Response of super early varieties of pigeonpea to crop geometry under rainfed conditions

In Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh long duration varieties of pigeonpea (160-180 days) is grown during rabi under rainfed conditions. Late or advancement of north east monsoon, prolonged breaks and early cessation of rainfall may have devastating effects on pigeonpea yield in rainfed areas of Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh even if the mean annual rainfall is normal. In this context, there is a need for introduction of suitable super early varieties of pigeonpea which are ideal even under changing climatic situations, with suitable crop geometry to enhance the yields of pigeonpea.

A field experiment was conducted during rabi, 2018-19 and 2019-20 at Agricultural Research Station, Podalakur, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore andhra Pradesh, to find out the suitable super early variety of pigeonpea and their response to different crop geometries. The present field experiment was laid out in a split plot design with 4 varieties of pigeonpea (V₁: ICPL 20338; V₂: ICPL 20325; V₃: ICPL 11255; V₄: LRG 52) as main plot treatments and 3 crop geometries (S₁: 30 cm × 15 cm; S₂: 45 cm × 15 cm); S₃: 60 cm × 15 cm) as subplot treatments and replicated thrice.

Super early variety ICPL-20325 recorded the highest mean grain yield (1098 kg ha^-1) among the four varieties of pigeonpea tested. Among the three crop geometries tested significantly the highest grain yield (930 kg ha^-1) was recorded at 45 cm × 15 cm. Super early varieties ICPL-20325 (1256 kg ha^-1), ICPL-11255 (930 kg ha^-1) and ICPL-20338 (817 kg ha^-1) recorded higher mean grain yield at crop geometry of 45 cm × 15 cm. LRG-52 (996 kg ha^-1) variety recorded higher grain yield at crop geometry of 60 cm × 15 cm.