NB: Number of
branches per plant, NS: Number of seeds per pod,
NP: Number of pods per plant, SW: 100-seed weight
(g), BY: Biological yield (g), HI: Harvest index (%),
SY: Seed yield (g)
Phenotypic and Genotypic Coefficients of Variation
The morphological variation observed in
the field is the phenotypic effect of both genetic
and environmental variation. The phenotypic
variation is partitioned into heritable and non-
heritable components with the help of specific
genetic parameters such as heritability and genetic
advance, Phenotypic Coefficient of Variation (PCV)
and Genotypic Coefficient of Variation (GCV). In
the present study high PCV (>20 %) was recorded for

Table 1. Analysis of variance for different traits in mungbean over six environments during summer
 Source of df MSS
variation DF DM PH NB NS NP SW BY HI SY
Replication 2 27.18** 1.29 21.91 0.06 0.55 3.62 0.02 199588 1.81 6019
Genotypes 23 42.49** 104.92** 142.26* 0.64** 1.18 33.01** 1.37** 1148189** 77.27** 31739**
Error 838 4.61 7.87 79.30 0.21 1.35 7.88 0.13 111238 3.99 4662

Table 2. Estimates of phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation, heritability and genetic advance for different
traits in mungbean over six environments during summer
  DF DM PH NB NS NP SW BY HI SY
MEAN 38.16 62.76 48.31 3.06 9.51 24.02 4.06 2391.26 24.24 572.73
GCV 9.31 9.06 9.48 12.37 2.45 12.05 15.85 24.59 20.39 16.59
PCV 10.88 10.10 20.73 19.46 11.95 16.78 18.12 28.27 21.99 20.43
h2(%) 73.00 80.00 21.00 40.00 4.00 52.00 77.00 76.00 86.00 66.00
GAM 16.41 16.74 8.93 16.20 1.04 17.82 28.57 44.05 38.94 27.75
(GCV: Genotypic coefficient of variation, PCV: Phenotypic coefficient of variation, h2: Broad sense heritability (%), GAM: Genetic advance
as per cent of mean)
172 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
biological yield per plot, harvest index, plant height
and seed yield per plot (Table 2) whereas, moderate
PCV was observed for number of branches per
plant, 100-seed weight, number of pods per plant,
number of seeds per pod, days to flowering. High
GCV recorded for biological yield per plot, harvest
index and 100-seed weight while moderate PCV
was observed for seed yield per plot, 100-seed weight,
number of branches per plant and number of pods
per plant. It was observed that magnitude of PCV
was higher than that of GCV for all the traits under
investigation indicating role of environment on
expression of these traits. However, in traits like
days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height
and harvest index the differences were very narrow
implying that the variation is primarily attributable
to genetic reasons. These observations are relatable
to the findings of Choudhary et al. (2016), Garg et al.
(2017), Kumar et al. (2019), Manjhi et al. (2020) and
Singh et al. (2021).
Heritability and genetic advance
The knowledge of heritability coupled with
genetic advance aids in selecting the breeding
program. High broad sense heritability was
recorded for traits like harvest index, days to
maturity, 100-seed weight, biological yield per plot,
days to flowering and seed yield per plot. Moderate
heritability was recorded for traits like the number
of pods per plant and the number of branches per
plant and low heritability was recorded for traits,
plant height and the number of seeds per pod. The
plant height and number of seeds per pod had low
heritability indicating the effect of the environment
on the expression of these traits. The high genetic
advance was recorded for biological yield per plot,
followed by harvest index, 100-seed weight and seed
yield per plot. High heritability coupled with high
genetic advance was observed for biological yield
per plot, harvest index, 100-seed weight and seed
yield per plot which indicated the predominance
of additive gene action in the expression of these
traits and these are likely to respond effectively to
phenotypic selection. Whereas, days to flowering
and maturity exhibited high heritability and low
genetic advance revealing control of non additive
gene action and high GXE interaction and therefore,
intermating in early generations of the hybridization
programme can be helpful. Low to moderate
heritability and genetic advance estimates were
observed for plant height, number of branches per
plant, number of seeds per pod and number of pods
per plant, which indicated that these characters
are highly influenced by environment and can be
improved by rigorous selections in large segregating
populations, especially early generations. These
results are in partial agreement with those reported
by Muthuswamy et al. (2019), Kumar et al. (2019),
Manjhi et al. (2020), and Singh et al. (2021).
Correlation coefficient analysis
The genetic architecture of seed yield in
mungbean is the complex interaction of different
yield attributes. Therefore, understanding these
associations is a prerequisite before planning
any selection and crop improvement program.
Correlation coefficient analysis is a simple
technique that provides the magnitude and
direction of the association among different traits
and forms the basis for the selection for seed yield
and its contributing traits. The correlation analysis
revealed, increased seed yield was significantly
contributed by biological yield per plot, the number
of pods per plant, the number of seeds per pod
and the number of branches per plant (Fig. 1). This
suggests that these traits should be kept in mind
while selection is to be practiced for high seed yield.
Similar significant correlation of seed yield with
yield attributes in mungbean were also observed by
Choudhary et al. (2016), Keerthiga et al. (2018), Asari
et al. (2019) and Manjhi et al. (2020).
Figure 1. Phenotypic correlation coefficients among various
traits of mungbean over six environments during summer
Days to flowering and maturity exhibited
significant positive correlation with each other and
biological yield per plot while negative with100-
seed weight and harvest index. Biological yield per
plot was showed a positive correlation with days
to flowering, days to maturity, number of branches
per plant, number of seeds per pod, number of
pods per plant, seed yield per plot and showed a
negative correlation with harvest index. Harvest
index was found negatively correlated with days
to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, 100-
 Samita et al. : Assessment of genetic variability and trait association in mungbean 173

Table 3. Direct (diagonal values) and indirect effects of contributing traits on seed yield per plot of mungbean genotypes
across six environment
  DF DM PH NB NS SW BY HI
DF 0.0192 0.0076 -0.0002 0.0003 0.0005 -0.0041 0.1521 -0.1667
DM 0.0090 0.0162 -0.0025 0.0001 0.0003 -0.0023 0.3294 -0.2904
PH -0.0003 -0.0028 0.0148 0.0000 -0.0025 0.0013 0.0847 -0.0885
NB 0.0009 0.0003 0.0000 0.0073 0.0015 -0.0005 0.1091 0.0368
NS 0.0011 0.0007 -0.0047 0.0014 0.0077 0.0005 0.2479 -0.0206
NP 0.0020 0.0005 0.0016 0.0014 0.0002 -0.0038 0.3807 0.0357
SW -0.0039 -0.0018 0.0010 -0.0002 0.0002 0.0204 0.0654 -0.1019
BY 0.0024 0.0043 0.0010 0.0007 0.0016 0.0011 1.2313 -0.4786
HI -0.0041 -0.0060 -0.0017 0.0003 -0.0002 -0.0027 -0.7489 0.7868

seed weight and biological yield per plot.Number CONCLUSION

of branches per plant revealed positive correlation
with the number of pods per plant, the number of
seeds per pod, seed yield per plot and biological
yield per plot. Number of pods per plant was found
positively and significantly correlated with seed
yield per plot, biological yield per plot, number of
branches per plant, plant height, days to flowering
and showed negative association with 100-seed
weight. Choudhary et al. (2016) and Rohilla et al.
(2022) reported the similar trend in their studies on
yield attributes of mungbean.
Path coefficient analysis
Path coefficient analysis is another efficient
statistical technique specially designed to quantify
the interrelationship of different components via,
their direct and indirect effects on grain yield per
plant. Results (Table 3) revealed that biological
yield per plot and harvest index had the highest
direct positive effect on seed yield per plot which
are in consonance with the findings of Choudhary
et al. (2016). The traits, viz. 100-seed weight, days
to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, and
number of pods per plant also exhibited positive
direct effects on seed yield per plot, however, their
causal effects were minor. Similar results were also
recorded for these traits by Choudhary et al. (2016),
Keerthiga et al. (2018) and Parihar et al. (2018). Seed
yield was contributed by biological yield per plot
via number of pods per plant, days to maturity,
number of seeds per pod and number of branches
per plant. The contribution of harvest index in seed
yield per plot was through the positive indirect
effects of the number of branches per plant and the
number of pods per plant. Similar results for these
traits were in concurrence with Takele et al. (2022).
Biological yield and harvest index were the most
contributing traits to seed yield per plot as they
have maximum direct as well as indirect effect via
different yield attributes.
The present study revealed high magnitude
of PCV and GCV for biological yield, harvest
index and seed yield indicating presence of ample
genetic variability for these traits. High heritability
coupled with high genetic advance for harvest
index, biological yield, 100-seed weight and seed
yield indicated the predominance of additive
gene action and scope of fruitful selection. Traits
like biological yield, number of pods, number of
seeds and number of branches were found to have
high positive association with seed yield per plot.
Biological yield and harvest index exhibited the
highest direct positive effect on seed yield. Seed
yield was contributed by biological yield via days
to maturity, number of branches, number of seeds
and number of pods. The information generated on
genetic parameter and character associations would
effectively be utilized to improve seed yield and its
contributing traits in mungbean.
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Satender Kumar et al., : Potassium and zinc influence on green gram yield 175

Potassium and zinc influence on green gram yield, nutrient content, uptake
and post harvest soil fertility in course textured soil of south-west Haryana
Satender Kumar, MK Jat1, Harender2, Raj Kumar2*, Sawan Kumar1 and Sandeep Bedwal1

Department of Soil Science,

1
ABSTRACT
Department of Agronomy, CCS
2

Haryana Agricultural University,
Hisar-125004, India
*E-mail: aasiwalraj@hau.ac.in
Received: April 16, 2022
Accepted: October 04, 2022
Handling Editors:
Dr. SS Rathore,
ICAR- IARI, New Delhi,
Dr. Narendra Kumar, ICAR-Indian
Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
The soil of semi-arid region of Haryana has poor fertility status with low
organic carbon. The recommendations are made only for nitrogen and
phosphorous in most states. A field experiment in triplicated split-plot design
was conducted during kharif 2018 at Regional Research Station, Bawal (CCS
HAU) on green gram cultivar ‘MH 421’ in a loamy sand to investigate the
effects of different levels of potassium (K) and zinc (Zn) application on green
gram and soil fertility. There were four levels of K in main plots (0, 10, 20 and
30 kg K2O/ha) and four levels of Zn in sub plots (0, 12.5, 25 and 37.5 kg ZnSO4/
ha). Micronutrients (Zn, Mn and Cu) content were not significantly influenced
by the application of potassium except Fe. Whereas the uptake of all the
micronutrients under consideration was significantly increased (upto 56.47 %
Zn by seed and upto 44.32% Zn by straw) with the potassium application.
Zinc application significantly influenced Zn content in seed (upto 29.57 %)
and straw (upto 24.37 %) while the uptake of Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe in both seed
and straw. Highest seed (1.14 t/ha) and straw yield (1.33 t/ha) were recorded
with the application of potassium @ 30 kg/ha, and zinc @ 37.5 kg/ha (1.04 and
1.19 t/ha). After harvest of the crop, availability of all the nutrients increased
with the application of potassium and zinc.

Key words: Fertilization, Green gram, Legume, Productivity

INTRODUCTION role in plant growth and sustained production

Green gram (Vigna radiata L. Wikzek) is one
of the most important leguminous rainfed crop
predominantly grown as kharif pulse crop for its
protein rich edible seeds. Green gram has wider
adaptability, better palatability, higher market
price, easy digestibility. Due to its short duration,
it can fit well in various multiple and intercropping
systems. India stands first globally in both area and
production of green gram with an area of 5.79 million
ha and production of 2.50 million tonnes in 2019-
20 (INDIASTAT 2022). In Haryana, during 2019-20
green gram occupied an area of 20.17 thousand ha
producing 12.00 thousand tonnes with an average
productivity of 595 kg/ha (INDIASTAT 2022).
The fertility status of soils of semi-arid region
of Haryana is poor with low organic carbon. Among
production inputs, recommendations for nitrogen
(N) and phosphorous (P) fertilizers are made in most
states with no potassium (K) application resulting in
imbalanced nutrient supply and lower crop yields.
Potassium is a macronutrient that plays a dynamic
of crops; also known as the “quality element”
(Usherwood 1985). Potassium has a significant effect
on stomatal movement, photosynthesis, synthesis of
proteins, water-relations (osmotic adjustment and
turgor regulation) in plants; activation of about 60
enzymes; in grain development, plant metabolism
as well as pest, disease and drought resistance.
Micronutrients play a vital role in the synthesis of
chlorophyll, protein, nucleic acid, uptake of other
nutrients, as activators of various enzymes mediating
carbohydrate and protein synthesis (Patel et al.
2011). Zinc (Zn) is constituent of tryptophan, which
is a precursor of auxin hormone. The availability of
zinc decreases with a rising in soil pH. Even fertile
soils have become deficient in zinc because of little
or no use of organic matter, use of high analysis
fertilizers and intensive cropping systems. Lack of
zinc causes deficiency in formation of RNA and
protein. Therefore, the plant with lack of zinc is poor
in amount of protein. Zinc is an important plant
nutrient but about 43 % of the soil samples collected
from different parts of India were found to be
176 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
deficient in zinc (Shkula et al. 2014). Information has
been accumulating concerning the role of potassium
and zinc in cereal crops but very little information is
available regarding the nutrition of potassium and
its interaction with zinc on the yield and quality
of pulses. In view of the facts stated above, the
present study was carried to investigate the effects
of different levels of potassium and zinc application
on, yield, content and uptake of nutrients in green
gram and post harvest soil fertility status.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field experiment was conducted at
Regional Research Station, CCS HAU Bawal during
kharif 2018 in district Rewari at 28.10° N latitude and
76.50° E longitude with 266 m above mean sea level
in south-western area of Haryana, India. The climate
of Bawal is semi-arid with average rainfall of 577
mm. The soil of experimental field had loamy sand
texture with a pH of 8.17, electrical conductivity (EC)
0.16 dS/m, organic carbon (OC) 0.17 %, available
nitrogen (102.37 kg/ha), available phosphorus
(11.18 kg/ha) and available potassium (170.10 kg/
ha) as macronutrients; 0.97, 7.64, 6.24 and 0.52 mg/
kg available zinc, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and
copper (Cu), respectively as micronutrients in 0-15
cm depth (Table 2). The experiment was laid out
in split plot design in triplications on green gram
cultivar MH 421. Sixteen treatments were assigned
consisting of four potassium application levels [0
(K0), 10 (K10), 20 (K20) and 30 (K30) kg K2O/ha] in
main plot and four zinc application levels [0 (Zn0),
12.5 (Zn12.5), 25 (Zn25) and 37.5 (Zn37.5) kg ZnSO4/
ha] in sub plot. The recommended dose of fertilizer
(RDF) was 15:40 kg for N and P2O5/ha, respectively
(Anonymous 2018). The fertilizers (RDF, K2O and
ZnSO4) were applied at the time of sowing through
soil application.
The soil samples were collected at random
from the experiment area up to the depth of 0-15 cm
from selected plots before overlaying the treatments
and after harvesting the crop and analyzed for its
various chemical properties. Soil pH and EC were
determined in (1:2) soil:water suspension using
digital pH meter and direct read type conductivity
meter (Jackson 1973), respectively. Soil OC was
determined by Walkley and Black (1934) method.
Available nitrogen was determined by alkaline
permanganate method (Subbiah and Asija 1956),
available P by spectrophotometer at 420 nm (Olsen et
al. 1954), available K by ammonium acetate method
using a flame photometer (Jackson 1973). Available
Mn, Zn, Cu and Fe content in soil samples was
determined by DTPA methods (Lindsay and Norvell
1978) using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer.
Samples of seed and straw were collected at the time
of harvesting and dried (65±2 °C for 48 hr). The dried
samples were ground to a fine powder and processed
further for estimation of various macronutrients (N,
P and K) as well as micronutrients (Zn, Fe, Mn and
Cu) content. The micronutrients of plant samples
were determined using plant digestion by HNO3
and HClO4 with the help of Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer (Lindsay and Norvell 1978). The
uptake of micronutrients by seed and straw were
calculated by multiplying the nutrient content with
their respective yields. The data recorded during
the experiment was subjected to statistical analysis
by proper methods using OPSTAT software.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Crop Yield
On the basis of yield data (Table 1), it was
found that seed and straw yield of green gram
was significantly affected with the application of
potassium up to K20 treatment. The highest seed
and straw yields (1.14 and 1.33 t/ha) were recorded
with K30 treatment followed by K20 treatment (1.09
and 1.22 t/ha). Both the treatments were statistically
at par with each other but significantly superior
over K0 and K10. The positive effect of potassium
in photosynthesis, cell elongation and more over
higher nutrients uptake resulted ultimately in
production of higher crop yield. The above results
found are in conformity with the results of Thesiya
et al. (2013) who concluded that seed and biological
yield was strongly affected by the application of
potassium.
Similarly, the seed and straw yield significantly
increased with the increasing levels of zinc.
Highest seed and straw yield (1.04 and 1.19 t/ha,
respectively) was recorded with Zn37.5 treatment
followed by Zn25 (1.01 and 1.18 t/ha, respectively).
Both treatments were statistically at par with each
other. The lowest seed and straw yield (0.92 and
1.12 t/ha, respectively) was recorded with Zn0.
The treatment Zn37.5 and Zn25 produced 13.04 %
and 9.78 % higher seed yield, and; 6.25 % and 5.38
% higher straw yield over Zn0, respectively. Zinc
plays a vital role in plant nutrition, which is clear
from its involvement in process of photosynthesis
and sugar translocation. The increase in seed
yield might be due to role of zinc in biosynthesis
of indole acetic acid and especially the role in
primordial for reproductive parts and partitioning
 Satender Kumar et al., : Potassium and zinc influence on green gram yield 177

of photosynthesis towards them which resulted
in better flowering and fruiting. These results are
concurrent with the findings of Ranpariya and
Polara (2018). The interaction between potassium
and zinc was found non-significant in case of yield.
Nutrient content and uptake by seed and straw
The data presented in Table 1 revealed that
the micronutrients concentration in seed and
straw were non-significantly influenced by the
potassium application except Fe. This may be due
to the higher initial level of available Fe in soil but
the uptake of all micro-nutrient by seed and straw
was significantly influenced by potassium levels.
Uptake of micro-nutrients by seed and straw i.e.
zinc (28.98 and 27.19 g/ha), iron (72.86 and 156.76 g/
ha), manganese (16.30 and 28.12 g/ha) and copper
(7.70 and 5.94 g/ha) were found statistically higher
with the application of 30 kg K2O/ha which was
at par with the lower level of potassium i.e. 20 kg
K2O/ha. This might be due to increasing pattern of
seed and straw yield with graded levels of fertilizer,
Table 1. Effect of potassium and zinc application on
content and uptake of micronutrients in seed and
straw of green gram which showed beneficial effect
on the absorption and translocation of plant system
indicating thereby greater utilization of fertilizer by
the crop and the dilution effect. These results are
concurrent with the findings of Kannan et al. (2014).
treatment followed by Zn25 (26.06 and 21.35 mg/kg),
both the treatments were found statistically similar
but superior over Zn0 and Zn12.5. Similar results
were observed in case of uptake by seed and straw.
Results showed that other micronutrient content
was not found to be influenced significantly by the
zinc application but their uptakes ere significantly
influenced by graded levels of zinc. Significantly
higher uptake of other micronutrients such as
Fe, Mn and Cu by seed and straw was observed
under the application of 37.5 kg ZnSO4/ha which
was statistically at par with 25 kg ZnSO4/ha. Zinc
application increases the root system which is due
to the formation and polar transportation of indole
acetic acid (IAA) that could affect more absorption.
The beneficial role of zinc in increasing cation
exchange capacity of roots helps in increasing
absorption of nutrients from the soil. The results
found are in confirmation with the results of Roy et
al. (2017). Application of nutrients to soil promotes
better biological and chemical activities in the
soil and facilitated better nutrient availability to
the crop (Ahmad et al. 2018). Results showed no
significant interaction between potassium and zinc
with respect to nutrients concentration and their
uptake by seed and straw in green gram. Jamal et al.
(2018) concluded that N and Zn content in seed and
straw significantly increased with the application of
zinc levels.

Application of zinc significantly influenced Post-harvest soil fertility

the Zn content and uptake by seed and straw both.
Significantly higher Zn content in seed and straw The results from the analysis of soil after
(27.21 and 21.79 mg/kg) was recorded under Zn37.5 harvesting (Table 2) indicated that the available K

Table 1. Effect of potassium and zinc application on content and uptake of micronutrients in seed and straw of green gram
Treatment Seed Straw Content in seed (mg/kg) Uptake by seed (g/ha) Content in straw (mg/kg) Uptake by straw (g/ha)
yield yield
(t/ha) (t/ha) Zn Fe Mn Cu Zn Fe Mn Cu Zn Fe Mn Cu Zn Fe Mn Cu

Potassium levels
K0 0.80 1.00 22.92 45.30 12.53 5.62 18.52 36.60 10.12 4.54 18.74 88.95 18.40 3.90 18.84 89.39 18.50 3.92
K10 0.88 1.05 23.75 50.28 12.93 5.99 21.02 44.50 11.44 5.30 19.56 95.39 19.94 4.10 20.60 100.45 21.00 4.32
K20 1.09 1.22 24.87 57.44 13.54 6.30 27.11 62.61 14.76 6.87 20.28 114.32 20.54 4.30 24.88 140.24 25.20 5.28
K30 1.14 1.33 25.38 63.80 14.27 6.74 28.98 72.86 16.30 7.70 21.99 117.36 21.05 4.45 27.19 156.76 28.12 5.94
S.Em± 0.02 0.03 0.13 2.28 1.46 0.85 0.91 3.89 0.66 0.40 2.13 2.56 1.02 0.61 1.30 12.66 1.40 0.31
CD (p=0.05) 0.10 0.13 NS 7.10 NS NS 2.75 11.5 1.98 1.11 NS 7.64 NS NS 3.98 38.00 3.97 0.87
Zinc levels
Zn0 0.92 1.12 21.00 51.00 13.10 6.03 19.34 46.97 12.07 5.55 17.52 99.93 19.47 4.10 20.09 112.02 21.83 4.60
Zn12.5 0.95 1.13 22.64 53.75 13.19 6.09 21.69 51.49 12.64 5.83 19.91 103.74 20.26 4.26 21.46 117.12 22.87 4.81
Zn25 1.01 1.18 26.06 55.63 13.37 6.23 26.29 56.13 13.49 6.29 21.35 105.51 21.16 4.35 25.61 124.82 25.03 5.15
Zn37.5 1.04 1.19 27.21 56.43 13.60 6.30 28.24 58.57 14.12 6.54 21.79 106.83 21.12 4.40 26.04 127.02 25.35 5.23
S.Em± 0.02 0.02 0.59 1.83 0.94 0.79 1.12 1.56 0.38 0.15 0.39 2.84 1.15 0.53 1.37 2.42 0.66 0.08
CD (p=0.05) 0.04 0.05 1.78 NS NS NS 3.26 4.60 0.98 0.41 1.10 NS NS NS 4.09 6.90 1.97 0.26
178 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

in soil after crop harvest was significantly increased leading to increase Zn status of soil. The lowest Zn
with the graded levels of potassium. Application of status (0.85 mg/kg) was recorded under Zn0. While,
K30 (30 kg K2O/ha) recorded significantly highest the application of zinc did not significantly influence
available K status (176.40 kg/ha), followed by K20 the pH, EC, OC and available nutrients i.e. N, P,
(20 kg K2O/ha) with a value of 174.95 kg/ha, both Fe, Mn and Cu of soil at post-harvest. A balanced
the treatments differing non-significantly. While application of nutrients had been resulted in highest
the lowest potassium status (168.76 kg/ha) was yield and highest nutrient availability after the
recorded under no potassium application i.e., K0. harvest of crop. Similar non-significant results were
This might be due to the considerable exchange reported by Ranpariya and Polara (2018).
of K+ on the exchange sites with other cations on
its addition. The application of potassium did not CONCLUSIONS
exhibit any significant influence on the pH, EC, OC
On the basis of experimental finding, it is
and available nutrients i.e. N, P, Zn, Mn and Cu in
concluded that application of potassium and zinc
soil after harvest. A slight decrease in soil pH value
fertilizers influence the content and uptake of
from initial was observed, however the soil Table micro-nutrients and yield in green gram (Vigna
2. Effect of potassium and zinc application on soil radiata L.). Highest seed and straw yield were
fertility after harvest of green gram
Table 2. Effect of potassium and zinc application on soil fertility after harvest of green gram
Treatment pH EC OC N P K Zn Fe Mn Cu
(dS/m) (%) (kg/ha) (kg/ha) (kg/ha) (mg/kg) (mg/kg) (mg/kg) (mg/kg)
Potassium levels
K0 8.18 0.15 0.17 102.77 11.78 168.76 1.22 7.10 5.70 0.50
K10 8.15 0.17 0.18 103.39 11.98 170.11 1.23 7.68 5.87 0.54
K20 8.08 0.17 0.18 104.03 12.65 174.95 1.25 8.46 6.29 0.56
K30 8.04 0.18 0.18 104.35 12.91 176.40 1.26 8.76 6.63 0.59
S.Em± 0.16 0.02 0.01 3.21 1.28 1.57 0.06 0.28 2.16 0.03
CD (p=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS 4.71 NS 0.79 NS NS
Zinc levels
Zn0 8.19 0.18 0.17 102.46 11.85 171.34 0.85 7.80 6.04 0.53
Zn12.5 8.09 0.16 0.18 103.23 12.17 171.51 1.10 7.95 5.89 0.55
Zn25 8.08 0.17 0.18 104.37 12.57 171.87 1.40 8.05 6.25 0.56
Zn37.5 8.08 0.17 0.18 104.40 12.74 172.22 1.60 8.19 6.31 0.57
S.Em± 0.14 0.01 0.01 2.25 0.83 1.32 0.02 0.16 1.18 0.01
CD (p=0.05) NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.09 NS NS NS
Initial status 8.17 0.16 0.17 102.37 11.18 170.10 0.97 7.64 6.24 0.52

EC, OC and available nutrients i.e. N, P, Zn,
Mn and Cu in soil increased from the initial value.
The soil available Fe increased significantly with the
application of potassium up to the level 30 kg K2O/
ha which was at par with lower level of potassium
i.e. 20 kg K2O/ha. Similar trend for available K in
soil was observed by Kurhade et al. (2015) after
harvest of crop. The results pertaining to availability
of Zn in soil after harvest of crop showed that the
status of Zn in soil significantly increased with the
application of graded levels of Zn. Application of
37.5 kg ZnSO4/ha (Zn37.5) recorded highest available
Zn status (1.60 mg/kg) followed by Zn25 (1.40 mg/
kg), which remained statistically at par with each
other and significantly higher than other treatment.
Possibly higher mobility, diffusion and solubility
of the applied zinc fertilizer might be the reason
recorded with the application of potassium @ 30
kg/ha, similarly zinc @ 37.5 kg/ha. Graded levels
of potassium application significantly increased the
Fe content both in seed and straw. Zinc application
was associated with zinc content and uptake in both
seed and straw. Uptake of all the micro-nutrients
under consideration was significantly increased
with potassium and zinc application at graded
levels, also essentially increasing the availability of
the applied nutrient and improving the overall soil
fertility status in coarse textured medium K status
soil.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The necessary facilities and services provided
by the Regional Director, RRS Bawal and Professor
 Satender Kumar et al., : Potassium and zinc influence on green gram yield
and Head, Department of Soil Science, CCS HAU,
Hisar is duly acknowledged.
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 180-183, 2022
180 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Different levels of phosphorus and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB)

influence growth, yield and economics of green gram [Vigna radiata L.]

Myaka Sai Teja , Awadhesh Kishore*, Jai Dev Sharma, S Prem Kumar, K Suresh Reddy, and T Pramod

Dept of Agronomy, School of ABSTRACT

Agriculture, ITM University Gwalior.
MP, India
*Email: awadheshkishore@gmail.com
Received: July 23,2022
Accepted: October 27, 2022
Handling Editor:
Dr S S Rathore,
ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research
Institute, New Delhi
An experiment was conducted during Kharif 2021-22 to study the effect of
phosphorus levels (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 kg P2O5 ha-1) and biofertilizers
(without and with 25 ml PSB ha-1) on plant growth characters and yield
attributes. A significant increase was documented in plant height (40.82 cm),
dry matter accumulation (382.23), the number of leaves (45.1), number and
dry weight of nodules (49.15), and the number of primary (6.4) and secondary
branches (7.19) plant-1. Also, yield attributes viz., the number of pods plant-1
(13.06), the number of grain pod-1 (35.13), 1000-seed weight (995g), biological
yield (2809), seed yield, straw yield, harvest index significantly increased up
to the level of 50 kg P2O5 ha-1. Higher net returns (68009), and B:C ratio (2.18)
were recorded with the application of 40 kg P2O5 ha-1 along with 25 ml kg-1 of
seed PSB ha-1. However, growth and production attributes were superior at 40
kg P2O5 kg ha-1 with PSB but economics of 40 and 50 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 with PSB
application were at par to each other, thus, application of 40 kg P2O5 kg ha-1
together with PSB is advised for enhanced green gram production.

Key words: Economics, Green gram, Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria, Yield

attributes.

INTRODUCTION Pradesh (ANGRAU, 2021) which together account

Green gram (Vigna radiata L.) is one of the
most important pulses and belongs to the family
Leguminosae and subfamily Papilionaceous. The
seed is often green, yellow-brown, or sometimes
purple-brown in color. The seed germinates
epigeal and is a self-pollinated crop (Lambrides
and Godwin, 2007). It is a warm-season, short-
day crop that is often farmed in semi-arid to sub-
humid tropical regions. The optimum climatic
conditions include 600 to 1000 mm annual rainfall
but can be raised well under both irrigated and
non-irrigated conditions. During the germination
and growth period, a temperature range of 22 to
350C is required. Warm weather and well-drained
loam or sandy loam soils are ideal for obtaining a
higher yield. India ranks first not only in green gram
production but also in consumption globally. India
has 25 million hectares of land planted with pulses;
16.47 million tonnes are produced with a 652 kg
ha-1 productivity (Govt of India, 2021). The crop is
mostly grown in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar and Madhya
for around 70% of the country's total production of
pulses.
Proper intake of phosphorus (P) is important
for the growth of green gram. In addition to its
involvement in metabolic processes and energy
conversions, P has a significant impact on root
growth, which is the site of biological nitrogen (N)
fixation. This allows plants to absorb nutrients from
lower layers and, as a result, thrive in environments
of moisture stress (Singh and Pareek, 2003).
In India's sustainable agricultural systems, bio-
fertilizers, which are a part of integrated nutrient
management, are involved as an economical,
environmentally responsible, source of non-bulky
and sustainable, supplemental plant nutrients
that are cheaper. In the current environment of
expensive chemical fertilizers, the function of bio-
fertilizers has a unique significance. P solubilizers
are injected into pulse seeds to increase the quantity
of them in the rhizosphere and significantly improve
its availability for plant development (Andy et al.,
2020).
 Myaka Sai Teja et al. : Effect of phosphorus and PSB on green gram 181

Thus, the objectives of the present study were
to study the effect of Phosphorus solubilizing
bacteria (PSB) and different levels of phosphorus
on the growth, yield, and economics of green gram
(Vigna radiata L.).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field experiment was conducted at Crop
Research Centre, School of Agriculture, ITM
University, Gwalior, (M.P.) during the Kharif season
of 2021-22 (latitude of 26.140˚ N and longitude of
78.196˚ E with an altitude of 211 m above the mean
sea level). This area is located in the Grid Region
of Madhya Pradesh (semi-arid zone). The soil of the
test field contains high potassium levels, (235.4 kg
ha-1), medium availability phosphorus (14.3 kg ha-1),
available N (65 kg ha-1), and organic carbon (0.17%)
levels . The total rainfall during May 2021, was
650-700 mm of rainfall overall throughout the trial.
During the growing season, the highest temperature
recorded was 36.5˚C on August 2021.
Six P-levels viz., O (P0), 10 (P10), 2O (P20), 3O
(P30), 4O (P40), and 5O kg P2O5 kg ha-1 (P50) and
bio-fertilizer levels without PSB (B0), and with
25 ml PSB ha-1 (B1) were used in the experiment
following factorial Randomized Block Design.
Recommended agronomical practices and plant
protection measures were applied during crop
cultivation. The variety PDM-139 (Samrat) of green
gram was seeded using a seed rate of 12 kg ha-1 in
furrows spaced at 30 cm. Thinning was carried out
after full germination (10 days after sowing-DAS)
to maintain plant-to-plant spacing of 10 cm and
Table 1. Effect of Phosphorus and Biofertilizer Levels on Growth Attributes at 60 DAS.
achieve a consistent plant population. According
to the crop’s need, three irrigations including one
pre-sowing were given. Two hand-weedings were
carried out at 20 and 40 DAS. Harvesting was done
manually after net plot construction when the
plant’s colour became yellowish brown. After sun-
drying the weight of the whole biological product
from each net plot was recorded before threshing.
Wooden sticks were used for threshing purposes.
The cleaned seed weight of each plot was used to
track the grain yield and overall biological yield to
get straw yield.
Parameters observed periodically included
growth plant height; dry matter accumulation, and
number of nodules, leaves, primary branches and
secondary branches and yield (number of grains
and pods, and grain, and straw yields). Economic
analysis of the crop production was based on
gross return, net return, and B:C ratio. A factorial
randomized block design (two factors-2 x 6) was
used to analyse the data statistically (Snecoder and
Cochran, 1994).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The application of 50 kg P2O5 ha-1 recorded
significantly higher plant height, dry matter
accumulation, number of leaves at 60 DAS, number
of nodules plant-1 , number of primary branches
plant-1 and secondary branches/plant1 at 60 days
after sowing (DAS) respectively, while it was
statistically at par with (P>0.05) 40 Kg P2O5 ha-1
(Table 1). Therefore, P has an impact on activities like
photosynthesis (Maqsood et al., 2001), protein and

Plant height Dry matter Number of Primary Secondary

Treatments Number of leaves
(cm) accumulation (g m-2) nodules branches plant-1 branches plant-1
A) Phosphorus levels
P0 (Control) 26.12 235.16 31.01 27.34 4.33 4.91
P10 29.8 266.69 36 31.91 4.83 5.47
P20 33.11 297.61 40.02 35.61 5.33 6.03
P30 36.32 333.57 44.7 39.88 5.86 6.61
P40 39.66 364.45 48.47 43.73 6.36 7.17
P50 40.82 382.23 49.15 45.1 6.4 7.19
S. Em ± 1.09 10.36 1.27 1.25 0.17 0.19
C. D.* 3.2 30.38 3.73 3.67 0.5 0.55
B) Bio-fertilizer
B0 32.92 295.31 40.04 35.49 5.34 6.04
B1 35.69 331.26 43.18 39.03 5.69 6.42
SEm ± 0.63 5.98 0.73 0.72 0.09 0.11
CD* 1.85 17.54 2.15 2.12 0.29 0.32
C) Interaction effect P x PSB
S. Em ± 1.54 14.65 1.8 1.77 0.24 0.26
C. D. NS NS NS NS NS NS
* CD at 5%
182 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

phospholipid formation, nucleic acid synthesis, and par with (P>0.05) 40 kg P2O5 ha-1 over control. As a
cytoplasmic streaming (Yang et al., 2014). As it was result, phosphorus uptake was increased. Because
treated in soil with low P content and availability of this, photosynthates were moving away from
were increased. The increase in the availability of N the source and toward the sink rapidly (Maqsood
in the green gram field, therefore strengthening the et al., 2001). Among different bio-fertilizer levels
capacity of the crop to absorb N, P, and K. Increased B1 recorded the highest value with the number of
nutrient uptake may have enhanced photosynthesis, grains plant, the number of pods plant-1, grain yield,
which ultimately promoted metabolite translocation straw yield over B0. According to Rekha et al., (2018),
to different parts of the plant, promoting the inoculating seeds with PSB improved seed output
development of meristematic tissues in apical buds in green gram, which may be associated with the
and intercalary meristem resulting root and shoot development of root nodules and N fixation.
formation (Kumawat et al., 2014; Vidhyashree et al., The treatments were analysed economically
2017; Sudharani et al., 2018). Among the bio-fertilizer using the gross return, net return, and benefit-cost
levels treatment inoculated with PSB recorded ratio (Table 3). The treatment that received 40 kg
the highest value of plant height at 60 DAS, dry P2O5 ha-1 + PSB had greater net returns (Rs. 68009.00),
matter accumulation at 60 DAS, number of leaves
at 60 DAS, number of nodules plants-1 at 60 DAS, Table 3. Effect of phosphorus and biofertilizer levels on
number of primary branches plant-1 at 60 DAS and economics
secondary branches plant-1 at 60 DAS as compared Treatments Gross Net return B: C
to the treatment without PSB at all the growth return ratio
attributes. The presence of Phosphate Solubilizing 0 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 + PSB 49440 20749 0.72
Bacteria (PSB) increased the P availability in the 10 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 + PSB 68986 39670 1.35
soil. P helps in root nodulation in leguminous crops. 20 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 + PSB 77100 47159 1.57
Higher crop growth of the plant is improved by the 30 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 + PSB 90710 60144 1.96
increased nutrient availability (Tyagi et al., 2014; 40 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 + PSB 99200 68009 2.18
Meena et al., 2015; Sushil et al., 2015; Karnavat et al., 50 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 + PSB 99760 67944 2.13
0 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 42590 14149 0.5
2018).
10 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 60580 31514 1.08
Application of phosphorus with 50 kg P2O5 20 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 70150 40459 1.36
ha-1 (Table 2) has recorded a higher number of 30 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 82953 52637 1.74
grains per plant, the number of pods plant-1, grain 40 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 91103 60162 1.94
yield, biological yield, which was statistically on 50 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 95410 63844 2.02

Table 2. Effect of Phosphorus and bio-fertilizer levels on yield attributes

Treatments No. of Grains pod-1 No. of. Pods plant-1 Grain yield Biological yield
(kg ha-1) (kg ha-1)
A) Phosphorus levels
P0­ 6.51 20.59 453 1430.5
P10 8.25 23.7 655 1886.33
P20 9.5 26.75 748 2123
P30 10.98 30.37 890 2449
P40 12.361 33.25 976 2679
P50 13.06 35.13 995 2809
SEm ± 0.34 0.95 26.61 75.55
CD* 1.02 2.81 78.07 221.59
B) Bio-fertilizer
Bo 9.44 26.62 756 2086.61
B1 10.78 29.98 816 2372.94
SEm ± 0.2 0.55 15.36 43.62
CD* 0.59 1.62 45.07 127.93
C) Interaction effect P x PSB
SEm ± 0.49 1.35 37.64 106.85
CD* NS NS NS NS
* CD at 5%
 Myaka Sai Teja et al. : Effect of phosphorus and PSB on green gram
and benefit-cost ratio, it was observed (2.18). This
could be because this treatment produces higher
economics than other treatments. With increasing
levels of phosphorus and PSB, this was justified by a
greater increase in grain and straw yield compared
to the cost of cultivation. These findings are
consistent with those reported by Mitra et al., (2006),
who reported both increasing levels of phosphorus
and PSB levels increased the benefit-cost ratio and
net income.
CONCLUSION
However, growth and production attributes
were superior at 40 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 with PSB but
economics of 40 and 50 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 with PSB
application were at par to each other, thus, based on
these results, applying 40 kg P2O5 kg ha-1 together
with PSB is advised to produce the highest green
gram.
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and Stress Management. 9: 220-223.
Kumawat SR, Khistriya MK, Yadav SL and Manoj K. 2014.
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Lambrides CJ and Godwin ID. 2007. Mungbean. In: K.
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phosphorous on agronomic traits of two mash bean
genotypes (Vigna mungo L). Pakistan Journal of
Agricultural Sciences. 38: 81-83.
Meena RS, Yadav RS, Meena H, Kumar S, Meena YK
and Singh, A. 2015. Towards the current need to
enhance legume productivity and soil sustainability
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Mitra AK, Banerjee K and Pal AK. 2006. Effect of different
levels of phosphorus and sulphur on yield attributes,
seed yield, the protein content of the seed, and
economics of summer green gram. Res on Crops. 7:
404-405.
Rekha K, Pavaya RP, Malav JK, Chaudhary N, Patel IM
and Patel JK. 2018. Effect of FYM, phosphorus and
PSB on yield, nutrient content and uptake by green
gram (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilckzek) on loamy sand.
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1029.
Singh B and Pareek RG. 2003. Effect of phosphorous and
biofertilizers on growth and yield of mung bean.
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Snecoder GW and Cochran WG. 1994. Statistical Method.
8th Ed. Iowa State University Press. Ames lowa, Pp
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Sudharani Y, Mohapatra PP, Pramanik K and Maitra S.
2018. Effect of different phosphorus levels on growth
and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) Genotypes.
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And Engineering. 8: 2876-881.
Sushil V, Lal EP and Rao KP. 2015. Integrated nutrient
management on seed yield and quality of green
gram. International Journal of Recent Research in Life
Sciences. 2: 42-45.
Tyagi PK, Upadhyay AK and Raikwar RS. 2014. Integrated
approach in nutrient management of summer green
gram. The Bioscan. 9: 1529-1533.
Vidhyashree V, Naga SR, Yadav BL, Koli DK and Rao
IJ. 2017. Effect of phosphorus and biofertilizers on
growth and yield of mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.)
Wilczek]. International J Current Microbiology and
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Yang ZK, Zheng JW, Niu YF, Yang WD, Liu JS and Li
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(2): 184-188, 2022
184 Journal of Food Legumes 35(2), 2022

Influence of sowing time on phenology, thermal indices and yield of field

pea varieties (Pisum sativum L.) in Gangetic delta of West Bengal

Somdatta Achar1, Mrityunjay Ghosh1, R Nath1, Saon Banerjee2, SK Gunri1,

Tarun Sarkar3, and N Mudi3

Department of Agronomy,
1
ABSTRACT
Department of Agricultural
2

Meteorology and Physics,
Bidhan Chandra Krishi
Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur,
Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
*Email: somdattaachar@gmail.com
Received: September 16,2022
Accepted: November 03, 2022
Handling Editor:
Dr Narendra Kumar, ICAR-Indian
Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
The effect of two sowing dates on phenology, growth and yield of four
field pea varieties was studied during rabi season of 2021-22. The average
phenophase duration from sowing to >50% emergence, >50% emergence
to >10% flowering, and >10% flowering to >10% podding were 6.2, 47.9 and
9.1 days, respectively. Mean summed GDD and PTU for fieldpea varieties
at different phenophases were 122.1°C day and 1356.4°C hour (sowing to
>50% emergence), 822.5°C day and 9359.4°C hour (>50% emergence to >10%
flowering) and, 154.5°C day and 1481.1°C hour (>10% flowering to >10%
podding). Genetic variation among the four varieties was noted in number
of branches/plant (11.7-16.5), pod length (5.2-6.1 cm), number of seeds/pod
(2.7-3.8) and 1000 seed weight (159.4-168.3 g), except protein content. Field
pea sown on 24 November produced higher grain yield (785.5 kg/ha) due to
significant improvement in plant population (35.3 plants/m2) and 1000 grain
weight (169.6 g), and that yield was 5.9% greater over early November sowing.
Based on yield performance, it can be concluded that IPFD 6-3 recorded the
highest yield (818.0 kg/ha) followed by IPFD 12-2 (787.5 kg/ha).

Key words: Field pea, Phenology, Sowing date, Thermal indices, Variety, Yield

INTRODUCTION region in the state (Bhattacharya and Patra, 2001).

Field pea (Pisum sativum L.), commonly known
as matar, in the form of unbroken or dal are utilized
in different ways for human consumption. In India,
it was grown in 11.5 lakh ha with a production of
about 10.36 lakh tonnes during 2012-2017 (DPD,
2017). Uttar Pradesh accounts for 50% of area and
production of field pea, while Madhya Pradesh,
Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka are other pea
producing states.
In the state of West Bengal, field pea is cultivated
in around 0.14 lakh ha area with a production
of 0.17 lakh tonnes and average productivity of
11.89 q/ha (ATARI, 2017). The double cropping
systems adopted by the farmers in lower gangetic
plains of West Bengal usually include kharif rice
followed by rapeseed-mustard, boro rice, potato,
lentil, chickpea, wheat, etc. during rabi season in
last three decades. However, the growing need
for affordable, high-quality protein and the role
of field pea in rotations for sustainable agriculture
makes the crop as an alternative option in rice-
fallow situation and particularly in red and laterite
The time of harvesting of kharif paddy determines
the time of sowing of rabi crops, such as late October
to mid-November for field pea in West Bengal; but
earlier or late sowing causes drastic reduction in
yield and net profit compared to timely sowing.
The temperature and photoperiod are considered as
fundamental units to influence the phenology of the
crop over climatic variations. Besides, there are some
high-yielding varieties of field pea released in last
two decades; but majority of farmers are unaware
about them and are still cultivating the low-yielding
local field pea varieties. So, comprehensive study is
needed to work out optimum time of sowing of field
pea for obtaining maximum yield, and selection of
varieties suitable for early, timely or late sowing in
particular agro-climatic region.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A field experiment was conducted to know
the effect of sowing time on phenology, thermal
indices and yield of field pea during rabi season of
2021-22 on an upland sandy-clay loam soil at Krishi
Vigyan Kendra at Mulakhop, Nandakumar, Purba
 Somdatta Achar et al. : Influence of sowing time on field pea in West Bengal
Medinipur (22˚10̍ 44̎ N latitude, 87˚52̍ 13̎ E longitude
and 6.0 m above mean sea level), West Bengal, India.
Two sowing dates (4 November and 24 November)
assigned in main plots and 4 varieties (IPFD 11-5,
IPFD 10-12, IPFD 12-2 and IPFD 6-3) in sub-plots
were conducted in split-plot design with replicated
thrice. Seeds @ 60 kg/ha of four field pea varieties
inoculated with Rhizobium culture and were sown
at 40 cm × 10 cm from row to row and plant to
plant spacing in the experimental plots (4 m × 3 m)
as per sowing time schedule. The standard crop
management practices like application of uniform
fertilizer dose of 20:40:40 kg/ha of N:P2O5:K2O,
two hand weedings at 20 and 40 days after sowing
(DAS) were adopted. Three phenophases (viz. >50%
emergence, >10% flowering and >10% podding) of
field pea varieties at different sowing dates were
noted by regular field visit. The daily meteorological
data for the period of investigation (November,
2021 to February, 2022) were collected from the
Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata; India
Meteorological Department. The total summed
growing degree days (GDD) [GDD = {(Tmax + Tmin) /
2} – Tb] for entire life cycle was determined by taking
a base temperature of 5˚C; while photothermal units
(PTU) [PTU = GDD × Day length] was calculated
by the standard equations (where, Tb is the base
temperature). The plant height, yield attributed
characters, grain and stover yield of field pea were
recorded as per standard methods, and protein
content (total N × 6.25) was determined by kjeldahl
method (Sadasivam and Manikam, 2011). The
statistical analysis of recorded data was done using
online OPSTAT software following the procedures
described by Gomez and Gomez (1984).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Phenology
The results revealed that the emergence of
seedlings of fieldpea in late sown (24 November)
plots was relatively faster (4.2 days) compared to
early November sowing (8.2 days) in the experiment
(Table 1). The crop sown on 4 November took 46.2
days for vegetative phase from >50% emergence to
>10% flowering, and 8.6 days from >10% flowering
to >10% podding, which were increased by 3.4
days and 1.0 day, respectively for delayed sown
crop (24 November) in the investigation. In the
context, it could be noted that flowering in pea
was mainly related to the photoperiod and mean
temperature during the vegetative period (Roche
et al., 1998). Similarly, the number of days to 50%
185
flowering of 4 edible podded pea genotypes was
gradually increased due to delay in sowing from 21
October (83.0) to 20 November (102.2) at Palampur,
Himachal Pradesh (Eshanee et al., 2022).
The average duration of phenophases in field
pea were: 6.2 days (sowing to >50% emergence),
47.9 days (>50% emergence to >10% flowering) and
9.1 days (>10% flowering to >10% podding) in the
experiment. Based on the time taken from sowing
to >10% podding, four field pea varieties could be
arranged as: IPFD 6-3 (66.2 days) > IPFD 11-5 (65.2
days) > IPFD 12-2 (62.8 days) > IPFD 10-12 (58.3
days).
Growing degree days (GDD)
Mean GDD for fieldpea from sowing to >50%
emergence, >50% emergence to >10% flowering,
and >10% flowering to >10% podding were 122.2,
822.5 and 154.5˚C day, respectively (Table 1). Late
sown crop (24 November) accumulated less GDD
from sowing to >50% emergence (82.8˚C day) and
>50% emergence to >10% flowering (779.16˚C day),
but it required more heat units (178.3˚C day) during
the period from >10% flowering to >10% podding
than early November sown crop. Late sown crop
(24 November) recorded more days (49.6) during
the vegetative period but accumulated less GDD
(779.2˚C day) due to less mean daily temperature
during the period (20.5˚C vs. 22.4˚C) compared to
early sown crop. Devi et al. (2019) also reported that
total accumulated GDD was reduced due to delay
in sowing of 3 pea varieties from December 1 to
December 15 in mid hills of Himachal Pradesh.
Based on accumulated GDD, four varieties
could be arranged as: IPFD 11-5 (1184.65°C day)
> IPFD 6-3 (1125.61°C day) > IPFD12-2 (1076.06°C
day) > IPFD10-12 (1010.40°C day). Perusal of data
revealed that all four fieldpea varieties accumulated
1000-1200°C day GDD from sowing to >10% podding
stage in lower gangetic plains of West Bengal. But
Devi et al. (2019) reported less GDD (869.5-986.8°C
day) for 3 pea varieties under two sowing dates (1
and 15 December) at Nauni, Himachal Pradesh.
Photothermal unit (PTU)
Sowing time had significant influence on
accumulation of PTU during the emergence period
only, where late sown crop (24 November) had less
PTU (905.13°C hour) compared to early November
sowing (1807.64°C hour) (Table 1). Field pea crop
sown on 4 November accumulated higher total
PTU of 13490.61°C hour, which was 2587.33°C
186 Journal of Food Legumes 35(2), 2022

hour greater over 24 November sowing in the
investigation.
Mean cultivar summed PTU at different
phenophases were recorded as: 1356.38°C hour
(sowing to >50% emergence), 9359.43°C hour (>50%
emergence to >10% flowering) and 1481.13°C hour
(>10% flowering to >10% podding), but varietal
differences for PTU for all 3 phenophases were
found non-significant.
Growth attributes
Among two dates, late sowing (24 November)
resulted in higher plant height throughout the
cropping period as well as at maturity as compared
to early sowing on 4 November in the experiment
(Table 2). It might be due to the fact that field pea,
being cool season crop, accelerated its vegetative
growth under low temperature condition when
sown in late November (25.6˚C day/15.5˚C night)
compared to early November sowing (27.4˚C
day/17.1˚C night). However, field pea sown in
1st fortnight of November at Patiala, Punjab could
produce taller plants with greater branching habit
and more number of leaves/plant than earlier (2nd
fortnight of October) or later sowing (2nd fortnight of
November) (Singh et al., 2020). IPFD 6-3 produced
the taller plants (66.0 cm) and had better branching
habit (16.5 branches/plant) than other 3 varieties
tested in the investigation. Sharma et al. (2020)
observed that Arkel recorded lowest plant height

Table 1. Effect of sowing date and variety on phenology and thermal indices of field pea
Treatment Sowing to >50% emergence to >10% flowering to
>50% emergence >10% flowering >10% podding
Phenophase duration (days)
Sowing date
4 November 8.2 46.2 8.6
24 November 4.2 49.6 9.6
CD (P=0.05) 2.41 NS NS
Variety
IPFD 11-5 5.2 49.0 11.0
IPFD 10-12 6.7 43.2 8.5
IPFD 12-2 5.5 48.7 8.7
IPFD 6-3 7.3 50.7 8.2
CD (P=0.05) NS 3.97 NS
Growing degree days (C day)
Sowing date
4 November 161.5 865.8 130.7
24 November 82.8 779.2 178.3
CD (P=0.05) 38.55 50.48 NS
Variety
IPFD 11-5 104.8 838.5 241.3
IPFD 10-12 127.6 756.0 126.8
IPFD 12-2 111.1 838.4 126.5
IPFD 6-3 145.2 856.9 123.5
CD (P=0.05) NS 55.97 NS
Photothermal unit (C hour)
Sowing date
4 November 1807.6 10290.1 1392.9
24 November 905.1 8428.8 1569.4
CD (P=0.05) 426.62 NS NS
Variety
IPFD 11-5 1164.9 9103.2 1792.8
IPFD 10-12 1415.7 9942.8 1380.0
IPFD 12-2 1233.4 9100.1 1413.5
IPFD 6-3 1611.5 9291.6 1338.2
CD (P=0.05) NS NS NS
NS=Non significant
 Somdatta Achar et al. : Influence of sowing time on field pea in West Bengal 187

Table 2. Effect of sowing date and variety on yield attributes and yield of field pea
Treatment Plant height Population No. of branches/ No. of seeds/ 1000 seed Grain yield Stover yield Protein content
(cm) (No./m2) plant pod weight (g) (kg/ha) (kg/ha) (%)

Sowing date
4 November 57.2 32.9 13.6 3.3 157.0 741.4 1998.9 17.0
24 November 66.9 35.3 14.5 3.6 169.6 785.5 2119.5 17.4
CD (P=0.05) 4.95 1.39 NS NS 3.14 14.79 11.61 NS
Variety
IPFD 11-5 61.7 33.0 15.3 2.7 163.9 716.8 1929.4 17.3
IPFD 10-12 54.8 36.0 12.7 3.7 159.4 731.5 1988.5 17.4
IPFD 12-2 65.5 34.0 11.7 3.8 161.6 787.5 2136.0 16.5
IPFD 6-3 66.0 33.5 16.5 3.7 168.3 818.0 2183.1 17.5
CD (P=0.05) 1.79 1.77 2.42 0.70 3.63 17.06 8.73 NS
NS=Non significant

because of its shorter vegetative phase with earliest

flower initiation (37.5-48.7 days) in all 3 zones
at different altitudes (600 m, 1375 m and 1800 m
altitude) in Himachal Pradesh, while Arka Kartik
being longer duration one produced tallest plants
with less branching habit. So, it is understood that
the vegetative growth of pea largely depends on
combined effects of varietal characters and agro-
climatic peculiarities of the region.

Grain yield and quality

With delay in sowing from early November
to late November, the number of seeds/pod was
slightly increased from 3.3 (4 November) to 3.6 (24
November) in the experiment (Table 2). At maturity,
IPFD 6-3 produced maximum number of branches
(16.5) in a plant being at par with IPFD 11-5 (15.3);
while IPFD 12-2 had least branches/plant (11.7). At
both sowing dates, IPFD 6-3 recorded maximum
1000 grain weight (164.6 g and 172.0 g). Field pea
sown on 24 November produced higher grain yield
(785.5 kg/ha) due to significant improvement in
plant population (35.3/m2) and test weight (169.6
g) (Table 2). However, Ahmed et al. (2020) opined
that the optimum time of sowing of field pea might
be 13 November due to higher seed yield (827.7
kg/ha) rather than early sowing (29 October)
or late sowing (28 November) at Mymensingh,
Bangladesh. Based on yield performance, four
varieties could be arranged as: IPFD 6-3 (818.0 kg/
ha) > IPFD 12-2 (787.5 kg/ha) > IPFD 10-12 (731.5
kg/ha) > IPFD 11-5 (716.8 kg/ha). Among four
varieties, IPFD 6-3 produced maximum grain yield
(818.0 kg/ha) which was 30.4, 86.5 and 101.1 kg/
ha greater over IPFD 12-2, IPFD 10-12 and IPFD 11-
5, respectively. The maximum grain yield of IPFD
6-3 could be attributed to maximum number of
branches/plant (16.5) accommodating more pods
Fig. 1. Interaction effect of sowing date and variety on
grain yield of field pea
and 1000 seed weight (168.3 g). Moreover, IPFD 6-3
produced the maximum grain yield (780.9 and 855.0
kg/ha) at both sowing dates (Fig. 1). This finding
indicated that IPFD 6-3 might be recommended for
acquiring >800 kg/ha grain yield in gangetic delta
region of West Bengal. With delay in sowing from
4 November to 24 November, the stover yield was
increased progressively from 1998.9 to 2119.5 kg/
ha in the experiment. Like grain yield, the highest
stover yield was recorded with IPFD 6-3 at both
sowing dates (2176.8 and 2189.3 kg/ha) during rabi
season. Protein content remained unaffected due to
different sowing times and four varieties had non-
significant variation in protein content (16.5–17.5%)
in the investigation. Majid et al. (2017) identified
four field pea genotypes (SKUA-P-RF-36, SKUA-
P-RF-113, SKUA-P-RF-55 and SKUA-P-RF-34) for
having greater protein content than check variety
(Shalimar Pea 1) in Kashmir valley.
Thus, it could be concluded that late (24
November) sown crop emerged early (4.2 vs.
8.2 days), but it took 3.4 days and 1.0 day more
to reach flower initiation and pod development
188 Journal of Food Legumes 35(2), 2022
stage, as compared to early November sown crop.
Field pea sown on 24 November produced higher
grain yield (785.5 kg/ha), which was 5.9% greater
over 4 November sowing (741.4 kg/ha). IPFD 6-3
appeared as a promising variety due to high grain
yield (818.0 kg/ha) and protein content (17.5%),
while late November might be optimum time for
sowing of field pea crop in gangetic delta region of
West Bengal.
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 189-192, 2022
Navneet Kaur et al. : Growth indices of soybean as influenced by nutrient management 189

Effect of site-specific nutrient management on growth indices of soybean

(Glycine max (L.) Merrill) under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh
Navneet Kaur1, Janardan Singh2 and Shilpa3

Department of Agronomy, Forages and ABSTRACT

Grassland Management
CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi
Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur 176062,
Himachal Pradesh
*Email: singhjdr@rediffmail.com
Received: August 22, 2022
Accepted: October 10, 2022
Handling Editor:
Dr. Meenal Rathore,
ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research,
Kanpur
A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) season of 2018
at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh to study the effect of site-specific nutrient
management on soybean (Glycine max L). The experiment was laid out
in randomized block design comprising of seven treatments [T1 - N43P43K50
(SSNM), T2 - N43P43K0 (T1-K omission), T3 - N43P0K50 (T1- P omission), T4 - N0P43K50
(T1- N omission), T5 - N20P60K40 (RDF), T6 - FYM@5t/ha (Farmer’s Practice alone.
It is applied to the field along with RDF, even 5 t FYM supplies only 25 kg
N and meagre amount of P, So, this treatment is acceptable and T7 -N0P0K0
(control)]. The soil of experimental site was silty clay loam in texture, acidic
in reaction, low in available nitrogen, and medium in available phosphorus
and potassium. Site specific nutrient management (N43P43K50) resulted in
significantly higher values of plant height, dry matter accumulation, absolute
growth rate, relative growth rate, crop growth rate, dry matter efficiency
and unit area efficiency. Recommended dose of fertilizers (N20P60K40) and
farmer’s practice (FYM@5t/ha) proved to be second and third best treatment,
respectively. The omission of nutrients resulted in marked reduction in
growth of soybean. The lowest values of growth indices were recorded in
absolute control treatment (N0P0K0).

Key words: Growth indices, Site-specific nutrient management, Soybean

INTRODUCTION other pulse crops.

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is an important oilseed
crop in Indian sub-continent. It has traditionally
been grown on a small scale in Himachal Pradesh,
the Kumaon Hills of Uttrakhand, Eastern Bengal,
the Khasi Hills, Manipur, the Naga Hills and parts
of Central India covering Madhya Pradesh. In India,
it is grown on an area of 11.18 million hectares
with production and productivity of 13.15 million
tonnes and 1235 kilogram per hectares, respectively
(Anonymous 2016). Soybean is a potential rainy
season crop of mid-hills zone of Himachal Pradesh.
It is grown as a sole crop as well as an intercrop
with maize. Among the legumes, soybean is valued
for its high protein (38-45%) as well as its high oil
content (20 %). It supplies approximately 65 per cent
world meal and 20 to 24 per cent of the world edible
oil. It is soil building crop and requires less water
as compared to other crops (Imran et al. 2017). It is
also highly adaptable to varying soil and climatic
conditions, giving fairly high yields compared to
Site specific nutrient management (SSNM) is
an important component of precision agriculture.
It provides an approach for need based feeding of
crops with nutrients while recognizing the inherent
spatial variability. The growing concern about
impaired soil health, declining productivity growth
and decreasing factor productivity or nutrient use
efficiency (NUE) are compelling the farmers to use
higher level of fertilizers during last two decades.
The low NUE and associated environmental
pollution and global warming problems have
raised serious concerns about the existing nutrient
management practices. As such, it is high time to
develop site-specific nutrient management(SSNM)
technologies which are able to synergic crop-soil
nutrient dynamics. Considering the above said
facts, the present investigation was undertaken to
study the effect of site-specific nutrient management
on soybean under mid hill conditions of Himachal
Pradesh.
190 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field experiment was conducted during
rainy (kharif) season of 2018 at the Research Farm,
Department of Agronomy, Forages and Grassland
Management, Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal
Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur. The
soil of the experimental site was silty clay loam with
5.41 pH, 0.55 % OC, 130.08 kg/ha available nitrogen,
13.08 kg/ha available phosphorus and 256.3 kg/ha
available potassium.
The meteorological data during the crop
season revealed that the weekly maximum and
minimum temperature ranged from 23.57 ˚C to
32.89 ˚C and 10.14 ˚C to 20.64 ˚C, respectively. The
mean relative humidity ranged from 24.07 percent
to 94.93 percent and total of 2619.4 mm rainfall was
received during the crop season. The experiment
was laid out in randomized block design comprising
of seven treatments which were replicated thrice.
The treatments were T1-N43 P43 K50 (SSNM), T2- N43
P43 K0 (T1-K omission), T3- N43 P0 K50 (T1-P omission),
T4- N0 P43 K50 (T1- N omission), T5- N20 P50 K40
(RDF), T6- FYM@ 5t/ha (Farmer’s Practice), T7- N0
P0 K0 (Control). Treated seeds with bavistin were
used. Different doses of nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium and farmyard manure were applied as per
different treatments, respectively. Pendimethalin
(stomp 30 EC) was applied @ 4.5 litre/ha within 48
h of sowing for the control of weeds. Other package
of practices recommended for the region was also
followed. The periodical plant height and dry matter
accumulation were recorded at different growth
stages for evaluating different growth indices. The
following formulae wree used to determine various
growth indices:
Absolute growth rate was determined by using the
formula given by Radford (1967).
h2 - h 1
AGR(cm/day) =
t2 - t1
where, h1 and h2 are the plant height at t1 and t2
times, respectively.
Crop growth rate was determined by using the
formula given by Watson (1956):
(w2 – w1)
CGR(g/m2/day) =
p (t2 - t1)
where w1 and w2 are whole plant dry weight at t1
and t2 time, respectively and p is the ground area on
which w1 and w2 are recorded.
Relative growth rate was determined by using the
formula given by Fisher (1921):
(logew2 - loge w1)
RGR (g/g/day) =
(t2 – t1)
where w1 and w2 are dry weight of whole plant at
times t1 and t2, respectively.
Dry matter efficiency is expressed as the percent of
dry matter accumulated in the grain from the total
dry matter produced over the crop growth period.
100
Grain yield (kg/ha)
DME = X
Biological yield (kg/ha) Duration of crop (days)
Unit area efficiency is expressed as the quantum
of grain yield produced over a unit land area for a
specified crop growth period (kg/ha/day).
Grain yield (kg) 1
UAE = X
Land area (ha) Duration of crop (days)
The data obtained were subjected to statistical
analysis as per the procedures given by Gomez and
Gomez (1984).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Growth
Effect of site-specific nutrient management on
plant height and dry matter accumulation has been
presented in Table 1.
Plant height and dry matter accumulation
These growth parameters were significantly
affected by different treatments at different growth
stages. Significantly taller plants were recorded in
T1-(N43 P43 K50) which was at par with T5- N20 P50
K40 (RDF) and T6- FYM@ 5t/ha (Farmer’s Practice)
at 30 days after sowing. The shortest plants were
observed in T7- (N0 P0 K0). This might be due to
higher availability of nutrients in these treatments as
compared to control treatment. Similar results were
also reported by Srivastava and Khanna (2003) and
Patil et al. (2016) in soybean. Significantly higher
dry matter accumulation was recorded in T1 which
was at par with T5 and T6 at all the growth stages
except 30 days after sowing. The highest dry matter
 Navneet Kaur et al. : Growth indices of soybean as influenced by nutrient management 191

accumulation (1.4 g/plant) was recorded in T1. Dry
matter increased progressively with advancement
in age of the crop. This might be due to more
availability of nutrients in site specific nutrient
management and recommended dose of fertilizers.
The nutrients might have played an important role
in enhancing cell division and elongation of leaves
resulting in higher biomass. Similar results have
been reported by Lone et al. (2009) in soybean and
Patil et al. (2018) in groundnut.
Growth indices
Effect of site-specific nutrient management
on absolute growth rate, crop growth rate, net
assimilation rate, dry matter and unit area efficiency
has been presented in Table 2.
Absolute growth rate
Different treatments significantly influenced
absolute growth rate at 30 and 60 days after sowing.
Significantly higher value of absolute growth
rate was recorded in T1-(N43 P43 K50) as compared
to absolute control. Since absolute growth rate
is directly related to plant height so higher plant
height in T1 resulted in higher absolute growth rate
(Table 3). The results confirm the findings of Swati
and Singh (2018a) in soybean.
Crop growth rate
Significantly higher crop growth rate (0.97 g/
m2/day) was noted in T1-(N43 P43 K50) while it was
lower (0.64 g/m2/day) in control at 30 days after
sowing. It remained unaffected at other growth
stages. Recommended dose of fertilizers and
farmer’s practice were at par with T1 (Table 2). The
lowest value of crop growth rate was observed in
absolute control. This might be due to the better
nutritional environment for plant growth at active
vegetative stage as a result in improvement in root
and shoot growth which ultimately increased the
dry matter resulting in higher value of crop growth
rate. Similar results were also observed by Vyas and
Kushwah (2015) in soybean.
Relative growth rate
It was significantly affected by different
treatments at 30 days after sowing. The highest
relative growth rate (0.01 g/g/day) was observed
in T1 while the lowest (0.001 g/g/day) was in
T7. At other stages, relative growth rate was not
significantly affected by different and treatments.
Recommended dose of fertilizers and farmer’s
practice were at par with T1 (Table 2). This might
be due to higher dry matter production with better
nutrition which resulted in better relative growth
rate. Similar results have been reported by Biradar
et al. (2013) in maize.
Dry matter and unit area efficiency
Significantly higher dry matter efficiency
(0.3 %/day) was observed in T1 and T5. The lowest
dry matter efficiency (0.26 %/day) was observed
in absolute control (T7). Significantly higher unit
area efficiency was also observed in T1 (SSNM).
Unit area efficiency noted in T1 was 15.9 kg/ha/
day. The lowest value of unit area efficiency (6.73
kg/ha/day) was recorded in absolute control (T7)
(Table 2). This might be due to reason that balanced
application of nutrients resulted in maximum unit
area efficiency. Similar results were also reported by
Swati and Singh (2018b).

Table 1. Effect of different treatments on plant height and dry matter accumulation

Plant height (cm) Dry matter accumulation (g/plant)

Treatment
30DAS 60DAS 90DAS Harvest 30DAS 60DAS 90DAS Harvest
T1 - N43 P43 K50 (SSNM) 28.43 63.03 73.13 74.97 1.46 7.43 29.33 32.73
T2 - N43 P43 K0 (T1- K omission) 27.40 57.67 69.53 70.43 1.18 6.37 26.83 30.45
T3 - N43 P0 K50 (T1- P omission) 26.73 57.5 68.57 69.8 1.23 6.53 26.45 30.52
T4 - N0 P43 K50 (T1- N omission) 26.03 54.63 65.80 67.93 1.06 6.12 24.73 28.80
T5 - N20 P60 K40(RDF) 28.43 62.70 72.77 74.52 1.39 7.28 28.16 31.48
T6 - FYM@5t/ha (Farmer’s Practice) 28.17 60.93 71.40 73.11 1.22 7.27 27.85 31.27
T7 - N0 P0 K0 (control) 24.60 52.87 62.27 64.97 1.00 5.93 23.00 25.63
SEm± 0.81 0.71 0.66 2.13 0.02 0.31 0.73 0.46
CD (P = 0.05) 2.49 2.18 2.04 6.57 0.07 0.97 2.25 1.41
SSNM-Site specific nutrient management RDF - Recommended dose of fertilizers
192 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Table 2. Effect of different treatments on growth indices of soybean

Absolute growth rate Crop growth rate(g/m2/ Relative growth Dry matter Unit area
Treatment (cm/day) DAS day) DAS rate(g/g/day) DAS efficiency efficiency
30 60 90 30 60 90 30 60 90 (%/day) (kg/ha/day)
T1 - N43 P43 K50 (SSNM) 0.95 1.15 0.34 0.97 3.97 14.53 0.01 0.054 0.046 0.30 15.90
T2 - N43P43K0(T1- K omission) 0.91 1.01 0.40 0.79 3.4 13.44 0.006 0.056 0.048 0.28 11.85
T3 - N43 P0 K50 (T1- P omission) 0.89 1.03 0.37 0.80 3.55 13.24 0.01 0.056 0.047 0.28 11.03
T4 - N0 P43 K50 (T1- N omission) 0.87 0.95 0.37 0.68 3.28 12.05 0.002 0.059 0.047 0.29 11.46
T5 - N20 P60 K40(RDF) 0.95 1.14 0.34 0.92 3.88 13.75 0.011 0.055 0.045 0.30 14.25
T6-FYM@5t/ha(Farmer’s Practice) 0.94 1.09 0.35 0.79 3.92 13.37 0.01 0.059 0.045 0.29 13.33
T7 - N0 P0 K0 (control) 0.82 0.94 0.31 0.64 3.15 10.92 0.001 0.059 0.045 0.26 6.73
SEm± 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.032 0.26 0.69 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.008 0.33
CD (P=0.05) 0.08 0.11 NS 0.1 NS NS 0.002 NS NS 0.03 1.03
SSNM-Site specific nutrient management RDF - Recommended dose of fertilizers

REFERENCES yield of soybean in north eastern transitional zone

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Biradar A, Jayadeva HM, Shankaralingappa BC and
Vishwanath AP. 2013. Effect of targeted yield approach
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707−712
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Effect of seed rate, row spacing and fertility levels
on growth and nutrient uptake of soybean under
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Patil AG, Halepyati AS and Chittapur BM. 2016. Influence
of site specific nutrient management on growth and
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2651−2654
Patil DH, Shankar MA, Krishnamurthy N, Shadakshari
YG and Parama VR. 2018. Studies on site specific
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of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) under irrigation in
southern Karnataka. Legume Research 41(5): 728−733
Srivastava AC and Khanna YP. 2003. Growth and dry
matter partitioning of soybean under variable nitrogen
supplies and elevated carbon dioxide. Journal of Food,
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of soybean (Glycine max) as influenced by different
fertility levels and seed rates under mid-hill conditions
of Himachal Pradesh. Indian Journal of Agronomy
63(3): 388−390
Swati and Singh J. 2018b. Effect of genotypes, nutrient
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(Glycine max (L.) Merrill) under mid-hill condition of
Himachal Pradesh. Journal of Food Legumes 31(3):
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(2): 193-197, 2022
S B Latake et al. : Biocontrol of actinomycetes against chickpea wilth pathogen 193

Biocontrol of actinomycetes against chickpea wilt pathogen Fusarium

oxysporum f. sp. ciceri.
S B Latake*, YV Bele and VS Shinde

Pulses Improvement Project, Mahatma ABSTRACT

Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri , Dist.
Ahmednagar (M.S.)
*Email: sblatakepathology@gmail.com
Received; July 20, 2022
Accepted: October 27, 2022
Handling Editor:
Dr Mohd. Akram,
ICAR- Indian Institute of Pulses Research,
Kanpur
Wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri is one of the most destructive
diseases of chickpea crop. As the pathogen survives mainly in soil, seed
treatment is the viable way to control this disease. Actinomycetes are
extensively distributed in natural habitat particularly crop rhizosphere and
are involved in different biological and metabolic processes. Actinomyctes
were isolated from rhizosheric soil samples of chickpea crop. These isolates
were evaluated under in vitro condition against the wilt pathogen. Out of the
12 isolates, two isolates inhibited 78-80% mycelial growth of the pathogen
and identified as Streptomyces spp.

Key words: Actinomycetes, Biocontrol, Chickpea, Fusarium wilt,

INTRODUCTION this, during present investigation the biocontrol

Chickpea production is affected by various
biotic stresses amongst which diseases caused
by fungal pathogens are important one. Among
fungal diseases, wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum
f. sp. ciceri is the most devastating and widespread
disease of chickpea infecting the crop worldwide. It
is seed and soil borne disease generally appearing
in dry climates with temperature above 250C. Under
congenial conditions the disease is reported to cause
100 per cent loss in grain yield (Landa et al., 2004).
Due to soil borne nature once these diseases occur
in the field it is difficult to manage. Seed treatment
prior to sowing of crop is the best option to control
the infection. However, chemical seed treatment has
its own limitations as it causes soil pollution and ill
effects on beneficial microorganism. Seed treatment
with biocontrol agents not only control the infection
of soil borne fungal pathogen but also help the
host plant to mobilize and obtain macro and micro
nutrients.
Actinomycetes, a group of Gram-positive,
soil dwelling, filamentous bacteria are extensively
distributed in natural habitat and are involved
in different biological and metabolic processes
(Merzaeva and Shirokikh, 2006; Gopalakrishnan et
al., 2011 ). They are reported to help in control of
many soil borne diseases like Fusarium, Rhizoctonia
and Pythium (Raaijmakers et al., 2009). Considering
ability of actinomycetes isolated from rhizospheric
soil was evaluated against the wilt pathogen
infecting chickpea crop.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The disease affected chickpea plants showing
typical symptoms of Fusarium wilt were collected
from wilt sick plot of Pulses Improvement Project,
Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri and
the pathogen was isolated following standard
laboratory procedure. (Pathak, 1984). The fungal
colonies were purified by single hypal tip method
and pure culture maintained on slants for further
studies. The pathogen was identified based on
the morphological characters observed under
microscope.
Chickpea rhizospheric soil samples were
collected from different locations of Ahmednagar
district. The samples were brought to laboratory, air
dried and actinomycetes were isolated using serial
dilution technique. Dilutions 102 −106 (0.1ml each)
were plated on starch casein agar (SCA) medium by
spread plate technique and incubated at 28 ± 20 C
for 10 days. The plates were observed for growth of
actinomycete and prominent colonies were picked
and further purified. Pure culture of isolates was
maintained on SCA slants at 40C for further studies.
In all 12 isolates were obtained.
194 Journal of Food Legumes 35(2), 2022
These actinomycete isolates were evaluated for
their antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum
f. sp.ciceri by dual-culture assay on Glucose
cassamino acid yeast extract (GCY) agar medium.
Pure culture of actinomycete isolates was streaked
on both the side of GCY agar plate and the fungal
disc of five mm was inoculated at the centre of
the plate in between the actinomycetes streaking.
The plates were incubated at 28 ± 20 C for 10 days.
The radial growth of pathogen in each plate was
measured and per cent inhibition was calculated.
Out of the 12 actinomycete isolates evaluated,
two isolates were found promising in inhibiting the
mycelial growth of Fusarium under in vitro condition.
To identify the isolates, morphological, cultural and
physiological characteristics of these two effective
actinomycete isolates were studied by adopting
standard procedure. Cover slip method was used to
investigate the morphological characteristics of the
actinomycete isolates on SCA medium (Williams
and Cross, 1971). The colony characteristics, viz.,
aerial mass colour, colour of the substrate mycelium
as viewed from reverse side and diffusible colour
produced were studied on five different media ISP
2, ISP3, ISP4, ISP 5 and SCA. The physiological
characteristics of the isolates, viz. sodium chloride
tolerance and ability to grow at different pH were
also studied by using SCA medium.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In vitro efficacy of actinomycete isolates
against chickpea wilt pathogen
The fungal pathogen, i.e. Fusarium oxysporum
f.sp.ciceri was isolated from the disease affected
plants showing typical symptoms of wilt and it’s
identity was confirmed based on morphological
characters of the fungus. Actinomycete isolates were
isolated from rhizospheric soil samples by using
serial dilution technique. The typical actinomycetes
colonies developed on SCA medium from 10
days onwards were round in shape and cottony
appearance. The colony characteristics of isolates
are similar to those described for actinomycetes
earlier by Waksman and Lechevalier (1953) and
Shirling and Gottlieb (1966). The aerial mass colour
and substrate mycelium colour was variable with
the isolate of the actinomycete. In all, 12 isolates
(ANTS-1 to ANTS-12) were obtained from different
rhizospheric soil samples.
The isolates were screened for their
antagonistic activity against Fusarium oxysporum
f.sp. ciceri by dual culture inoculation method on
Glucose Cassamino acid Yeast (GCY) extract agar
medium. All the actinomycete isolates efficiently
inhibited the growth of Fusarium fungus and
were found significantly superior over control in
inhibiting the mycelial growth (Table 1, Plate 1).
Maximum inhibition (80.00 %) was obtained with
isolate ANTS-5 with least colony diameter of 17.00
mm. It was followed by isolate ANTS-4 which
recorded 78.82 per cent growth inhibition with 18.00
mm mean colony diameter. Thus, the two isolates
i.e. ANTS-4 and ANTS-5 were significantly superior
over other isolates in controlling the growth of
Fusarium fungus. The per cent inhibition with rest
of the isolates ranged 62.35 to 12.63.
Earlier, Gopalkrishanan et al. (2011) conducted
study on antagonistic potential of actinomycete
isolates against chickpea wilt pathogen Fusarium
oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (FOC) by in vitro dual-culture
assay and reported that among 137 actinomycete
isolates, 33 had the antagonistic potential against
FOC. Similarly, Ashokvadhan et al. (2014) reported
that among 54 strains of actinomycetes, 13 strains
inhibited the mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum.
Efficacy of actinomycete isolates in inhibiting
the plant pathogen had also been reported by
Kulkarni (2010) against Alternaria alternata,
Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia bataticola.
Similarly, Sussela Bhai et al. (2016) had reported
that actinomycete isolates inhibited the growth of
Phytophthora capsici causing foot rot and slow decline
disease in black pepper. Nanjappan et al. (2018) and
Anusha et al. (2019) had also reported the potential
of actinomycetes to control plant pathogens.
In present studies actinomycete isolates
effectively controlled the mycelial growth of
Fusarium under laboratory conditions.
Morphological, colony and cultural characteristics
The cover slip method was used to investigate
the morphological characters of actinomycete
isolates ANTS-4 and ANTS-5. Both the isolates
exhibited spiral spore arrangement. Long chain of
sporophores containing more than 30-35 spores
were observed and spores were cylindrical to oval
in shape (Plate 2). Long chain of conidia and spore
arrangement are typical as that of Streptomyces spp.
Different culture media like Yeast-extract-malt
extract agar (ISP 2), Oatmeal agar (ISP 3), Inorganic
salt-starch agar (ISP 4), Glycerol-asparagin agar
(ISP 5) and Starch casein agar (SCA) were used
to examine colony characterization actinomycete
isolates ANTS-4 and ANTS-5. It was observed that
 S B Latake et al. : Biocontrol of actinomycetes against chickpea wilth pathogen
the growth of actinomycete isolates ANTS-4 and
ANTS-5 was good on all culture media under study
(Table 2 and 3). In case of isolate ANTS-4 it was
observed that the colour of aerial mycelium was
dark grey on ISP 2 and ISP 3, light grey on ISP 4
and ISP 5 and white on SCA. The colour of substrate
mycelium was grey on ISP 2 and ISP 3, dark grey
on ISP 4 and brown on ISP 5 and SCA media.
There was no diffusible pigment observed. In case
of actinomycete isolate ANTS-5 colour of aerial
mycelium was white on ISP 2 and SCA, whitish
grey on ISP 3, light grey on ISP 4, and dark grey on
ISP 5. Colour of substrate mycelium was dark grey
on ISP 2 and ISP 3, grey on ISP 4 and brown in ISP 5
and SCA.There was no diffusible pigment observed.
Earlier, Mythili and Das (2011) reported spiral
spore arrangement in most of the actinomycete
isolates and very small number of actinomycete
isolates showed melanin pigment. Nanjwade et al.
(2010) studied on the morphological and cultural
characteristics of actinomycete isolates and obtain
almost similar results as of present investigation.
Muleta and Assefa (2018) studied morphological
and cultural characteristics of actinomycete isolates.
Morphological characters were studied by cover-slip
method. Most of isolates showed rectiflexible spore
chain and branched mycelium. Cultural characters
were studied by using different media like starch
casein agar, glycerol asparagine agar, starch nitrate
agar, glucose asparagine agar and actinomycetes
isolation agar. Isolates grow well in all media. The
colour of aerial mycelium was white to grey and
substrate mycelium was gray, yellow to brown. The
diffusible pigment was found only in some isolates
and the diffusible colour was red.Hozzein et al.
(2019) isolated a total of 27 actinomycete isolates
from Jouf region of Saudi Arabia and studied their
morphological characteristics by using cover-slip
method under microscope. All isolates had different
colour of aerial mycelium, substrate mycelium
colour ranged from white, brown, grey to violet and
spore chain were rectiflexible to verticilate.
Physiological characters
The effective actinomycete isolates ANTS-4
and ANTS-5 were studied for their physiological
characters like sodium chloride tolerance and pH
requirement.
Sodium chloride tolerance
From the data presented in Table 4, it is
observed that the isolates ANTS-4 and ANTS-
195
5 tolerated sodium chloride up to 5 per cent
concentration and good growth of both the isolates
were recorded at 0 and 5 per cent concentration of
sodium chloride. At 10 per cent less growth of both
actinomycete isolates was there, while at 10, 15 and
20 per cent concentration the actinomycete isolates
were unable to grow and no growth was recorded.
pH requirement
In case of pH, it was observed that the
actinomycete isolates ANTS-4 and ANTS-5 was able
to grow on medium having pH 6 to 10, whereas the
isolates showed less growth at pH 5 (Table 4). The
study revealed that the actinomycete isolates can
grow better at pH 6 to 10.
Almost similar findings were obtained by
Umashankar et al. (2010) for Sodium chloride
tolerance of actinomycete isolates where it was
reported that sodium chloride concentration of
1.5 to 3 per cent was good for growth.Muleta and
Assefa (2018) obtained similar results wherein
actinomycete isolates grow well below 10 per cent
concentration of sodium chloride while for pH it
was observed that pH 6-10 showed good growth.
Sreevidya et al. (2016) in their studies recorded
similar observation. It was observed that the
actinomycete isolate growth was good at pH6-
10 and for salt tolerance the isolate tolerates NaCl
concentration upto 10per cent. Similarly, Singh et al.
(2019) in their physiological characteristic studies
of actinomycete isolates reported that the isolates
were able to grow at pH 6-10 and tolerated NaCl
concentration up to 10 per cent.
The morphological character’s exhibited by
effective actinomycete isolates closely resembles
with Streptomyces spp. as describe earlier by
Waksman (1957) and Umashankar et al. (2010).
Based on the characteristics studies the effective
actinomycete isolates were identified as Streptomyces
spp.
The actinomycete isolates thus showed
promising results for Fusarium control. Wilt caused
by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri is one of the most
important and wide spread disease of chickpea
crop. The disease infect crop at all stages and can
cause 100 per cent yield reduction. During present
studies two actinomycete isolates significantly
inhibited the mycelial growth of Fusarium fungus.
Further exploitation of these effective actinomycete
isolates identified as Streptomyces spp. can play a
vital role in biological control of most devastating
disease of chickpea.
196 Journal of Food Legumes 35(2), 2022

Table 1. In vitro efficacy of actinomycete isolates against Table 4. Physiological characteristics of actinomycete
Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cicero isolate ANTS-4 and ANTS 5
Sr. Isolate Mean colony diameter Per cent A) Sodium Chloride Tolerance limit
No. code (mm)* inhibition** 0% Good growth
1 ANTS-1 36.33 57.25 5% Good growth
(49.16) 10% Less growth
2 ANTS-2 40.00 52.94 15% No growth
(46.66)
20% No growth
3 ANTS-3 32.00 62.35
(52.12) 25% No growth
4 ANTS-4 18.00 78.82 B) Ability to grow at different pH
(62.68) 5 Less growth
5 ANTS-5 17.00 80.00 6 Good growth
(63.41) 7 Good growth
6 ANTS-6 62.33 26.66 8 Good growth
(31.07) 9 Good growth
7 ANTS-7 61.66 27.45 10 Good growth
(31.58)
8 ANTS-8 74.26 12.63
(21.05)
9 ANTS-9 72.66 14.98
(21.65)
10 ANTS-10 25.66 66.28
(54.48)
11 ANTS-11 62.66 27.05
(30.81)
12 ANTS-12 63.33 25.88
(30.54)
13 Control 85 0.00
S.E.± 1.03
C.D.@ 1% 2.90

Table 2. Colony characteristics of actinomycete isolate

ANTS-4 Plate 1. In vitro efficacy of actinomycete isolates against
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 198-206, 2022
198 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Investigating the in vitro regeneration potential of mungbean

Ayushi Tripathi1,2, Neetu S Kushwah1, Samir C Debnath3, Susmita Shukla*2 and Meenal Rathore*1
1
Division of Plant Biotechnology, ICAR-
Indian Institute of Pulses Research,
Kanpur, U.P., India;
2
Applied Plant Biotechnology Lab,
Amity University, Noida, U.P., India;
3
St. John’s Research and Development
Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada, St. John’s, Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada
*Email: mnl.rthr@gmail.com;
sshukla3@amity.edu
Received: September 20, 2022
Accepted: November 03, 2022
Handling editor:
Dr Dinesh Yadav,
Deen Dayal Gorakhpur University,
Gorapkhpur
cultivar Samrat
ABSTRACT
In vitro regeneration of mungbean, being genotype dependent, needs to be
standardized with release of new cultivars to be able to use them for further
genetic improvement, especially in the regime of genome editing. Samrat is
a mungbean cultivar that has reigned mungbean production in past years
and is a stable resistant source against Yellow mosaic disease (YMD). The
regeneration ability this cultivar, using double cotyledonary node (DCN)
and embryonic axis (EA) explants was investigated in Murashige Skoog
(MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP (6-Benzyl
Amino Purine) for varied durations. While both the explants responded to
in vitro regeneration, number of shoots regenerated was higher with EA
(6.45 ± 0.37) than with DCN (5.24 ± 0.37). Sub-culturing thrice on BAP 1.0 mg
L-1 supplemented media followed by two subcultures on basal media was
optimal for multiple shoot regeneration. Rhizogenesis was obtained on basal
media devoid of any phytohormones in EA explants and in 1.0 mg L-1 IAA for
DCN explants. The in vitro regenerated plantlets were successfully hardened
in a mixture of soil, sand and soilrite (1:1:1) with 72-80% plantlet survival with
successful flowering and viable seed setting on maturity. The study revealed
that both explants DCN and EA were equally potential explants for in vitro
regeneration in Samrat with 1.0 mg L-1 BAP for 30 days.

Key words: Double cotyledonary node, Embryonic axis, In vitro regeneration,

mungbean

INTRODUCTION Yield loss due to biotic stress (disease and

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. R. Wilczek
var.  radiata), is the most widely cultivated species
among major crops of Vigna genus (Pandiyan
et al. 2012). India, the largest producer and
consumer of mungbean, contributes 60% of the
total global production with an area of 3.8 million
hectares (Nair and Schreinemachers, 2020). It is
known as a farmer’s friendly crop due to its low
input requirement, wider adaptability towards
climate vagaries and adding essential nutrients in
vegetarian diet along with income source to farmer
families. Seeds of mungbean are particularly rich in
(~24 % easily digestible) proteins (Itoh at al. 2006;
Anwar et al. 2007), fibers, antioxidants and exhibit
health benefits due to its detoxification bioactivities
(Yi Shen et al. 2018); thus can be used as a functional
food for mitigation of malnutrition and in health
programs. The yield potential of mungbean is about
2 tonnes per hectare, while average productivity in
most countries is nearly 0.5 tonnes per hectare (Basu
et al. 2019). This yield gap is primarily due to abiotic
and biotic stresses, climate change, non-availability
of quality seed and lack of crop management
practices (Pratap et al. 2021).
insect infestation) can occur due to infestation at
any stage of plant growth and development, and
even after harvest (Laosatit et al. 2020). Mungbean
yellow mosaic disease (MYMD) is a serious disease
transmitted by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) (Selvi et al.
2006; Mishra et al. 2020) that can cause complete
yield loss in susceptible cultivars (Marimuthu et
al. 1981) or even cause mortality of infected plants
at early vegetative stages. Abiotic stress such as
drought, water logging, heat and salinity are also
known to severely affect mungbean productivity
(Noble et al. 2020).
The mungbean cultivar Samrat (PDM-139)
was released in 2001 as a prominent high yielding
line tolerant to Yellow mosaic disease, with
synchronous maturity, superior vigor quality, halo-
tolerant and highly popular among farmers during
spring/summer seasons in northern parts of India
(Paul et al. 2013; Sen et al. 2017; Pratap et al. 2019).
It revolutionized mungbean cultivation amongst
farmers, as it yielded ca. 12-14 q/ha within 65 days
and earned approximately ` 50-60 thousand/ha.
(https://icar.org.in/node/250, 2008). Even after two
decades, Samrat still finds place amongst the top 10
 Ayushi Tripathi et al. : Investigating the in vitro regeneration potential of mungbean
varieties contributing a major share in mungbean
breeder seed indent (Singh et al. 2017).
The mungbean hybridization programs
face the constraint of narrow genetic base, due to
repeated use of few available genetic resources
(Kumar 2004, 2011). Therefore, there is dire need to
widen the genetic base by incorporating desirable
traits using modern biotechnological tools. Distant
hybridization aided by tissue culture-based embryo
rescue techniques (Palmer et al. 2002), in vitro
mutagenesis (Badere et al. 2016), development of
trait specific transgenics (Mekala et al. 2016; Yadav
et al. 2012) and genome edited plants (CRISPR/
Cas, ZFNs and TALENs) (Bhowmik et al. 2021) are
a few approaches that have been accepted to aid
mungbean crop improvement.
The prerequisite for success of tissue culture-
based biotechnological interventions in crop
plants is the availability of an efficient in vitro
regeneration system. The species of Vigna genus
displays high genotypic specificity and has lesser
regeneration potential as compared to other legume
crops (Mundhara et al. 2006; Atif et al. 2013; Pratap
et al. 2018). Among cytokinins, BAP has been
reported to facilitate in vitro shoot multiplication
in mungbean through shoot bud initiation and
continuous adventitious shoots formation (Gulati
and Jaiwal, 1992 and 1994; Vijayan et al. 2006;
Patra et al. 2018; Rathore et al. 2022). However,
the reported systems do not stand amenable to all
genotypes. Thus, biotechnological intervention
still requires establishment of genotype specific in
vitro regeneration systems as a prerequisite. Hence,
this study was undertaken to develop an in vitro
regeneration system in mungbean cultivar Samrat,
with the objectives to assess (i) in vitro regeneration
potential of the explants double cotyledonary
node (DCN) and embryonic axis (EA), (ii) optimal
concentration of BAP for shoot induction and/
or regeneration, (iii) optimal duration of BAP
treatment, and (iv) initiate rhizogenesis in in vitro
regenerated shoots.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seed sterilization
Breeder’s seeds of Yellow mosaic disease
tolerant, high yielding mungbean genotype
Samrat (Brar et al. 2004) was obtained from ICAR-
IIPR, Kanpur. The seeds were washed using mild
detergent Tween-20 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan
monolaurate) for 15 mins and then completely
199
rinsed using tap water. A treatment of 0.2% HgCl2
for 3 mins followed by treatment with 70% ethanol
for 1 min was given under laminar air flow. They
were then rinsed thrice using autoclaved distilled
water to remove any traces of sterilants. Seed were
then dried by blotting on sterilized filter paper
before being used.
Explant preparation
Surface sterilized seeds were inoculated on MS
(Murashige and Skoog, 1962) media with B5 vitamins
(Gamborg et al. 1968) (MSB5) supplemented with 3%
(w/v) sucrose and semi-solidified by 0.8% agar, pH
adjusted to 5.8. All experiments were done using two
types of explants viz. EA and DCN. DCN explants
were obtained from 4 days old seedling, by excising
the epicotyl and hypocotyl (2 mm above and below)
at cotyledonary junction. EA was prepared from
overnight (~16-18h) soaked seeds in dark condition,
by separating one cotyledon resulting in exposed
embryo attached to a single cotyledon.
In vitro shoot initiation
Both the explants were inoculated on MSB5
medium supplemented with three different
concentrations of 6-Benzyl amino purine (BAP) viz.
0.5 mg L-1, 1 mg L-1 and 2 mg L-1 with 0 mg L-1 as
the control treatment. Explants were kept on shoot
initiation media for different durations viz. 20, 30
and 40 days with sub culturing at every 10 days
interval. Thereafter, explants were transferred to
basal media i.e. MSB5 without any phytohormone.
Sub culturing was done every 7-10 days for removal
of dead mass of cells at base of explant and to expose
the meristematic tissue for uptake of supplements
from media.
Basal media used in experiments was MSB5
with pH 5.8 ± 0.02 before autoclaving (121 °C and
1.2 kg cm-2 for 15 min). Cultures were established
at 25 ± 2 °C under a 16:8 h (light, dark) photoperiod
with light intensity 25 μmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic
photon flux density (PPFD) provided by cool white
fluorescent tube lights.
In vitro root initiation and acclimatization
In vitro grown shoots attaining a length of
2- 3 cm were transferred to basal media for 1-2
cycles, and then into root initiation media viz.
MSB5 supplemented with 1.0 mg L-1 of IAA for both
explants. In EA regenerated shoots, rhizogenesis
was observed in MSB5 media alone devoid of any
phytohormone.
200 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
Regenerated plants with well-developed shoot
and root systems were taken out from medium and
roots were washed gently under running tap water
to remove any traces of agar. The plants were then
transferred to mixture of substrates (sterile and
moistened sand + soil + soilrite 1:1:1) in small pots.
The pots were covered with a perforated transparent
polythene sheet to maintain humidity and plants
were maintained at 25 + 2 oC with a 16 / 8 h light
/ dark photoperiod with an irradiance of 30 mmol
s-1m-2. Unless the plants sowed signs of wilting,
they were exposed every day to low humidity by
removing the polythene sheet for a daytime period.
After 2 weeks, the polythene sheet was completely
removed and acclimatized and hardened plants
were maintained under ambient temperature and
lighting in net house.
Experimental design and statistical analysis
All the treatments had 20 explants and were
repeated thrice. Cultures were monitored on daily
basis for increase in shoot number, length and
callus growth. Regeneration data was recorded
as regeneration percentage, numbers of shoots
regenerated per explant, shoot length, root length,
percentage of rooting and days to rooting at every
10 days interval till hardening. One way analysis
of variance (ANOVA) test at significance level of
0.05 was used for data analysis and comparisons
between mean values of treatment tests were
performed using Tukey’s HSD test. The study
was conducted in Division of Plant Biotechnology,
ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
during 2020-2021.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Shoot regeneration and elongation
Multiple shoot proliferation was directly
induced in both explants EA and DCN using BAP.
Amongst different BAP concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 2.0
mg L-1) tested, maximum multiple shoot initiation
was observed at 1 mg L-1 in both the explants DCN
(5.24±0.37) and EA (6.45±0.37) (Table 1). Cytokinins
regulate cell proliferation and differentiation in
plant development by inducing shoot formation,
and are hence called shooting hormone (Kieber
and Schaller, 2014). In preliminary experiments
different shooting hormones viz. BAP, TDZ, BAP/
TDZ in combination with auxins (IAA, NAA) were
tested (data not shown); all treatments gave low
regeneration frequency and shoot development,
except for BAP. BAP has been the phytohormone
of choice for shoot regeneration, especially for
leguminous crops such as chickpea (Amer et al. 2018;
Singh et al. 2022), urdbean (Singh et al. 2020) and
soybean (Raza et al. 2017) and similar observations
were documented in mungbean.
Though at 1 mg L-1 BAP shoot regeneration
frequency and multiple shoots obtained were higher
in both explants, but early initiation of shoot and root
with increased shoot length was observed at lower
concentration of BAP (0.5 mg L-1). Contrastingly, at
2.0 mg L-1 BAP multiple micro shoots formed with
large callus at base, but these shoots failed to attain
enough length and form complete rooted plantlet,
on the other hand, they gradually converted into
dead callus. It was thus observed that higher
BAP concentrations suppress shoot development
affecting further growth and development.
Both the explants responded to BAP fortified
medium, however the response varied between the
explants, with dose of BAP and also in comparison
to control (basal media) within 10- 15 days.
Dwarfing of shoots, multiple micro shoots at the
surface of callus, callusing (hard and blackening in
older cultures), delayed rooting and smaller spindly
leaves at higher BAP concentration was recorded.
As evident from table 1, percent regeneration
was significantly higher in both explants for BAP
at 0.5 and 1.0 mg L-1. Also, the number of shoots
regenerated per explant using DCN as explant was
significantly higher at these doses in comparison
to BAP at 2 mg L-1. However, at 1 mg L-1 BAP, the
response was relatively better. On the other hand,
a significantly higher number of shoots regenerated
per explant at 1mg L-1 BAP using embryonic axis as
choice explant. The maximum shoot length attained
per explant was, however, higher at 0.5 mg L-1 BAP
in both explants tested.
BAP stimulates the development of axillary
shoots but simultaneously inhibits root formation.
At higher doses, BAP can accumulate in plant
tissue  and in contrast to other cytokinins (kinetin,
2iP or zeatin), BAP conjugates are very stable,
and exert a prolonged inhibitory effect on rooting
(Podwyszynska, 2003). Complete regeneration
response was affected by concentration and duration
of BAP exposure, as explants turned into huge
brown color calli at high dose for longer period.
Hence, optimization of culture duration on medium
supplemented with 1 mg L-1 BAP was done for both
explants by sub culturing them for different days
(20, 30, 40) (Fig. 1 and 2). Explants with primary
shoots were subsequently transferred to medium
 Ayushi Tripathi et al. : Investigating the in vitro regeneration potential of mungbean
Fig. 1. Effect of BAP 1.0 mg L-1 upon shoot differentiation for different time periods from DCN explant: A-0 days, B-20
days, C-30 days, D-40 days, E-Control after 10 days.
Fig. 2. Effect of BAP 1.0 mg L-1 upon shoot differentiation for different time periods from EA explant A- 0 days, B- 20
days, C- 30 days, D- 40 days, E- Control after 10 days.
devoid of any phytohormone for proliferation and
elongation of the shoots.
Significant differences were observed in
response of explants for multiple shoot regeneration
varying with the duration for which they were
kept on MS supplemented with BAP at 1 mg L-1
(Table 2). Shoot differentiation from both explants
was obtained post 20 days of culture on BAP, but
maximum number of shoots per explant with DCN
(5.52±0.30) and EA (6.97±0.32) was recorded at 30
days. However, when kept for 40 days, stunting
of the proliferating shoots was prominent in both
explants as evident from shorter shoot lengths in
DCN (1.92±0.10) and EA (2.09±0.34). The callus
growth from epicotyl region eventually seized
growth of the meristematic zones of explant and
ultimately turned into a dead mass of cells. The
average shoot length significantly decreased upon
increasing BAP treatment and the maximum shoot
length was recorded in both explants at 20 days
post culture. These results are in accordance with
previous studies; optimum duration of 30 days in
BAP was reported in mungbean cultivar ML267
(Yadav et al. 2010).
Rhizogenesis was also affected with increasing
durations of explant in 1 mg L-1 BAP. It was
observed that while cultures kept for 30 days of
BAP treatment showed root initiation within 15
days, explants exposed to BAP for 40 days showed
first signs of rooting after ca. 30 days.
201
Earlier reports of in vitro studies in mungbean
(Hoque et al. 2009; Himabindu et al. 2014; Sakthi et al.
2022) revealed that DCN was choice of explant for
establishing regeneration system. This preference is
because mature cotyledons, regenerate shoots from
the proximal side i.e., from the preexisting meristem
or through the proliferation of shoots around pre-
existing buds whereas, with immature cotyledons,
regeneration of shoot buds obtained from all over
the surface of cotyledons (Yadav et al. 2010). Shoot
differentiation from DCN occurred directly from
epidermal and subepidermal cells without callus
formation at the nodal region. Fig. 3 depicts the
complete regeneration system in cv. Samrat from
DCN at BAP 1 mg L-1 for 30 days as it gave higher
no. of shoots with proper shoot elongation and root
induction among all 3 concentrations and durations
of BAP tested in the cultivars experimented with.
Higher rate of shoot regeneration was obtained
from embryonal axis attached to the adjacent part
of cotyledon than with DCN at all treatments, this
might be due to the exposed and highly proliferating
preexisting and predetermined meristem, as soon as
it gets slight induction of BAP, cell division boosts
at tip and creates a zone of micro shoots (Fig. 4 d).
The presence of several shoot primordia are likely
to be originated from the meristematic structures
which commenced by cell division and helps in
formation of direct shoot from explants tissue from
one or few cells that actually originated from single
cell (Broertjes and Keen, 1980; Hansen and wright,
202 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Fig. 3. Stages of regeneration from double cotyledonary node (DCN) on MSB5 with 1.0 mg L-1 BAP. a. Aseptically
germinated seedlings in MSB5 media. b- DCN explant from 4 day old seedlings, c- After 10 days of inoculation MSB5+BAP
(1.0mg L-1), d- After 20 days of inoculation MSB5+BAP (1.0 mg L-1), e- Shoot proliferation after 30 days in BAP and 10
days in MSA and segregation of shoots from single explant, f- Root initiation in MSB5+ IAA 1.0 mgl-,, g- Establishment of
plantlets in soil after primary hardening.

Fig. 4. Stages of regeneration from embryonic axis (EA) explant on MS with 1.0 mg L-1 BAP. a. Embryonic axis attached
with cotyledon. b- After 10 days of inoculation in MSB5 + BAP (1.0 mg L-1) c- After 20 days in same media. d- Shoot
proliferation after 30 days in BAP and 10 days in MSA. e- Shoot elongation and root initiation in MSB5. f- Rooted shoots
from single explant. g- Establishment of plantlets in soil after primary hardening.

Table 1. Effect of different concentrations of BAP on multiple shoot regeneration from DCN and EA explants
MSB5 + BAP % regeneration* No. of Shoots / Explant Shoots length (cm) (Mean ± SE)
(mg L-1) (Mean ± SE) (Mean ± SE)
DCN EA DCN EA DCN EA
0.5 95.8±1.16 a 97.4±0.89 a 3.73±0.29 ab 4.12±0.23 b 4.62±0.16 a 5.25±0.18 a
1 97.8±0.32 a 98.8±0.18 a 5.24±0.37a 6.45±0.37 a 3.73±0.14b 4.47±0.13 b
2 89.3±0.66 b
90.0±0.20 b 3.33±0.17 b
4.43±0.27 b 2.10±0.10 c 2.51±0.20 c
Data represent mean ± SE of three independent experiments
Means followed by the same letter under different treatments within a column are not significantly different (P<0.05) from each other
 Ayushi Tripathi et al. : Investigating the in vitro regeneration potential of mungbean 203

Table 2. Effect of duration of (BAP) 1 mgl -1on shoot regeneration from DCN and EA

Culture DCN EA
duration in Shoot number/Explant Shoots length (cm) Days to Shoot number/Explant Shoots length Days to rooting
days (Mean ± SE) (Mean ± SE) rooting (days) (Mean ± SE) (cm) (days)
(Mean ± SE)
20 4.07±0.20 b 4.26±0.11 a 10-12 5.02±0.34b 5.03±0.31 a ≥10
30 5.52±0.30 a 3.77±0.11 b 15-20 6.97±0.32 a 4.00±0.32 b 10-15
40 3.07±0.15 c 1.92±0.10 c 25-30 3.49±0.18 c 2.09±0.34 c 20-25
Data represent mean ± SE of three independent experiments
Means followed by the same letter under different treatments within a column are not significantly different (P < 0.05) from each other
Table 3. Effect of BAP on self -induction of roots from DCN and EA (on basal media)

Days of BAP exposure % of Rooting (Mean ± SE)

DCN EA
20 81.0±0.80 a
88.3±0.46 a
30 64.7±0.77 b
76.0±1.14 b
40 29.2±0.49 c 50.0±1.06 c
Data represent mean ± SE of three independent experiments
Means followed by the same letter under different treatments within a column are not significantly different (P < 0.05) from each other

Table 4. Effect of auxin on root length from DCN and EA derived shoots after 50-55 days of culture initiation

Media Root Length (cm) after durations of BAP treatment

(Mean ± SE)
20 days 30 days 40 days
DCN EA DCN EA DCN EA
MSB5 5.87±0.18 b
6.55±0.20 b
4.07±0.13b
5.78±0.20 b
3.38±0.14 b
4.07±0.17b
IAA 1mg L-1 7.14±0.36 a 8.48±0.51 a 6.64±0.41a 7.09±0.64 a 5.04±0.24 a 6.34±0.50 a
Data represent mean ± SE of three independent experiments
Means followed by the same letter under different treatments within a column are not significantly different (P < 0.05) from each other

1999). Present experiment reveals that embryonic
axis (EA) produced a significantly higher number
of shoots per explant, hence, it is the most amiable
explant for regeneration (~98%) in cv. Samrat. Also,
in vitro regenerated shoots from EA explant took
relatively lesser days to rhizogenesis in comparison
to those regenerated from the DCN explant (Fig. 4).
Rhizogenesis and acclimatization
In vitro root initiation is highly dependent on
type of explant, media supplement and the duration
after which explants are exposed to rooting media.
A significantly higher root induction percentage
(88.3%) was recorded in embryonic axis derived
shoots from 20 days of BAP treatment without any
auxin supplement followed by 64.77 % from 30 days
culture and 29.20 % from 40 days culture (Table 3).
A similar trend was observed in rooting from shoots
regenerated using DCN explants this decrease in
rooting percentage with increasing culture duration
indicates that presence of a cytokinin for longer
duration creates hindrance in root induction.
Also, de novo rhizogenesis was observed in
explants placed on basal media alone without any
phytohormone supplement. Here, rooting initiated
within 10 days on culture, the roots formed were
relatively robust and revealed formation of lateral
roots. These results validated the detrimental effect
on rooting of explant on long exposures to BAP.
Hence optimization of dose of shoot multiplication
hormone and duration of its exposure was essential.
A similar observation was recorded for root
length of regenerated shoots from both EA and
DCN; there was a decrease in average root length
with an increase in duration of exposure of explants
to BAP in shoot regeneration media. The trend
was similar in both explants under both rooting
conditions viz. in absence of rooting hormone and
presence of IAA at 1 mg L-1 (Table 4). The highest
average root length was recorded in explants
exposed to BAP for 20 days and with IAA as rooting
hormone in both explants DCN (7.14 ± 0.36) and EA
(8.48 ± 0.51). Overall, the maximum root length was
obtained in EA explants exposed to 20 days of BAP
and to IAA in rooting media.
The rooted plantlets were gently taken out
from the culture vessels, washed and transferred to
plastic cups containing sterile soilrite and covered
with polythene bags to ensure high humidity and
204 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
placed in controlled environment. After 2 weeks,
the polybags were gradually removed and plantlets
were transferred to the greenhouse. Subsequently,
the plantlets were established in larger pots. The
percentage of successful hardening recorded was
72-80%.
CONCLUSION
The present study demonstrates a reproducible
protocol for in vitro plantlet regeneration
in mungbean cultivar Samrat using dicotyledonary
node and embryonic axis as explants. An increased
regenerative capacity of EA explants by adventitious
shoot formation in 1.0 mg L-1 BAP, its subsequent
elongation and rhizogenesis was demonstrated.
It is also proposed that in vitro multiple shoot
regeneration using EA as explants can pave way
for a genotype independent regeneration system
as EA is largely a meristematic tissue amenable
for both in vitro regeneration and possibly genetic
transformation studies using contemporary
techniques like genome editing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are thankful to ICAR-Indian Institute
of Pulses Research for providing genetic resources and
research facility for the study and to Amity Centre for
Centre for Plant and Environment Biotechnology, Amity
Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar
Pradesh for the invaluable support rendered throughout.
Thanks are also due to Mr Ajeet Pratap Singh, Mr Ravi
Ranjan Singh and Mr Sudheer Bajpai for maintaining
culture conditions and for aiding in times of need.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no competing financial/personal
interest related to this study.
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 207-211, 2022
Meena et al. : Cluster Frontline Demonstrations in Enhancement of Production 207

Cluster frontline demonstrations in enhancement of production and

productivity of green gram
Rupesh Kumar Meena, Bhupender Singh, Kuladip Prakash Shinde,
Ravi Kumar Meena and Seema Chawla

Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan ABSTRACT

Agricultural University,
Bikaner (Rajasthan)
E-mail: rupeshkumaragro@gmail.com
*
Received: January 14, 2021
Accepted: October 20, 2022
Handling Editor:
Dr Amarender Reddy,
ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad.
One hundred Cluster Frontline demonstrations (CFLDs) on green gram variety
MH-421 in an area of 40 hectares during kharif season were conducted to reveal
that an average yield of 10.90 q/ha from demonstration plot, as compared to
local check (833 kg/ha) was 30.85 per cent more in yield. The technology gap,
extension gap and technology index were 111 kg/ha, 257 kg/ha and 9.21%,
respectively. Further, mean results of the study revealed that additional
average yield (257 kg/ha.), additional return (Rs. 15474), effective gain (Rs.
13895) and benefit cost ratio of 3.67 from one hectare was obtained from the
demonstrations as compared to local check. Results of the demonstrations had
shown that the use of proven technologies resulted in higher production and
productivity of green gram crop.

Key Words: FLD, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Green gram and Yield.

INTRODUCTION Enhancing production is a challenge for researchers,

India is the largest producer, consumer and
importer of pulses (Raj et al., 2013). Among pulses,
green gram (Vigna radiata), which is commonly
known as Moong, is a third important pulse crop
after chickpea and pigeon pea in our country and
accounts for 6.44 percent of the total production
of pulses. It is grown in our country during kharif,
but it is also grown in spring or summer season
in irrigated northern plains and as a rabi crop in
southern and south-eastern parts, where the winter
is quite mild. Being a leguminous crop, it has the
capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen and add
substantial amount of organic matter in to the soil.
It also helps in preventing soil erosion. It assumes
special significance in crop intensification and
diversification, conservation of natural resources
and sustainability of production system. The green
gram production among pulses was 12.21 lakh
metric tonne from an area of 24.65 lakh hectare
with productivity of 4.95 q/ha. In Rajasthan in the
year 2018-19. Whereas, in Sriganganagar district
total production of kharif green gram was 44,758
metric tons from an area of 1, 01,921 hectare with
productivity of 439 kg/ha.
Even though green gram production increased
significantly during the last decade, productivity
in Sri Ganganagar district (439 kg/ha) was lower
than most of the major pulse producing countries.
extension agencies and policy makers.
The Government of India had established a
“Technology Mission on Pulses” in the year 1991-92
with the objective to enhance the pulse production
and productivity. The concept of front-line
demonstrations was put forth under this mission.
These demonstrations are conducted under the
close supervision of scientists of Krishi Vigyan
Kendras, SAUs and their Regional Research Stations
with the objective to demonstrate newly released
crop production and protection technologies
and management practices at the farmers’ field
under different agroclimatic regions and farming
situations along with capacity building of partner
farmers. Through this practice, the newly improved
innovative technology having higher production
potential under the specific cropping system can
be popularized and simultaneously feedback from
the farmers may be generated on the demonstrated
technology (Singh et al., 2012).
The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sriganganagar
was mandatory entrusted with the responsibility
of conducting CFLD in Sriganganagar district of
Rajasthan. The main emphasis was to maximize
production per unit area by using high yielding
varieties of green gram in conjunction with the
package and practices. Keeping this in view
cluster frontline demonstrations were organized
208 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
in participatory mode to enhance the productivity,
economic returns by analyzing difference between
demonstrated packages of practices vis-a-vis
practices followed by the local farmers in green
gram crop.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The present study was carried out by Krishi
Vigyan Kendra, Padampur, Sriganganagar
(Rajasthan) at the farmer’s fields of operational
area of Krishi Vigyan Kendra during kharif season
of 2019 and 2020. Sriganganagar district is situated
in the north-western part of India between 28.40 to
30.30 N latitude and 72.3o to 75.3oE longitude and
at 175.6 meters height above mean sea level. As
per the agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan it has been
designated as Irrigated North Western Plain Zone-
1b. Geographical Zone- 1b forms North West part
of ‘Thar’ desert and comprised of arid and semi-
arid. All 100 cluster front line demonstrations in
40-hectare area were conducted on green gram crop
var. MH-421. Each demonstration was conducted
on an area of 0.4 ha, and 0.4 ha area adjacent to the
demonstration plot was kept as a farmers practice.
In case of local check plots, traditional practices were
followed in existing varieties like IPM 02-3, SML-
668, local by the farmers. The package of proven
technologies like improved high yielding variety,
proper seed rate, line sowing, seed treatment,
fertilizer management, plant protection measure
and whole package were applied in demonstrations.
In general, soils of the area under study were loamy
sand and good in fertility status. The spacing was
30 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants in
the rows. Hand weeding within lines was done at
30-35 days after sowing. Seed sowing was done in
first week of July with seed rate of 16 kg/ha. Other
management practices were applied as per the
package of practice for kharif crops of Agro climatic
Zone Ib Sriganganagar.
Partner farmers were selected through
their participation and feedback received during
the survey, and training programmes. All the
participating farmers were trained to follow the
improved practices of green gram cultivation.
Regular visits to the demonstrations field by KVK
scientists ensured proper guidance to the partner
farmers. While demonstrating the technologies in
the farmers’ field, the scientist observed the factors
contributing higher crop production, field constrains
of production and thereby generate primary
production data from both the demonstration as
well as local check plot of partner farmers through
personal contacts with the help of well-structured
interview schedule and feedback information.
The primary data were collected and the finally
extension gap, technology gap and technology index
were worked out suggested by Raj et al., (2013) as
per formula given below:
% increase in yield = (Yield of improved technology–Yield
of farmer practice/Yield of farmer practice ×100
Technology gap (kg/ha.) = Potential yield (kg/ha) -Yield
of improved technology (kg/ha.)
Extension gap (kg/ha.) = Yield of improved technology
(kg/ha) -Yield under farmer practice (kg/ha.)
(Potential yield- Yield of improved technology)
Technology index = -------------------------------X 100.
Potential yield
Additional cost (Rs./ha.)=Improved technology cost (Rs.
/ha.) - Farmer practice cost (Rs. /ha.)
Additional return (Rs./ha.) = Improved technology (Rs./
ha.) - Farmer practice return (Rs. /ha.)
Effective gain (Rs./ha.) = Additional return (Rs. /ha.) -
Additional cost (`/ha.)
Yield gap minimized (kg/ha.) =Demonstration yield (kg/
ha.) = District/State/Potential yield (kg/ha.)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Difference between technological intervention and
farmers practice
Before conducting cluster frontline
demonstrations at the farmer’s field, participatory
rural appraisal was undertaken. Based on this,
major gap were observed between technological
intervention and farmer’s practice of green gram
cultivation in Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan.
Table 1 reveals that under the demonstrated plot
recommended improved high yielding variety, seed
treatment by bio-fertilizers and fungicide, herbicide
and insecticide for plant protection measure were
given to the farmers by the KVK and all other
package of practices were timely performed by the
farmer itself under the supervision of KVK scientist.
Under farmers practice they generally sow seeds of
green gram var. IPM 02-3 and SML-668 at low seed
rate without treatment. Farmers selected under FLD
programme on green gram were provided with the
seed of YVM resistance green gram var. MH-421.
Similar findings have also been observed by Singh
et al. (2012) and Raj et al. (2013).
 Meena et al. : Cluster Frontline Demonstrations in Enhancement of Production 209

Table 1. Difference between technological intervention and farmer practice for green gram crop in Sriganganagar district
of Rajasthan.

Technology Technological intervention Farmer practice Gap%

Component
Farming situation Irrigated Irrigated No gap
Variety Improved variety MH-421 Local, SML 668 and IPM 02-3 Partial
Time of sowing First fortnight of July 15 June to 1 July Partial
or
First fortnight of July
Seed rate 16 kg/ha 12-15 kg/ha Farmers use less seed rate
Sowing Method Line sowing through seed cum ferti drill Line sowing through seed drill Partial
Seed treatment Seed treatment with Bavistin 3g/kg seed and Partial seed treatment Partial
Rhizobium & PSB 600 g /ha seed
Weed management Weed management by using herbicide Rarely weed management by using Partial
Imazethapyr 10% SL @40g a.i./ha as a postherbicide or One hand weeding at 30
emergence DAS
Nutrient Nitrogen 20 kg/ha and Phosphorus 40 kg/ha 60 kg DAP (11 kg N and 28 kg P / Less dose of fertilizers
Management ha.) or than recommendation
87 kg DAP (16 Kg N and 40 kg P /ha)
or
32 Kg phosphorus through SSP
Disease management Spray of Streptocycline @ 20g and Copper No application or Over dose/un- Partial
(Leaf spot & BLB) Oxychloride 50% WP @ 1.2 kg/ha recommended brands of insecticides and
fungicide
Insect pest Dimethoate 30% EC @ 1 L/ha (For Sucking Based on availability in local market
management pest and Quinalphos 25EC@1 L/ha for Pod or (Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 % w/w. @ Partial
Sucking pest and Pod borer 0.33 ml/lit. of water)
borer (Lambda–Cyhalothrin 250 ml/ha.)

Yield attributing traits Table 4 reveals that the maximum average

yield of green gram through demonstrations was
Table 2 reveals that under demonstration the recorded (1184 kg/ha) during kharif 2019 and
number of pods per plant was 34.7 and 31.5 as minimum average yield was recorded in kharif
compared to local check 28.4 and 26.3 during the year 2020 (995 kg/ha) and the average yield of two years
2019 and 2020, respectively. There was an increase was recorded 1090 kg/ha over local check (833
of 22.2 and 19.8% in number of pods per plant under kg/ha). The average increase of yield was 30.85
demonstrations. The average number of pods per per cent recorded during two years of study. The
plant in demonstrations was 33.10 and 27.35 under higher yield of green gram could be attributed due
farmers practice, thus there were 20.98% more pods to adoption of improved variety with improved
per plant under demonstrations. Similarly, number production practices of green gram. These results
of seeds per pod in demonstrations was 10.4 and 10.1 corroborate the findings of Reager et al. (2020) and
as compared to local check 10.0 and 9.7 during year Meena et al. (2020) in green gram.
2019 and 2020, respectively. There was an increase
of 4.0 and 4.1% in number of seeds per pod under Extension gap
demonstrations. The average number of seeds per
pod in demonstrations was 10.25 and under farmers Evaluation of the findings of study (Table 4)
practice seeds per pod were 9.85. These results stated that the extension gap ranging between 204
confirm the findings of Meena and Singh (2017). to 309 kg/ha was found between demonstrated
technology and local check and on an average basis
Yield the extension gap was 257 kg/ha. The extension
Table 2. Yield attributing traits of green gram under demonstration vis a vis local check
Year Number of pods/plant Seeds/Pod
Demonstration Local check % increase Demonstration Local check % increase
Kharif -2019 34.7 28.4 22.2 10.4 10.0 4.0
Kharif -2020 31.5 26.3 19.8 10.1 9.7 4.1
Mean 33.10 27.35 20.98 10.25 9.85 4.06
210 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Table 3. Comparison of yield of green gram (Average of 2019-2021)

Yield (q/ha.) National* State** District** Potential Demonstration Farmers Yield Gap minimized (q/ha)
practices D S P
536 554 439 1200 1090 833 651 536 -110
% Increase 30.85
*Anonymous (2019), **Anonymous (2018-19); D: District; S: State; P: Potential

Table 4. Production, technology gap, extension gap and technology index in green gram under CFLD.
Season & Variety Area No. of Potential Demonstrations Yield of (%) Technology Extension Technology
Year (ha.) FLDs Yield (kg/ Yield (kg/ha) local Increase gap gap index
ha) Check over local (kg/ha) (kg/ha) (%)
Max. Min. Avg. (kg/ha) check
Kharif -2019 20 50 1200 1600 750 1184 875 3531 16 309 1.33
MH-421
Kharif -2020 20 50 1200 1325 665 995 791 2579 205 204 17.08
Mean - - 1090 833 30.85 111 257 9.21

Table 5. Economic analysis of cluster front line demonstrations on green gram at farmer field.
Crop Average Cost of Additional Average Net
Average Gross
cultivation Additional return in Return Benefit-Cost Ratio
Return (Rs. /ha) Effective
Season and (Rs. /ha) cost in demo. (Rs. /ha)
gain
year demo. (Rs. /ha.)
Local Local Local (Rs. /ha) Local
Demo. (Rs. /ha.) Demo. Demo.
Check Check Demo. Check Check

Green Kharif -2019 15886 14712 1174 69180 50750 18430 53294 36038 17256 4.35 3.45
gram Kharif -2020 20584 18600 1984 61282 48765 12517 40698 30165 10533 2.98 2.62
Mean 18235 16656 1579 65231 49758 15474 46996 33102 13895 3.67 3.04

Cost A1: All actual expenses in cash and kind incurred in production by owner

gap was highest (309 kg/ha) during 2019 and
lowest (204 kg/ha) during 2020. Such gap might
be attributed to adoption of improved technology
especially high yielding varieties sown with the
help of seed cum ferti-drill with balanced nutrition,
weed management and appropriate plant protection
measure in demonstrations. During the study
period emphasizes the need to educate the farmer
through various means for adoption of improved
production technologies to reverse the trend of
wide extension gap.
package of practices. The difference in technology
gap during two years of demonstration is due
to better performance of recommended varieties
with different interventions and more feasibility
of recommended technologies during the course
of study and some extent to dissimilarity in soil
fertility status and adverse weather conditions.
Similar findings were recorded by (Katare et al.,
2011 and Singh et al., 2012).
Technology index

Technology gap The technology index showed the feasibility

The technological gap in adoption of green
gram production technologies under demonstration
and local farmer practices were measured. The
study exhibited a wide technology gap during
demonstrations. The trend of technology gap
(ranging between 16-205 kg/ha) reflects the farmer’s
cooperation in carrying out such demonstrations
with encouraging results in subsequent years.
The technology gap was highest (205 kg/ha) in
demonstrations of MH-421 during 2020 and lowest
(16 kg/ha) during 2019. The average technology
gap of two-year demonstrations was 111 kg/ha
shows the potential of improved varieties and
of the evolved technology at the farmer’s fields.
The lower value of technology index the more is
the feasibility of technology and higher technology
index reflected the inadequate transfer of proven
technology to growers and insufficient extension
services. As such fluctuation in technology index
(ranging between 22.73 to 34.09 per cent) during the
study period in certain region, may be attributed
to the dissimilarity in soil fertility status, adverse
weather condition, insect-pests and disease attack.
These findings are in conformity of the results of
study carried out by Meena and Singh (2017) and
Dayanand et.al. (2012).
 Meena et al. : Cluster Frontline Demonstrations in Enhancement of Production
Economic analysis
Different variables like seed, fertilizer,
biofertilizers and pesticides were considered
as cash input for the demonstration as well as
farmer practice and inputs and outputs prices
of commodities prevailed during the study of
demonstration were taken for calculating the cost
of cultivation, gross return, net return and benefit:
cost ratio (Table 5). On an average additional
investment of Rs. 1579 per ha was made under
demonstration. The cultivation of green gram under
demonstrations gave maximum net return (Rs.
36038/ha.) during the year 2019 due to higher grain
yield. The higher additional returns and effective
gain obtained under demonstration could be due
to improved technology and non-monetary factors,
timely operations of crop cultivation and scientific
monitoring. The lowest and highest benefit: cost
ratio of 2.98 and 4.35 in 2020 and 2019, respectively
(Table 5) depends on produced grain yield and MSP
sale rates. Overall average benefit: cost ratio was
obtained 3.67. The results confirm the findings of
Dayanand et.al. (2012) and Meena and Singh (2017).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The financial support to meet the expense
towards frontline demonstrations by Department
of Agricultural and Farmers Welfare, Government
of India under National Food Security Mission
(NFSM)-Pulses scheme through its nodal agency
ICAR-ATARI, Jodhpur, Rajasthan is gratefully
acknowledged.
REFERENCES
Anonymous. 2018-19. 4th Advance estimates of area,
production and yield of green gram. Agriculture
statistics, Department of Agriculture, Govt. of
Rajasthan.
211
Anonymous 2019. Agricultural Statistics at a Glance.
Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture
and Farmers Welfare Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare Directorate of
Economics and Statistic.
Dayanand, Verma RK and Mahta, SM. 2012. Boosting
the mustard production through front line
demonstrations. Indian Research Journal of Extension
Education 12:121-123.
Katare S, Pandey SK and Mustafa, M. 2011. Yield gap
analysis of Rapeseed-mustard through front line
demonstrations. Agriculture Update 6 (2): 5-7.
Meena, ML and Singh Dheeraj. 2017. Technological and
extension yield gaps in green gram in Pali district of
Rajasthan, India. Legume Research 40 (1): 187-190.
Raj AD, Yadav V and Rathod J H. 2013. Impact of Front-
Line Demonstrations (FLD) on the Yield of Pulses.
International Journal of Scientific and Research
Publications 3 (9): 1-4.
Reager ML, Kumar Upender, Mitharwal, BS, Chaturvedi,
BS. 2020. Productivity and sustainability of green
gram as Influenced by improved technology of CFLD
under hyper arid partially irrigated zone of Rajasthan.
International Journal of Current Microbiology and
Applied Science 9 (5): 1978-1986.
Samui, SK, Maitra, S, Roy, DK, Mandal, AK and Saha,
D. 2000. Evaluation of front line demonstration on
groundnut. Journal of the Indian Society Coastal
Agricultural Research. 18 (2): 180-183.
Singh G, Sharma K, Dhaliwal NS, and Singh J. 2012.
Boosting Moong productivity through frontline
demonstrations. Rajasthan Journal Extension
Education 20: 32-34.
Singh J, Dhillon BS, Astha and Singh P. 2012. Front line
demonstration – An effective tool for increasing the
productivity of summer Moong in Amritsar district of
Punjab. An Asian Journal of Soil Science 7(2): 315-318.
Venkatta kumar, R Ramanarao SV, Padmaiah M and
Madhuri P. 2010. Production constraints and
information needs of growers in Andhra Pradesh.
Agriculture Extension Review pp. 21-24.
 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 212-216, 2022
212 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Performance evaluation of improved cultivars of pigeonpea under cluster

front line demonstration in changing climatic condition of Samastipur
District, Bihar
Sanjay Kumar*1, Shailesh Kumar2, Bharati Upadhaya, RK Tiwari,Ranjan Kumar3,
Vidyapati Choudhary and Nisha Rani

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central

1,2,3
Agricultural University, Pusa,
Samastipur, Bihar;
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Birauli,
Samastipur,
*Email: s.kumar@rpcau.ac.in
Received: June 13, 2022
Accepted: October 04, 2022
Handling Editor:
Dr. Amarender Reddy,
ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
ABSTRACT
A study was conducted for two years using P-9 and NDA-1, new cultivars
of pigeonpea, in an area of 20 and 10 ha for 50 & 25 clusters, respectively
with the objective to demonstrate the potential of improved technologies for
pulse production. The improved technologies consist of modern varieties,
seed treatment with Bavistin/Rhizobium, balanced fertilizer application and
integrated pest management. These Cluster Frontline Demonstration (CFLD)
studies recorded higher average grain yield (17.49 and 16.43 q/ha) as compared
to average yield obtained from farmer’s practice (10.20 and 11.45 q/ha) which
computed to increase in yield by 41.68 % and 30.31% during the years under
observation, respectively. The technology gap (q/ha), extension gap (q/ha) and
technology index (%) were 2.51, 7.29 and 12.55 during 2016-17 and 3.75, 4.98
and 17.85 in 2017-18 respectively. The significant increase in yield is attributed
to introduction of new varieties in cluster mode. This mode facilitated better
crop management resulting in better crop production.

Key words: B:C ratio, CFLD, Pigeon Pea, Technology index, Yield

INTRODUCTION
Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan L.) is an affordable
and major vegetarian source of protein, vitamins
and important amino acids for large population to
support their dietary requirement in India. Being
a legume crop, pigeon pea enriches soil through
symbiotic nitrogen fixation (Kumar et al. 2018). The
major pigeon pea growing states are Maharashtra,
Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar and
Rajasthan contributing 88.20 % in the total pigeon
pea production basket. At present, pigeon pea is
cultivated in about 4.0 m ha with more than 3.5 m
tones production with average productivity from
850-900 kg/ha (Singh, 2020). Acreage under pigeon
pea in Bihar did not increase much in previous
years. The area and production in Bihar are 0.22
lakh ha and 0.34 lakh tones respectively. In order
to address this short coming the Government of
India has devised a programme to promote pulse
cultivation in cluster mode under National Food
Security Mission through KVKs.
Pigeon pea is kharif crop of Samastipur, Bihar
that is generally grown in small and marginal land
holdings with minimal inputs and mostly grown
in rainfed condition. In addition to it, many of the
farmers still use their own saved old seeds of the
variety that are grown year after year and that too
through traditional practice of broadcasting, resulting
in sub-optimal plant population and low yields.
The main objective of CFLD was to demonstrate
production technology and its management
practices on farmer’s field under different farming
situations. These demonstrations were carried out
under the supervision of agricultural scientists
and feedbacks from the different farmers were
to be generated on the demonstrated technology.
Keeping the importance of CFLD the KVK,
Samastipur conducted demonstrations on pigeon
pea at farmer’s field under irrigated system. The
present study has been undertaken to increase the
per capita availability of pulses and popularization
of new production technology amongst the farming
community for pigeon pea.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was carried out in operational area
of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Samastipur during 2016-
17 and 2017-18. The total area allotted by ATARI,
Patna for this demonstration were 20 ha and 10
ha during 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively. The
wheat harvested fields were marked from selected
villages/clusters (each of 0.4 ha) of the district
 Sanjay Kumar et al. : Performance evaluation of improved cultivars of Pigeonpea
(Table 1). The soil was sandy loam/loam in texture.
Soil samples were collected from different farmer’s
field of the village/district (Table 2). The soil sample
were air dried, crushed and passed through 2 mm
sieve and initial soil properties were determined as
per standard methods (Jackson, 1973). The critical
inputs were supplied to the farmers by the KVK,
other inputs like balanced fertilizers, additional
agro-chemicals, weedicides, irrigation facility were
managed by farmers himself as per recommendation
of scientists of KVK. The pigeon pea varieties Pusa-
9 and NDA-1 were sown during third week of
July in each year using a seed rate of 20 kg/ha in
furrow at 60 cm row spacing and 20 cm plant to
plant distance. It was maintained by thinning at 2
weeks after sowing. Before sowing seed was treated
with Bavistin (2 gm/kg) and inoculated with bio-
fertilizer (Rhizobium and Phosphate solubilizing
bacteria) @ 20 g/kg seed. Then the treated seeds
were dried in shade for an hour, there after seed
was used for sowing. The full doses of fertilizer
were applied at the time of sowing. Recommended
package of practices were followed for raising the
crop along with need-based weed control and plant
protection measures. The crop received 1067.7 mm
of mean rainfall during the crop growth period.
Many farmers grow this crop by their own methods
that is kept as local broadcasting standard check but
farmers should adopt crop rotation. The compost
is applied once in three years by the farmers. The
soil of farmer’s field was medium in organic carbon,
available nitrogen (except Samastipur, Kalyanpur
and Dalsinghsarai blocks), available phosphorous
(except Samastipur, Shivajianagar and Ujiyapur
blocks) and available potassium in Samastipur
block. The available potassium was low in other
blocks. However, the available phosphorus was
high in Samastipur, Shivajinagar and Ujiyarpur. All
the farmers were trained for improved package of
practices through training programme. Materials
for the present study with respect to CFLD and
farmers practices are given in Table 3. At Samastipur
and Shivajinagars blocks (variety NDA-1) the plant
height, days to 50% flowering, no. of branches/
plant, leaf area, no. of pods/plant, pod length, no. of
grains/pods and 100 seed weight were recorded at
harvest whereas, at other blocks data on only grain
were recorded.
In case of local check plots, existing practices
being adopted by farmers were followed. Regular
visit by the KVK scientists to demonstration fields
were ensured to guide the farmers. These visits
were also helped to collect feedback from different
213
farmers for further improvement in research and
extension programme. Field days, awareness camps
and group meetings were also organized at the
demonstration plots to provide the opportunities for
vicinity farmers to witness themselves the benefits
of these demonstrated technologies the improved
technology included quality seed, seed treatment
and maintenance of optimum plant population
etc. Recommended weed control measure and
irrigations were applied according to requirement
of the crops. The crop was harvested at perfect
maturity with suitable method. Gross return was
calculated by multiplying yield into prevalent local
market price of the crop obtain by the farmers.
For cost estimating the Cost A1 has been
followed incorporating input cost, the sum of
expenditure on land preparation, planting method,
fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide, herbicide, irrigation
cost, labour harvesting cost etc. were calculated
from each demonstration (Reddy and Reddy, 2010).
Further, net return and benefit-cost ratio were
calculated from these data.
To estimate the technology gap, extension gap
and technology index following formula used were
(Samui et al., 2000).
Technology gap = Potential yield – Demonstration
yield,
Extension gap = Demonstration yield – Farmers
yield,
Technology index = Technology gap /Potential
yield x 100.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The result of 75 demonstrations conducted
during kharif 2016-17 and 2017-18 at farmers’ field
in Samastipur district presented in Table 4, as per
the proforma prescribed by ICAR Agricultural
Technology Application Research Institute
(ATARI), Patna (Zone-IV). Results indicated that
use of high yield varieties, balance use of fertilizers
and micronutrients and control of insect and disease
during 2016-17 motivated the famers to take up
pigeon pea during 2017-18. The data revealed that
the CFLD reflects good impact over the farming
communities.
A comparison of productivity levels between
local check and demonstrated varieties are shown
in Table 4. The grain yield of pigeon pea obtained
during 2016-17 and 2017-18 for demonstration
were (17.49 and 16.43 q/ha) as compared to grain
obtained from farmers field (10.20 and 11.45 q/
214 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
ha) respectively. Increase in grain yield from
demonstration fields were calculated at 71.47% and
43.49% over that of from local check plots during the
2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively. Similar findings
have also been observed by Sandhu and Dhaliwal
(2016), Jain (2016) and Keshavareddy et al. (2018)
where results from demonstrations plots observed
to be higher in summer green gram and pigeon pea
crop. The major differences were observed between
demonstration package and farmers’ practices are
introduction of seed treatment, method and time of
sowing, fertilizer doses and method of its application
and plant protection measures. It is evident from the
results that the yield of demonstration was found
better than the local check (farmer’s practice) under
the similar environmental conditions. Farmers
were motivated by results of demonstration and
agro-technologies applied in the cluster front line
demonstration and they would adopt all these
new technologies in their fields. This finding is in
corroboration with the findings of Sandhu and
Dhaliwal (2016), Meena and Singh (2017) and Kumar
et al. (2018). Also one reason may be the fallen leaves
which can also be used as mulch and thus help to
enhance the water holding capacity of the soil. The
decreasing yield during 2017-18 is due to weather
condition and early termination of rains.
The technology gap is the gap between
demonstration yield and potential yield and
it was 2.51 and 3.57 q/ha in 2016-17 and 2017-
18 respectively. The observed technology gap
resulted from Table 4 is due to various constraints
such as soil fertility, availability of low moisture
content, sowing time and climatic hazards etc.
Hence, to reduce the yield gap the location specific
recommendations for varieties, soil testing and
timely and maintained space sowing appears to be
necessary. The 7.29 q/ha extension gap found in
2016-17 whereas 4.98 q/ha was in 2017-18. There is
a need to decrease this wider extension gap through
latest techniques. The findings are similar to the
findings of Kumbhare et al. (2014), Jain (2016) and
Sandhu and Dhaliwal (2016). The technology index
showed the feasibility of evolved technology at
farmer’s field. Lower technology values indicated
that feasibility of variety among the farmers is more.
The technology indexes were 12.55 % and 17.85 %
in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively. This finding is
in corroboration with the findings of Sandhu and
Dhaliwal (2016) and Kumar et al., (2018). Data (Table
5) clearly revealed that growth and yield parameters
like plant height, days to 50% flowering, pods/plant
and seed yield were significantly influenced by
improved cultivation practices and nutrient levels.
Seed inoculation with Rhizobium and PSB proved
its superiority over untreated control with respect
to plant parameters. The overall improvement
of this crop was owing to its pivotal role in early
root formation, its proliferation, photosynthesis,
increased microbial activity in root nodules,
symbiotic nitrogen which in term resulted in greater
transformation of photosynthesis towards the sink
development. Similar results have been reported
by Kumar et.al. (2020) and Pawar et al., (2021).
The economics of pigeon pea production under
CFLD have been presented in Table 6. Economics
analysis of the yield performance revealed that
CFLD recorded higher gross return (Rs 139920/
ha during 2016-17 and Rs. 82150/ha during 2017-
18) and net whereas the return (Rs. 115050/ha
during 2016-17 and Rs 59000/ha in 2017-18) with
higher benefit-cost ratio 5.62 and 3.52 compared to
3.77 and 2.31 in case of local check. The net return
increased by 91.84 % and 81.14 % during 2016-17
and 2017-18 respectively. The rate of pigeon pea in
local market during 2016-17 was @ Rs. 80/kg due to
the low production/market crisis but in the during
2017-18 due to no short fall in the local market the
rate was @Rs. 50/kg. The higher cost benefit ratio
in demonstrated plot is because of higher yield
obtained under improved technologies compared
to farmers practices during the experimental years.
Similar results were corroborated with Kumar et al.
(2018) and Keshavareddy et al. (2018).
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the study that through
CFLD of recommended technologies, yield of
pigeon pea can be increased to its potential yield
in Samastipur district. This will substantially
increase the income as well as livelihood of the
farming communities. It has also been observed
that the recommended technologies employed with
improved varieties has the ability to sustain the
non-linear climatic changing scenario. Judicious
application of fertilizers and irrigation under lined
sown and treated seeds crop would attributed
to this aspect. Major attention to be made on
development of module on area specific technology
for enhancing the productivity of pulses in varied
agro-ecosystems.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project was mandated by ICAR-ATARI,
Patna (Zone-IV) and supported by Dr. Rajendra
Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Bihar)
 Sanjay Kumar et al. : Performance evaluation of improved cultivars of Pigeonpea 215

Table 1. Details of farmers and cluster in different blocks of Samastipur district under CFLD programme

Selected Blocks of Samastipur District

Year No of farmers
Samastipur Bibhutipur Shivajinagar Kalyanpur Ujiyarpur Dalsinghsarai Tajpur
2016-17 50 22 (3) 17(03) 11(02) - - - -
2017-18 25 - - - 02(01) 05(01) 12(02) 06(01)
Parenthesis indicates number of clusters in each block

Table 2. Soil analysis of demonstrated plots in different blocks (Pooled data of farmers)
Selected Blocks of Samastipur Districts
Parameters
Samastipur Bibhutipur Shivajinagar Kalyanpur Ujiyarpur Dalsinghsarai Tajpur
pH (1:2) 7.7-8.2 8.0-8.1 7.7-8.3 8.0-8.2 7.9-8.1 8.0-8.3 8.0-8.2
EC (dsm-1) 0.72 0.69 0.74 0.59 0.72 0.74 0.77
Organic carbon (%) 0.64 0.59 0.56 0.66 0.68 0.62 0.63
Avail. N (kg/ha) 274 284 301 259 284 269 288
Avail. P2O5 (kg/ha) 52 47 51 42 51 47 39
Avail. K2O (kg/ha) 127 108 96 139 127 136 141

Table 3. Comparison of cultural practices adopted by farmers and CFLD

Cultural operations Prevailing Practices CFLD employing improved cultivation practices
Use of seed Local seed Pusa-9, Narendra Arhar-1
Seed quality Small ungraded seed Bold graded seed
Seed treatments - Treated with Bavistin followed by Rhizobium
Method of sowing Broadcasting Line sowing by seed planter
Fertilizer application - 100 kg DAP + 33 kg MOP + 125 kg Phospho-gypsum per ha
Control measures Single spray of pesticide when Two sprays of insecticides to control of insects and application of
severe problem occurs micronutrients for more branches and healthy plants as well as
grains

Table 4. Yield, technology gap, extension gap and technology index of pigeon pea in Samastipur
Year Name of No of Yield (q/ha) Yield % Technology Extension Technology
variety demo Potential Demonstration Check increase increase gap (q/ha) gap (q/ha) index (%)
Max Min Average Max Min Average (%) over
check
2016-17 P-9/NDA-1 50 20 18.69 16.29 17.49 10.55 9.85 10.20 41.68 71.47 2.51 7.29 12.55
2017-18 NDA-1 25 20 18.20 14.65 16.43 11.85 11.05 11.45 30.31 43.49 3.57 4.98 17.85

Table No. 5. Agronomical Indices of Check and demonstrated plots at Samastipur and Shivajinagar blocks of Samastipur.
Parameters Samastipur Shivajinagar
Check Demonstrated SEM ± CD (P = 0.05) Check Demonstrated SEM ± CD (P = 0.05)
Plant height (cm) 171 189 4.89 14.68 174 190 4.83 14.50
Days to 50% flowering 162 153 4.20 12.62 161 154 4.18 12.60
No. of primary braches/plant 12.9 14.2 0.37 1.09 12.6 13.9 0.35 1.06
No. of secondary branches/plant 21.6 27.4 0.67 2.02 21.3 26.4 0.65 1.94
Leaf area (cm )
2
20.7 24.14 0.60 1.82 20.8 24.17 0.59 1.80
No. of pods/plant 201 221 6.19 18.54 202 223 5.67 17.03
Pod length (cm) 4.1 4.8 0.13 0.39 3.8 4.9 0.12 0.35
No. of grains/pod 3.4 4.0 0.11 0.32 3.5 4.1 0.10 0.31
100 seed weight 11.2 12.7 0.32 NS 11.3 12.6 NS 11.7
216 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Table 6. Gross cost, gross return, net return and B: C ratio of pigeon pea in Samastipur
Expenditure and return (Rs/ha) Net return
Check Demonstration increase (%)
Year
Gross cost Gross Return Net return B:C Gross cost Gross Return Net return B:C
(Rs/ha) (Rs/ha) (Rs/ha) ratio (Rs/ha) (Rs/ha) (Rs/ha) ratio
2016-17 21630 81600 59970 3.77 24870 139920 115050 5.62 91.84
2017-18 24680 57250 32570 2.31 23150 82150 59000 3.52 81.14
Prevailing sale rate of pigeon pea during: 2016-17@Rs. 8000/q; 2017-18@Rs. 5000/q

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Keshavareddy, G, Kamala Bai, S, Nagaraj, KH and
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 217-220, 2022
Masapalli Himaja et al. : Sequential application of herbicides in greengram 217

Short communication

Effect of sequential application of herbicides on the growth and yield of

greengram (Vigna radiata L.)
Masapalli Himaja, Awadhesh Kishore*, Sunkara Sarada Devi, Jai Dev Sharma, Veerbhadrayya R.M

School of Agriculture, ITM University ABSTRACT

Gwalior, MP, India
To study the effect of sequential application of herbicides on weed infestation,
*Email: awadheshkishore@gmail.com growth, yield attributes, and quality of greengram var. PDM-139 (Samrat), a n
experiment was conducted in Random Block design using twelve treatments
Received: July 25, 2022 viz., Oxyfluorfen 23.5%EC 125 g; Pendimethalin 30% EC 1000g, Imazethapyr
Accepted: November 01, 2022 10% EC 100 g, Oxyfluorfen 23.5%EC 125 g and fb Quizalofop -p-ethyl 5% EC
50 g, Pendimethalin 30% EC 1000g and fb Quizalofop-p -ethyl 5% EC 50g,
Handling Editor:
Dr. Narendra Kumar, Imazethapyr 10% EC 100 g and fb Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC 50g, Oxyfluorfen
ICAR- Indian Institute of Pulses Research, 23.5%EC 125 g and fb H W at 40 DAS, Pendimethalin 30% EC 1000g and fb HW
Kanpur at 40 DAS, Imazethapyr 10% EC 100 g and fb HW at 40 DAS, and Propaquizofop
10% EC 100 ml per hectare, Hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS and weedy check .
Different weed infestation, growth, yield attributes, and quality of green gram
were recorded at 60 DAS. The highest dry weight of total weeds was recorded
under the weedy check treatment and The plant height was significantly more
(20.5 cm) and test weight (20.73) was highest with the hand weeding followed
by treatment imazethapyr 10% EC at 1000 g ha-1 followed by HW at 40 DAS
and among the different weed control treatments influenced the net returns
and the benefit-cost ratio was maximum with an application of imazethapyr
10% EC at 1000 g ha-1 It can be concluded that the application of Imazethapyr
10 % EC fb hand weeding at 40 DAS proved superior with respect to grain
yield and economics of the green gram.

Key Words: Economics, Green gram, Herbicides, Mungbean, Weed

Greengram (Vigna radiata L.) or mung bean
originated in India and is one of the chief pulse
crops in the country. It is grown mostly in the Asian
region traditionally including Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka, etc. although its cultivation has spread
to Africa and America continents. India shares
about 70% of the world’s greengram p roduction
(Anonymous, 2016). In India during 2019-20, the
crop was grown in an area of about 31.15 lakh ha
area with the production and productivity of 0.53
lakh tonnes and 798 kg/ha, respectively. The main
producer states in India included Maharashtra
(3.28 lakh ha), Madhya Pradesh (1.82 lakh ha), and
Telangana (0.66 lakh ha).
It is cultivated in all three seasons viz. Kharif,
rabi, and Zaid. It is not only grown as a sole crop but
also as an intercrop, and mixed crop. It is a dwarf
statured crop that suffers to a great extent if the
weeds are not controlled at critical growth stages,
as the weeds compete with the crop plants for all
the resources required for growth including space,
water, sunlight, air, and result in a decline in crop
yield (Verma et al., 2015). Weed seeds multiply
rapidly and migrate from one place to other and
once established cannot be easily eradicated.The
weeds, not only reduce the quantity but also the
quality of fodder and seed produced.
Weed control is one of the major operations
generally practiced for improving yield in green
gram. The critical competition with the weed starts
from 20-30days after sowing. Manual weed control
methods reduce weed count and eliminate almost all
weed species, but the availability of manual labour
at a specific time at a cheaper rate is not available. So,
there is a need to explore some effective herbicides
as an alternative source to control weeds effectively.
It was evident that the application of selective
herbicides effectively controls certain species or
groups of weed species. The major weed species in
green gram during the present experiment included
218 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022
Cynodon dactylon, Dactyloctinum aegpytium,
Cyperus rotundus, Amaranthus virdis, Euphorbia hirta,
and Digera arvensis. Hence, there is a need to find out
the effective pre or post-emergence herbicides either
alone or in combination with cultural practices for
timely control of weeds. Thus, in the present study,
efforts have been made to find out effective weed
management practices to control weeds in green
gram to save the crop from weed infestation.
A field experiment was conducted during
the Kharif season of 2021 at Crop Research Centre,
School of Agriculture, ITM University, Gwalior,
Madhya Pradesh, India (26.140° N latitude, 78.196° E
longitude, and an altitude of 197 meters above mean
sea level). The climate of this region was semi-arid,
with extremes of temperature in both summers and
winters. The average annual rainfall in this region
ranges between 650-700 mm, mostly contributed by
the South-West monsoon during the last week of
June to September. The physico-chemical properties
of the soil of the experimental field recorded sand
53.24 (%), silt 24.56 (%), clay 23.11 (%), textural
class sandy loam, soil reaction (pH) 7.45, EC 0.42
dSm-1, organic carbon 0.15%, available nitrogen 68 kg
ha-1, available phosphorus 16.5 kg ha-1 and available
potassium 235.4 kg ha-1. The green gram variety
PDM-139 (Samrat) (average duration 70-75 days)
was used as an experimental crop. The experiment
was set up in a randomized block design with
three replications. It consisted of pre-emergence
and post-emergence application of herbicides viz.
T1- oxyfluorfen at the rate of 23.5% EC 125 g ha-1,
T2 -pendimethalin 30% EC 1000 g ha-1, T3-
imazethapyr 10% EC 100 g ha-1, T4-T1 fb quizalofop-
p-ethyl 5% EC 50 g ha-1, T5-T2 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl
5% EC 50 g ha-1, T6-T3 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC
50 g ha-1, T7-T1 fb Hand weeding, T8-T2 fb Hand
weeding, T9-T3 fb Hand weeding,T10-propoquizofop
10% EC 100 ml ha-1, T11-hand weeding twice at
20 and 40 DAS and T12-weedy check. Nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium were applied as per
recommended dose and method (20:40:20 kg ha-1
NPK, respectively, each as basal application).
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were applied
through urea, single super phosphate, and muriate
of potash, respectively. Treated seed of green gram
at the rate of 12 kg ha-1 was sown in every treatment
using the standard method. Recommended spacing
(30 cm X 10 cm) was maintained by gap filling and
thinning procedures and practices. Appropriate
plant protection measures were followed during
the experimentation. The data on weed dry weight
and weed control efficiency at 60 DAS of the crop
have been included. The plant height, leaf area
index (Watson, 1958), the dry weight of the crop
at 60 days after sowing (DAS), the yield of grain
and straw as well as the economics of the crop
using standard techniques were found to reveal
the impact of different treatments. For comparing
various treatment means, a one–way Analysis of
the variance with the replications technique were
implemented (Snedecor, and Cochran, 1994). The
data were statistically analyzed using a data analysis
pack of MS Office excel 2016 (UQ Library, 2016).
Among the different treatments given in (Table
1), the highest dry weight of total weeds was recorded
under the weedy check treatment –T12. However,
it was found that the treatment T11 in which, hand
weeding was done at 20 and 30 DAS, recorded a
significantly minimum dry weight of weed at 60
DAS, which was at par with imazethapyr 10% EC
100g ha-1 HW at 40 DAS treatment-T9. Minimum
weed dry weight in different weed management
treatments due to effective weed control succeeded
under hand weeding and pre-emergence application
of herbicides fb hand weeding at 40 DAS at the
initial growth stages of the crop, which resulted
in the lower weed density and finally reduced the
dry weight of total weeds at 60 DAS .and recorded
the highest weed control efficiency. The dense crop
canopy might be suppressed the weed growth and
did not allow weeds to grow vigorously due to the
limiting effect. These results confirm the finding of
Chhodavadia et al. (2014) in green gram.
The data given in (Table 1) revealed that the
plant height was significantly more (20.5 cm) with
a lower leaf area index (1.86) and minimum dry
weight of crop (175 g m-2) under unweeded plots,
it might be due to intense competition weeds for
moisture and nutrients; subsequently, the growth
of the plant was affected. However, the treatment
T9, the plant height was (42.5 cm) with a higher
leaf area index (4.17) and maximum dry weight of
crop (357 g m-2) which was at par with treatments
T11followed by T7 and T8 at 60 DAS of the crop
growth stages. This might be due to the combined
effect of hand weeding and the pre-emergence
application of herbicide. This resulted in better
availability of light, moisture, and nutrients to the
crop owing to less competition of weeds. These
findings are in conformity with Raj et al. (2012), and
Chaudhari et al. (2016).
The highest value of test weight (20.73) was
recorded with the hand weeding T11 followed by
treatment T9, T8, and T7 (Table 1). Hand weeding
 Masapalli Himaja et al. : Sequential application of herbicides in greengram 219

Table 1. Infestation of weeds, growth and yield and yield attributes of green gram at 60 DAS as affected by different weed
management practices
Treatments Weed dry Weed Plant height Leaf area Dry weight Grain yield Straw Harvest Test Net B:C
weight Control (cm) index (g m-2) (kg/ha) Stover yield index weight return
(g m-2) Efficiency (kg/ha) (%) (g/1000 (INR)
(%) Seeds)
T1 11.5±0.9bc 37.2 26.1±0.7d 2.42±0.11d 217±10d 630±1d 1984±3c 24.10 34.8±1.5 48299 1.50
T2 11.4±0.2c 38.7 26.6±1.5d 2.48±0.02d 226±15d 672±1d 1990±13c 25.24 35.3±2.5 51789 1.59
T3 11.0±0.1 c
43.0 27.0±2.5d 2.58±0.12d 232±22d 691±92d 2008±37c 25.60 35.5±2.35 54130 1.68
T4 9.49±0.28 d
58.0 31.6±0.9c 3.06±0.05c 273±2c 802±16c 2298±52b 25.86 35.6±2.75 65216 1.89
T5 9.35±0.39 d
59.3 31.9±1.9c 3.10±0.10c 277±2c 814±2c 2312±135b 26.04 35.7±2.52 66112 1.89
T6 8.58±0.10 d
65.7 33.2±1.4c 3.14±0.15c 281±20c 825±3c 2319±98b 26.24 36.2±1.23 67622 1.96
T7 6.97±0.14e 77.4 38.2±2.9b 3.76±0.04b 323±15b 935±25b 2610±66a 26.38 36.5±1.41 76927 2.00
T8 6.38±0.06e 81.1 38.3±0.8b 3.94±0.28ab 337±18ab 951±63ab 2612±220a 26.69 36.6±1.78 78039 2.01
T9 5.98±0.13e 83.5 42.5±0.43ab 4.17±0.33ab 357±12ab 1012±17ab 2770±64a 26.75 37.0±0.38 86076 2.24
T10 13.0±0.5b 20.2 25.8±0.42d 2.36±0.08d 213±5.60d 607±6d 1878±79c 24.42 34.1±1.41 44048 1.33
T11 4.40±0.08 e
91.1 43.9±1.4a 4.24±0.19a 373±6.72a 1049±43a 2789±106a 27.34 37.4±2.04 84414 1.95
T12 14.6±1.3 a
0.0 20.5±0.7e 1.86±0.10e 175±14.1e 490±10e 1585±25d 23.62 32.9±1.33 32470 1.06
DAS-days after sowing,
a,b,c,d,e- Values bearing different superscripts within the column differed significantly (P<0.05).

recorded considerably higher seed yield (1378 kg
ha-1), being at par with treatments T8 and T9. as well
as significantly superior over the weedy check T12.
The per cent increase in seed yield under treatment
T11 to the tune of 53.2 % over weedy check, while
3.5 %, 9.3%, and 10.86% over the treatments T9,
T8, and T7, respectively. The significantly higher
stover yield (2789 kg ha-1) was recorded under hand
weeding T11, which was at par with T7, T8, and T9
and the higher harvest index was recorded with T11
hand weeding treatment (27.34). Maintaining the
weed-free environment, particularly throughout the
critical crop growth stages, is primarily responsible
for the increase in grain and stover yield. Reducing
crop weed competition helped in better growth
and development of green gram crops resulting
in higher seed and stover yield. The study also
shows that reduced weed population initially by
pre-emergence herbicide followed by weed control
around 21 DAS either by post-emergence herbicide
or hand weeding have a lower reduction in yield.
This finding showed that a significant increase
in seed yield and a decrease in total dry weight
of weeds were recorded under these treatments
of green gram. These conclusions are close to the
assumptions of investigators like Chhodavadia et al.
(2014).
It is apparent that the results given in Table 1
of the experimentation recorded that the different
weed control treatments influenced the net returns
and the benefit-cost ratio was maximum with an
application of T9-imazethapyr 10% EC at 1000 g ha-1
followed by HW at 40 DAS (Rs.86076 ha-1, Rs.2.24
re -1invested) followed by T8-Pendimethalin 30%EC
followed by Hand Weeding at 40 DAS (Rs.78039
ha-1, Rs.2.01 re-1 invested) and T7-Oxyfluorfen 23.5%EC
followed by Hand Weeding at 40 DAS (Rs.76927
ha-1 Rs.2.00 re-1 invested) and rest of the treatments.
The sequential application of pre-emergence
followed by T11-Hand weeding (Rs. 84414
ha-1, Rs.1.95 re-1 invested) gave the maximum net
returns in green gram related to other weed control
treatments. These results validate the findings of
Prakash, (2006), Kumar, (2010) and Singh, (2011).
It may be concluded that the application of
Imazethapyr 10% EC fb hand weeding at 40 DAS
proved superior with respect to grain yield and
economics (Net return and BCR) of the green gram
over the rest of the treatments.
REFERENCES
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Integrated management for improved weed
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Weed Science 45: 137-139.
Chaudari VD, Desai LJ, Chaudari SN and Chaudari PR.
2016.Effect of weed management on weeds, growth,
and yield of summer green gram (Vigna radiata L.) An
International Quarterly Journal of life sciences 11: 531-
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Kumar N. 2010. Imazethapyr: A potential post-emergence
herbicide for Kharif pulses. Pulses Newsletter 21: 3-5.
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season blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper). Indian
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gram: A review. Indian Journal of Weed Science 52:
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Snedecor GW and Cochran WG.1994. Statistical Methods,
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 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 221-223, 2022
Mandra Durga Bhavani et al. : Effect of post-emergence herbicides on weeds, yield and econmics 221

Short communication

Effect of post-emergence herbicides on weeds, yield and economics of

kharif blackgram (Vigna mungo L.)
Mandra Durga Bhavani, Awadhesh Kishore*, Jai dev Sharma, Siddu Khanadale,
and Manthati Hari Chandana

School of Agriculture, ITM University, ABSTRACT

Gwalior, (M.P.) 475001
An experiment was conducted to evaluate post emergenece herbicides in
*E-mail: awadheshkishore@gmail.com urdbean crop during Kharif season of 2021-22. Two-hand weeding practices
at 20 and 40 DAS, had significantly lower values of dry matter (DM) of
Received: July 29, 2022 different weeds. Application of Imazethapyr 35% + Imazamox 35%WG
Accepted: November 01,2022 70g (T1) recorded significantly lower weed dry matter (g/plant), and higher
weed control effieincy (WCE), and remained statistically at par with Sodium
Handling Editor:
Dr SS Rathore, Acifluorfen 16.5% 80g +Clodinafop-propargyl 8% EC 165g (T4). Significantly
ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, higher grain (1088.91 kg/ha) and stover yields (1442.46 kg/ha) were recorded
New Delhi in T1, compared to others. Imazethapyr 35% SL +Imazamox 35% WG 70g ha-1
POE is recommended on behalf of higher WCE and superior grain yield and
economics i.e., Net return and BCR in blackgram.

Key words: Blackgram, Grain yield, Post-emergence, Weed control efficiency

Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) is one of India’s
most important pulse crops. It is also known as
urdbean, mash, black maple, etc. It is a self-pollinated
annual crop belonging to the Leguminaceae family
that meets a substantial portion of protein needs,
especially for the vegetarian population in the
country. Blackgram is a highly nutritious pulse as
it contains a high level of carbohydrate (60g/100g),
phosphorus (385 mg/100g), protein (20-25 g/100g),
iron and calcium (7.8 mg, and 145 mg/100g
respectively) (Singh et al., 2016). It has been proven
to help reduce high cholesterol levels (Indira and
Kurup 2013). In Madhya Pradesh blackgram is
grown in 4.49 lakh ha and its production is 1.57
lakh tonnes with productivity of 351.69 kg ha-1, and
productivity of 604 kg ha-1 in India (Anonymous,
2015). It is a short-duration crop that suits well in
different cropping systems. It is grown in (Kharif)
rainy and summer seasons in India where weed
infestation causes considerable loss in yield.
Blackgram is susceptible to weed competition
(Balyan et al. 2016) with a yield reduction of 42-51%
(Malliswari et al. 2008). The major weeds affecting
blackgram in Kharif season include Trianthema
monogyna, Commelina benghalensis, Phyllanthus niruri,
Digera arvensis, Echinochloa colonum, parthenium spp,
Cyperus rotundus, Eleusine aegytiacum, and Cynodon
dactylon (Bhowmick et al., 2015). Controlling these
weeds is very essential for urdbean cultivating
farmers for getting higher economic yield levels.
The different weed control practices gave higher
economic yields by reducing the weed flora
infestation. Chemical control is less expensive
and effective control of different types of weeds.
There are many herbicides available for controlling
weeds in the urdbean. However, nowadays the
major herbicides are using in the blackgram field
are imazethapyr, imazamox, clodinafop propargyl,
fenoxaprop-p-ethyl, cyhalofop - Butyl, quizalofop
ethyl, and acifluorfen sodium, etc. are commonly
used as post-emergence at 2-3 leaf stage of weeds.
These herbicides act on a broad spectrum of weeds,
are cost effective and easily available, hence, are
being adapted by farmers. The herbicides help
to reduce weed flora and improve crop growth,
and development without being harmful to the
environment. Considering these facts in view, the
present study was conducted to compare different
herbicides in different combinations in blackgram.
The field experiment was conducted during
the Kharif season of 2021 at Research Farm, School
of Agriculture, ITM University, Gwalior located
at latitude 26014’ N; longitude 78014’ E; 196 m
above mean sea level. The Research Farm falls
under the grid region of Madya Pradesh. The
experimental treatments were Imazethapyr 35% +
Imazamox 35%WG 70g (T1); Propaquizafop 10%
50g +Imazethapyr 10%SL 75g (T2); Imazethapyer
222 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

10%SL 75g (T3); Sodium Acifluorfen 16.5% 80g
+Clodinafop-propargyl 8%EC 165g (T4); Metribuzin
70%WP 500g (T5); Metribuzin 70%WP 400g
+Quizalofopethyl 5%SC 45g (T6) and Imazethapyr
35% 60g +Quizalofopethyl 5%SC 60g (T7) per hectare
and two hand weeding exercises at 20 and 40 DAS
(T8) and weed free (T9) and weedy check (T10). The
field experiment was laid out in Randomized block
design (RBD) with a total of 10 treatments. All the
herbicides were applied as post-emergence at 20
DAS (2-3 leaf stage of weeds) with the help of a
knapsack sprayer, using 500 liters of water ha-1. The
blackgram variety ‘PU-31 (Krishna)’ was sown at a
seed rate of 15 kg ha-1, with 30cm X 10cm spacing.
All the recommended cultural operations were
applied to all the experimental plots. Observation
recorded the following characteristics viz., weed
dry matter (g/m2), total weed density (no/m2),
weed control efficiency (%) at harvest stage of the
crop (85 DAS), grain yield, straw yield (kg/ha),
net return (Rs/ha) and B-C ratio. The effect of the
treatment was evaluated using the ANOVA test
indicating their significance and critical difference
at a 5% level of probability was used to compare the
levels of significance of treatments (Snedecor and
Cochran, 1994).
The experimental field was mainly infested
with different types of weed flora which consisted of
grassy weeds viz., Cynodon dactylon, Echinocola spp,
Dactyloctenium aegyptium, etc., broadleaf weeds viz.,
Commelina benghalensis, Acalypha indica, Amaranthus
viridis, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Trianthema
portulacastrum, etc., and sedges viz., Cyperus rotundus
and Cyperus esculantus were recorded. The data
recorded in Table 1 clearly showed that different
weed control treatments recorded significantly lower
weed density, dry matter of weeds, and maximum
weed control efficiency at the harvest stage of the
crop (85 DAS). However, Imazethapyr 35% SL
+Imazamox 35% WG 70g ha-1 POE, recorded lower
values of weed density, minimum weed dry matter,
and higher values of weed control efficiency (WCE)
(32.2 no/m2, 20.4 g/m2 and 89.73 % respectively)
as compared to other treatments, however, it was
significantly at par with T4, followed by T2, and T7
and these treatments were recorded nearer values of
weed control efficiency to T1, as compared to other
herbicide treatments. In the case of T3, followed by
T6, being at par with T5, were recorded significantly
higher values of weed density, and weed dry matter
accumulation and found as inferior to T1, and also,
recorded lower values of weed control efficiency as
compared to all herbicide treatments. If the density
of weeds decreases then the dry weight of weeds
reduces. The treatments which recorded higher
WCE resulted in higher values of yield and yield
attributes of blackgram because the lower weed dry
matter resulted in higher weed control efficiency

Table 1. Effect of different weed control measures on weed parameters at harvest of crop (85DAS)
Treatments Weed density Weed dry matter WCE (%)
(no./m2) (g/m2)
T1 5.71 4.50
Imazethapyr 35% + Imazamox 35%WG 70g per hectare 89.73
(32.2) (20.4)
T2 6.20 5.20
86.56
Propaquizafop 10% 50g +Imazethapyr 10%SL 75g per hectare (38.79) (26.7)
T3 6.90 6.30
80.03
Imazethapyer 10%SL 75g per hectare (47.65) (39.7)
T4 5.90 4.72
89.03
Sodium Acifluorfen 16.5% 80g +Clodinafop-propargyl 8%EC 165g per hectare (34.8) (21.8)
T5 7.19 6.80
Metribuzin 70%WP 500g per hectare 76.45
(51.28) (46.8)
T6 7.09 6.70
77.51
Metribuzin 70%WP 400g +Quizalofopethyl 5%SC 45g per hectare (49.87) (44.7)
T7 6.20 5.55
Imazethapyr 35% 60g +Quizalofopethyl 5%SC 60g per hectare 84.70
(38.92) (30.4)
T8 6.02 5.01
87.57
Two hand weeding exercises at 20 and 40 DAS (35.8) (24.7)
T9 0.00
0.00 100
Weed free
T10 13.89 14.11
0
Weedy check (192.65) (198.8)
SEm± 0.23 0.23 -
LSD (P=0.05) 0.68 0.67 -
Note: Data analyzed by X=√x+0.5 transformed values and in parenthesis are the original values.
 Mandra Durga Bhavani et al. : Effect of post-emergence herbicides on weeds, yield and econmics 223

Table 2. Yield and economics of blackgram as affected by different weed control treatments
Treatments Seed yield Stover yield Net Return Benefit-Cost
(kg/ha) (kg/ha) (Rs/ha) ratio
T1-Imazethapyr 35% + Imazamox 35%WG 70g per hectare 1088.91 1442.46 75196 2.16
T2-Propaquizafop 10% 50g +Imazethapyr 10%SL 75g per hectare 1002.42 1381.35 66845 1.91
T3-Imazethapyer 10%SL 75g per hectare 876.11 1162.14 54578 1.61
T4-Sodium Acifluorfen 16.5% 80g +Clodinafop-propargyl 8%EC 165g per
1041.23 1407.23
hectare 70591 2.02
T5-Metribuzin 70%WP 500g per hectare 598.71 976.18 29104 0.86
T6-Metribuzin 70%WP 400g +Quizalofopethyl 5%SC 45g per hectare 658.34 1001.05 32571 0.92
T7-Imazethapyr 35% 60g +Quizalofopethyl 5%SC 60g per hectare 997.55 1338.04 64178 1.75
T8-Two hand weeding exercises at 20 and 40 DAS 1176.46 1473.34 78879 2.03
T9-Weed free 1248.45 1533.34 82718 1.97
T10-Weedy check 398.27 807.59 10744 0.32
SEm± 31.35 45.92 - -
CD (P=0.05) 93.15 136.43 - -

and improve crop growth and development. The
results confirmed the findings of Singh et al., (2016)
and Kumar et al., (2015).
As concerned with yield and economics of blackgram
weed free plot being at par with two-hand weedings at
20, 40 DAS were recorded significantly greater value of
grain, straw yield (Table 2). Among different herbicide
treatments, T1 recorded a higher level of grain and
straw yield and was found superior among all herbicide
treatments. But at par with T4, followed by T2, and T7 as
compared to other herbicide treatments. In the case of T3,
followed by T6, being at par with T5 were recorded higher
values of grain, and straw yield over the weedy check
and found significantly inferior compared to T1. Due to
the absence of weed control practices in blackgram the
weedy check plot recorded significantly lower values of
grain and straw yield among all different weed control
treatments. However, the economics of blackgram was
influenced by different weed control treatments. Among
herbicide treatments, the higher values of net return and
B-C ratio were recorded with T1. But T4 recorded nearer
values of net return and benefit-cost ratio as compared
to other herbicide treatments. Similar findings were
recorded by (Yadav et al. 2014) and (Yadav et al. 2015).
Based on the results obtained during the
experimental study it may be concluded that the
application of Imazethapyr 35% +Imazamox 35%
WG 70 g/ha POE, was most effective in controlling
the weeds in kharif urd bean. This heribicide is
also easily available and cheaper compared to
other available chemical formulations. Futher, use
of Imazethapyr 35% +Imazamox 35% WG 70 g/
ha as post emergence also resulted in higher net
return and B-C ratio and enhanced seed yield. So,
based on the present study it may be recommended
that Imazethapyr 35% +Imazamox 35% WG 70 g/
ha POE is a potential option to effectively control
the weed in kharif urd bean and minimize the yield
losses substantially.
REFERENCES
Balyan JK, Choudhary RS, Kumpawat BS and Choudhary
R. 2016. Weed management in black gram under
rainfed conditions. Indian Journal of Weed Science 48:
173-177.
Bhowmick MK, Duary, B and Biswas PK. 2015. Integrated
weed management in blackgram. Indian Journal of
Weed Science 47: 34–37.
Indira M and Kurup PA. 2013. Black gram: A hypolipidemic
pulse. Natural Product Radiance 2: 240-242.
Kumar S, Bhatto MS, Punia SS and Punia R. 2015.
Bioefficacy of herbicides in blackgram and their
residual effect on succeeding mustard. Indian Journal
of Weed Science 47: 211–213.
Malliswari T, Reddy MP, Sagar KG and Chandrika V.
2008. Effect of irrigation and weed management
practices on weed control and yield of black gram.
Indian Journal of Weed Science. 40: 85-86.
Singh VP, Singh TP, Singh SP, Kumar A, Satyawali
K, Banga A, Bisht N and Singh RP. 2016. Weed
management in blackgram with pre-mix herbicides.
Indian Journal of Weed Science 48: 178–18.
Snedecor GW and Cochran WG. 1994. Statistical Methods.
8th Ed. Owa State University Press, Ames, 491p.
Yadav KS, Dixit JP and Prajapati BL. 2015. Weed
management effects on yield and economics of black
gram. Indian Journal of Weed Science 47: 136–138.
Yadav RS, Singh SP, Sharma V and Bairwa RC. 2014.
Herbicidal weed control in green gram in Arid zone of
Rajasthan, p.97. In: Proceedings of Biennial conference
of Indian Society of Weed Science on Emerging
challenges in weed management. Directorate of Weed
Research, Jabalpur.
 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 224-225, 2022
224 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Commentary

Yes, breeders can smash the low yield plateau in pigeonpea!

Principal Scientist (Retd.) A graduate from G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and

International Crops Research Institute Technology, Pant Nagar, Dr Saxena completed his doctorate
for the Semi-Arid Tropics, in Plant Breeding and Genetics in 1974.  He then joined
Patancheru, Telangana;
ICRISAT as a pigeonpea breeder and was responsible for
*Email: kbsaxena1949@gmail.com
breeding both dal and vegetable type pigeonpea cultivars
with wide adaptation and several varieties were bred and
released with his collaboration and ICAR. During 1980-82, he
was deputed to serve as a Visiting Scientist at the University
of Queensland, Australia to introduce pigeonpea in drylands
of the province. On return, he led the hybrid breeding project and his team
succeeded in developing the world’s first pigeonpea hybrid ICPH 8; and later,
three more hybrids were also released. Dr Saxena also worked as Project
Scientist for five years to promote pigeonpea in the dry lands of Sri Lanka.
During his assignment in China, he helped local scientists in promoting
pigeonpea in hilly areas of southern provinces for soil conservation and
fodder purposes. Dr Saxena was also recognized with China’s highest civilian
honor “Friendship Award”. During his long research career, extending over
four decades, he has published more than 350 research papers.

The mean pigeonpea productivity has clocked
around 700 ± 50 kg/ha only between 1960 to 2020.
This scenario indicates that increasing pigeonpea
productivity has now become breeders’ nightmare.
Differing in opinion, it is now time to remove
this low yield plateau by using new emerging
technologies and alternate breeding schemes.
It would be worthwhile to take into
consideration the factors that make pigeonpea plant
vastly different from that of chickpea and other
pulses; and these might partly be responsible for
its poor harvests. Such plant traits include natural
cross-pollination, low harvest index, perennial
growth habit, photosensitivity, and long generation
turnover time. Besides these, a few issues such as
limited genetic diversity, susceptibility to various
stresses, and unpredictable response to selection
also adversely affect breeding value of selected
individuals.
To save on research time and cost and enhance
the efficiency of pure line breeding, breeders may
resort to programs like transforming pigeonpea
(an allogamous species) to autogamous type, early
generation testing of crosses, rapid generation turn-
over for speed breeding, and selection for traits like
synchronous flowering and rapid seed growth. It
is obvious that natural cross-pollination is the main
villain of pure line breeding programme. This is
because it not only creates hindrance in purity
maintenance of the selections but may also misleads
the breeder in implementing pedigree breeding.
The chances are that the vigorous plants with more
pods, present within a breeding population, could be
natural hybrids; and in the next generation these will
segregate and not breed true. This will lead to poor
heritability and low breeding value of the selections.
A potenital solution to this problem is to transform
pigeonpea from allogamous to autogamous types.
This can be done by incorporating a floral trait
called “cleistogamous flower”. This floral mutant
does not encourage insect visitation and restricts
out-crossing to <2%. This simply inherited recessive
trait can easily be incorporated into breeding
populations. The selections carrying cleistogamous
flowers will record high heritability and it will
make the pedigree breeding more meaningful and
productive by fixing the additive genetic variation
without any danger of losing the productive alleles.
 KB Saxena : Yes, breeders can smash the low yield plateau in pigeonpea!
Inherent limited genetic diversity in pigeonpea
is another factor that needs to be enhanced to
develop productive recombinants. This is achieved
by incorporating genetic materials from related
wild species. Considering the complexities of
wide hybridization and potential linkage drag,
a two-stage breeding programme is envisaged.
Initially, unselected advanced generation “pre-
breeding populations” are bred from inter-specific
crosses. In the second phase, selection of desirable
recombinants from these populations is exercised.
Besides diverse crosses, the establishment and
use of heterotic pools in crop breeding is also
practised to develop diverse genetic materials. In
this approach it is observed that the heterotic effects
due additivity or epistasis are generally greater
when lines with diverse genetic backgrounds or
heterotic groups are mated. It is opined that in this
breeding scheme pure lines with potential genes
from diverse origin can combine to produce more
productive individuals. This approach can easily
be implemented in pigeonpea since a range of its
wild relatives with wealth of genetic diversity are
available.
The third and most potential approach is
breeding CMS-based pigeonpea hybrids. Among
pulses, pigeonpea offers a unique opportunity for
exploiting hybrid vigour for significant yield gains.
In this endeavour, significant R&D work has already
been accomplished and published and at present
four high yielding CMS-based hybrids are already
available. The hybrid breeding technology has a real
potential to break the decades-old yield barrier in
pigeonpea. This is evident from the results of over
225
4000 on-farm trials conducted in four states. These
trials demonstrated that the hybrids, on average,
exhibited mean standard heterosis of 30-50%.
Unfortunately, despite such positives, at present
the farmers are unable to reap the benefits of this
technology; and this is due to a single constraint
of seed quality control. The great news, however,
is that this constraint has now been addressed
adequately using various genomics tools, and at
present, a complete hybrid breeding and promotion
package is ready for use to achieve the long-awaited
breakthrough in pigeonpea yields.
It is essential to reiterate that yield stagnation
in pigeonpea is a serious nutritional safety
issue, particularly in the backdrop of population
increments and need of more and more edible protein
to secure the health of masses. Although breeders
have produced improved pure line varieties and
area under pigeonpea has also recorded significant
increase, yet productivity enhancement remains
a challenge. It is felt that among the approaches
discussed, hybrid technology stands tall as an
option. This is because it has already demonstrated
its worth as on-farm yield advantages. Also, the
hybrids have greater homeostatic-led stability
effects. These twin benefits will surely help breeders
in overhauling the existing productivity ceiling in
pigeonpea. A concerted effort, however, is the need
of the hour to take this technology to the doorstep
of farmers. This responsibility can be undertaken
jointly by coordinated efforts of institutions like
ICAR-IIPR, ICRISAT, and public and private seed
companies.
 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3): 226, 2022
226 Journal of Food Legumes 35(3), 2022

Obituary

The Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development (ISPRD),

Kanpur, India, mourns the sad demise of Dr. Shankar Lal (1938-2022), who left us
for his heavenly abode on Sep 27, 2022 in the early morning. A native of village
Ingurri, district Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Lal was the Founder Director
of the ICAR - Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur. Holding a brilliant
academic and service record, he was an excellent teacher, renowned researcher
and an outstanding research manager, and possessed a pleasant and humorous
personality. Starting his service career as a lecturer in Agricultural Botany, he
served three state agricultural universities viz., CSA University of Agriculture and
Technology, Kanpur, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar and Acharya
Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya in various
capacities. He also served ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New
Delhi as Geneticist (Pulses) (1973-77) and Facilitator (1995-98), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New
Delhi as Assistant Director General (Crop Sciences) (1983-87) and Indian Institute of Pulses research, Kanpur
as Director (1987-95). After superannuation, Dr. Lal served U.P. Council of Agricultural Research, Lucknow as
Deputy Director General (RMP), Govt. of India as National Consultant (Seeds) under National Food Security
Mission and Guest Faculty (Seed Technology), CSAUAT, Kanpur.
Dr. Lal made significant contributions in development of crop varieties evolving four varieties of
vegetables and 9 of pulses, all of which were highly popular among the farmers in India and abroad. he had
a special empathy about pulses and he always strived for their upliftment through his research as well as
mentorship. He was one of the Founder Members of the Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development
and this Society always remained close to his heart. He was also honoured with ISPRD Life time Achievement
Award in 1994 for his outstanding contributions in the field of pulses and decorated with several other awards
and accolades including Dr. Dharm Pal Singh Life Time Achievement Award, 2015.
Dr. Shankar Lal authored several popular books and was completing another writing assignment of one
more book even in his last time, thus proving his love with studies and education. He remained a voracious
reader and writer throughout his life and was a great nature lover with an exceptional acquaintance of flora
and fauna.
His memories will remain alive with the Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development and in the
hearts of pulses’ researchers globally. The entire ISPRD family prays for peace to his noble soul and to the
Almighty to bless all his beloved ones with courage to bear this irreparable loss.

Aditya Pratap
Secretary, ISPRD
 KB Saxena : Yes, breeders can smash the low yield plateau in pigeonpea! 227

List of Referees for Vol. 35 (3)

The Editorial Board gratefully acknowledges the help rendered by following referees for reviewing
manuscripts for Volume 35 (3): 2022
1. Dr. Amarender Reddy, ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
2. Dr Narendra Kumar, ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
3. Dr SS Rathore, ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
4. Dr Mohd. Akram, ICAR- Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
5. Dr Awnindra Singh, ICAR -Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur
6. Dr Jayamani, TNAU, Coimbatore
7. Dr Asik Dutta, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur
8. Dr. C.P. Nath, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur
9. Dr. Mohammad Hasim, ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur
 Instructions to Authors
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Secretary
ISPRD
Indian Institute of Pulses Research
Kalyanpur, Kanpur 208 024, India
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References
The list of references should only include publications
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Becker HC, Lin SC and Leon J. 1988. Stability analysis in
plant breeding. Plant Breeding 101: 1-23.
Sokal RR and Rholf FJ. 1981. Biometry, 2nd Ed. Freeman,
San Francisco.
Tandon HLS. 1993. Methods of Analysis of Soils, Plants,
Water and Fertilizers (ed). Fertilizer Development and
Consultation Organization, New Delhi, India. 143 pp.
Singh DP. 1989. Mutation breeding in blackgram. In: SA
Farook and IA Khan (Eds), Breeding Food Legumes.
Premier Publishing House, Hyderabad, India. Pp 103-109.
Takkar PN and Randhawa NS. 1980. Zinc deficiency in
Indian soils and plants. In: Proceedings of Seminar on
Zinc Wastes and their Utilization, 15-16 October 1980,
Indian Lead-Zinc Information Centre, Fertilizer
Association of India, New Delhi, India. Pp 13-15.
Satyanarayan Y. 1953. Photosociological studies on
calcarious plants of Bombay. Ph.D. Thesis, Bombay
University, Mumbai, India.
In the text, the bibliographical reference is made by giving
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8. Biocontrol of actinomycetes against chickpea wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.
ciceri 193
S B Latake*, YV Bele and VS Shinde
9. Investigating the in vitro regeneration potential of mungbean cultivar Samrat 198
Ayushi Tripathi, Neetu S Kushwah, Samir C Debnath, Susmita Shukla and Meenal Rathore
10. Cluster frontline demonstrations in enhancement of production and productivity
of green gram 207
Rupesh Kumar Meena, Bhupender Singh, Kuladip Prakash Shinde, Ravi Kumar Meena
and Seema Chawla
11. Performance evaluation of improved cultivars of pigeonpea under cluster front line
demonstration in changing climatic condition of Samastipur District, Bihar 212
Sanjay Kumar, Shailesh Kumar, Bharati Upadhaya, RK Tiwari, Ranjan Kumar,
Vidyapati Choudhary and Nisha Rani

SHORT COMMUNICATION
12. Effect of sequential application of herbicides on the growth and yield of greengram
(Vigna radiata L.) 217
Masapalli Himaja, Awadhesh Kishore*, Sunkara Sarada Devi, Jai Dev Sharma, Veerbhadrayya R.M
13. Effect of post-emergence herbicides on weeds, yield and economics of kharif blackgram
(Vigna mungo L.) 221
Mandra Durga Bhavani, Awadhesh Kishore, Jai dev Sharma, Siddu Khanadale,
and Manthati Hari Chandana

COMMENTARY
14. Yes, breeders can smash the low yield plateau in pigeonpea! 224
KB Saxena

Obituary 226

List of Referees for Vol. 35 (3) 227

 ISSN
0970-6380 Journal of
Online ISSN
0976-2434
I SPR D
FOOD LEGUMES
1987

Volume 35 Number 3 July-September, 2022

Contents
CURRENT AFFAIRS
1. Molecular insights into the genome of an arid legume: Clusterbean
(Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) 161
Kishore Gaikwad

RESEARCH PAPERS
2. Study on heterosis for seed yield and its components in pigeonpea [Cajanus Cajan (L.)
Millsp.] under early sown condition in Chhattisgarh 163
Ajay Tiwari, Rajesh Kumar Pandey, RN Sharma and Abhinav Sao
3. Assessment of genetic variability and trait association in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.)
genotypes during summer season 170
Samita, Rajesh Yadav and Ravika
4. Potassium and zinc influence on green gram yield, nutrient content, uptake and post
harvest soil fertility in course textured soil of south-west Haryana 175
Satender Kumar, MK Jat, Harender, Raj Kumar, Sawan Kumar and Sandeep Bedwal
5. Different levels of phosphorus and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) influence
growth, yield and economics of green gram [Vigna radiata L.] 180
Myaka Sai Teja, Awadhesh Kishore, Jai Dev Sharma, S Prem Kumar, K Suresh Reddy, and T Pramod
6. Influence of sowing time on phenology, thermal indices and yield of field pea varieties
(Pisum sativum L.) in Gangetic delta of West Bengal 184
Somdatta Achar, Mrityunjay Ghosh, R Nath, Saon Banerjee, SK Gunri, Tarun Sarkar, and N Mudi
7. Effect of site-specific nutrient management on growth indices of soybean (Glycine max (L.)
Merrill) under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh 189
Navneet Kaur, Janardan Singh and Shilpa

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