Dry matter production, yield attributes, yield and quality of clusterbean [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) taub.] as influenced by nitrogen and zinc application

A field experiment was conducted during early kharif of 2008 on sandy clay loam soils to study the effect of nitrogen and zinc on yield and quality of guar [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.]. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design and replicated thrice. The treatments consisted of three nitrogen levels viz., 20, 30 and 40 Kg N ha⁻¹ in main plots and four zinc management viz., 0.5% ZnSO₄ spray at 25 days after sowing (DAS), 45 DAS, 0.5% ZnSO₄ spray at 25 and 45 DAS including soil basal application of 20 Kg ZnSO₄ ha⁻¹. Significantly highest dry matter production was registered with 40 Kg N ha⁻¹, while it was the lowest with 20 Kg N ha⁻¹. Yield attributes and seed and stalk yield were the highest with 30 Kg N ha⁻¹. Among the zinc management practices 0.5% ZnSO₄ spray at 25 and 45 DAS resulted in highest seed and stalk yield. With regard to quality parameters, protein content was found to be the highest with 40 Kg N ha⁻¹, which was however, comparable with 30 Kg N ha⁻¹. The highest protein content was recorded with 0.5% ZnSO₄ spray at 25 and 45 DAS while it was the lowest with 20 Kg ZnSO₄ ha⁻¹.