Division of Plant Physiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012, (India)
Plants of two varieties of mungbean, Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek, i.e. Pusa Baisakhi and PS 16 were grown during kharif 1981 in one metre long PVC pots specially designed for water requirement studies with a view to analyse the effect of short spells of overwatering on their water use efficiency. Two soil moisture levels i.e. 12–14% (2/3 field capacity) and 5–7% (1/3 field capacity) were maintained for each variety. After 20 days from sowing the soil moisture of pots from each of the two water regimes was raised to 6% above field capacity (half way between saturation moisture and the field capacity) for 7 days at a stretch. This high water treatment was repeated after 7 days.
