Effect of sowing dates on production potential of rajmash under Punjab conditions

A multi-location study was conducted during spring 2016 to find out the optimum time of sowing of rajmash in Punjab. The experiment comprising of different dates of sowing (20 January, 1 February, 10 February, 20 February and 1 March) and genotypes (Rajmash Lal and Rajmash Chitra) was conducted in a split plot design by keeping dates of sowing in the main plots and genotypes in the sub plots. Results revealed that 10 February sowing recorded the highest grain yield at all the locations except at Ludhiana and Usman where 1 February and 20 January sowing, respectively provided the highest grain yield. On the basis of six experiments (locations), 1 February to 10 February provided higher grain yield over earlier or later sowing dates. Sowing on 10 February recorded the highest gross returns, net returns and B: C ratio. Days to maturity decreased with delay in sowing. On the mean basis, the genotype Rajmash Chitra recorded 22.3% higher grain yield over Rajmash Lal. It can be concluded that 1–10 February is the optimum sowing time of rajmash and Rajmash Chitra is the promising genotype to get high productivity of the crop under Punjab conditions.