Yield and quality of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) as influenced by irrigation and nutrient levels

Field experiments were carried out on sandy loam soil at Morena, during the winter (rabi) seasons of 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08 to study the effect of irrigation and levels of NPK nutrients (% of recommended dose) on growth, yield, economics and quality parameters of Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj and Cosson]. Irrigation at flower initiation and seed development stage achieved the maximum growth and yield attributes, resulting in 8.78% and 24.18% higher seed yield over one irrigation applied at flower initiation stage and siliquae development stage respectively. The application of 125% recommended dose of NPK fertilizers (RDF) induced significantly higher growth and yield characters, water use efficiency, protein and oil yield over other treatments and yielded 29.03%, 19.59% and 8.30% more seed yield over 50, 75 and 100% RDF, respectively.