Evaluation of high harvest index urdbean (Vigna mungo L.) varieties using path analysis in various crop spacing under rainfed conditions in Tamil Nadu

One of the most valuable crops is black gram, which has a high nutritional value, a short growing season and is suitable for many different farming systems. This study aims to evaluate the high harvest index urdbean varieties using path analysis in various crop spacing under rainfed conditions in Tamil Nadu.

The experiments was carried out during three consecutive years (2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 20218-2019) of Kharif season at Agricultural Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Virinjipuram, Tamil Nadu. The experiments was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications.

The pooled results of three years revealed that the urdbean variety VBN (Bg) 6 had the maximum seed yield of 691 kg ha^-1, whereas MDU 1 had the lowest seed yield of 536 kg ha^-1. When compared to other crop spacing, 20 cm × 10 cm had the maximum seed output of 683 kg ha^-1. The ideal plant spacing of 20 cm × 10 cm enhanced seed production by 38.0 percent and harvest index by 16 per cent when compared to the advised crop spacing of 30 cm × 10 cm.