Effect of drought mitigation strategies on growth, yield and economics of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp)

A field experiment was conducted over three years (Kharif - 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19) at Pulses Improvement Project, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri Maharashtra, India to evaluate the impact of various drought mitigation strategies on growth, yield attributes and economics of pigeonpea ‘Vipula’. Altogether ten drought mitigation practices involving seed hardening with CaCl₂ (2%), vermicompost @ 2.5 ha⁻¹, FYM @ 5 ha⁻¹ + 2% KH₂PO₄ spray at flowering, + 2% KNO₃ spray at pod development stage, mulching with organic residues @ 5 ha⁻¹ and pusa hydrogel @ 2.5 kg ha⁻¹ control were taken under rainfed condition with three replications in RBD. On the basis of pooled results of three years, it revealed that Pusa hydrogel @ 2.5 kg ha⁻¹ + mulching with organic residues @ 5 ha⁻¹, recorded maximum grain yield (2135.7 kg ha⁻¹) and stalk yield (9396 kg ha⁻¹), with highest net returns (INR 59560/ha⁻¹) and B:C ratio (2.2) also. Pusa hydrogel @ 2.5 kg ha⁻¹+ mulching with organic residues @ 5 ha⁻¹ enhanced yield to a great extant (36.5%) over control. Thus application of Pusa hydrogel @ 2.5 kg ha⁻¹ + mulching with organic residues @ 5 ha⁻¹ may be useful for mitigating of drought in pigeonpea.