Agroclimatic indices and yield of barley (Hordium vulgare) under different cutting management and sowing dates

A field study was conducted to know the effect of cutting management on different agroclimatic indices and yield of barley (Hordium vulgare L.) in relation to sowing time during the winter (rabi) season of 2015–16 and 2016–17 at Ludhiana, Punjab. Results revealed that delay in sowing caused significant reduction in fodder, biological and grain yields of barley probably due to significant reduction in accumulated growing degree-days (GDD), heliothermal units (HTU) and photothermal units (PTU). The crop sown on 15 November resulted in 33.8 and 15.2% higher phenothermal index (PTI) at heading and 16.9 and 8.72% at physiological maturity, as compared to the crop sown on 15 October and 30 October, respectively. Among cutting management, the highest GDD, HTU, PTU, PTI for attainment of booting, heading and physiological maturity was recorded in fodder cut at 60 DAS (both with and without N application) than cut at 50 DAS and un-cut. Application of additional dose of 15 kg N/ha fodder cut at 50 and 60 DAS resulted the higher GDD, HTU, PTU, PTI than fodder cut at 50 and at 60 DAS without N application for attainment of heading and physiological maturity. The crop without fodder cutting and that cut at 50 DAS gave similar grain and biological yields and significantly higher than the other cutting treatments. Fodder cut at 60 DAS gave higher yield but at the cost of 9.43–18.3% reduction in grain yield than the crop cut at 50 DAS.