Influence of direction of sowing on growth and yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare l.)

Field experiment was conducted at the research area of the Department of Agricultural Meteorology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University Hisar, situated at 75° 46′E longitude, 29° 10′N latitude and altitude of 215.2 m above mean sea level during rabi season of 2004–05. The four varieties of barley viz., BH 393, BH 75, BH 338 and DWR 28 were sown in east-west and north-south row directions with three replications to study the influence of direction of sowing on growth and yield of barley. There was no much effect of direction of sowing on plant height of barley genotypes. The maximum value of LAI was higher in north-south direction (3.6) as compared to east-west direction (3.1). Dry matter produced at maturity was 1104.7 and 977.6 g/m²in north-south and east west direction, respectively. Highest dry matter was produced by BH 393 among cultivars. Maximum grain yield was observed in BH 393, whereas north-south sown crop produced higher grain yield as compared to east-west sown crop. Harvest index was observed maximum in north-south sowing (39.7) as compared to east-west sowing (38.5).