RESPONSE OF IN-SITU RAINWATER CONSERVATION MEASURES ON PRODUCTIVITY OF PIGEON PEA

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1 RESPONSE OF IN-SITU RAINWATER CONSERVATION MEASURES ON PRODUCTIVITY OF PIGEON PEA S. D. Payal 1, S. R. Weladi 2, A. S. Kadale 3, S. K. Upadhye 4 1 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Soil and Water Cons. Engg., College of Agril. Engg. and Tech.,VNMKV, Parbhani 2 Ex- M. Tech. Student, Dept. of Soil and Water Cons. Engg., College of Agril. Engg. and Tech.,VNMKV, Parbhani 3 Head, Deptt. of Soil and Water Cons. Engg., College of Agril. Engg. and Tech.,VNMKV, Parbhani 4Assistant Professor (SWCE), Operational Research Project, AICRPDA, Solapur Received: 15/11/2017 Edited: 23/11/2017 Accepted: 30/11/2017 Abstract: Rainwater conservation have favorable impact on moisture condition and consequently on crop productivity. Considering the scanty, erratic nature and uneven distribution rainfall, the in situ moisture conservation techniques for pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millisp.) play vital role in sustainable productivity. A field investigation was carried out at All India coordinate Research Project (AICRP) for Dry Land Agricultural Farm, for pigeonpea crop during kharif season of 2013 to find out the response of different in-situ rainwater conservation practices on plant productivity. The seven conservation treatments viz., sowing of pigeon pea crop along the slope (control) (T 1 ), sowing of pigeon pea crop across the slope (T 2 ), opening of furrow after two rows across the slope (T 3 ), opening of furrow after three rows across the slope (T 4 ), opening of furrow after four rows across the slope (T 5 ), opening of furrow after five rows across the slope (T 6 ), opening of furrow after six rows across the slope (T 7 ) were studied. All the conservation treatments were effective in increasing soil moisture level over control, but treatmentt 3 i.e., opening of furrow after two rows across the slope proved to be the best. Further treatment T 3 helped to promote the productivity of pigeon pea as evident in significantly higher yield of kg/ha. It also helps in enhancing the plant height, number of branches and number of pods by 14.17%, 78.44% and 41.83% respectively over control. Significantly higher water use efficiency (4.95kg/hamm), net returns ( Rs/ha) and B:C ratio (4.9) were also observed. The treatment T 3 i.e., opening of furrow after two rows across the slope. for in-situ rainwater conservation found promising for successful cultivation of pigeon pea. Key words: in situ rainwater conservation practices, pigeon pea, Grain yield, water use efficiency. Introduction Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) commonly known as red gram is an important legume crop in the dryland agricultural production systems. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world with 25 per cent share in the global production and has the largest area (3.6 M ha) under pigeon pea. The major pulse producing states are Maharashtra (20%), Madhya Pradesh (17%), Rajasthan (11%), Uttar Pradesh (11%) and Andhra Pradesh (11%). Pigeon pea is an important constituent in the category of pulses among all Indians (Accelerated pulses production programme ). Availability of per cent protein in pigeon pea supplements the energy rich cereal diet. From natural resource management perspective, cultivation of pigeon pea improves the soil characteristics and fertility status (up to 200 kg N ha -1 ) ensuring better growth to succeeding crop by contributing about 40 kg Nha -1. Its stalks are source of fuel and used for other socio-economic purpose in rural area. Soil and water, which are important natural resources, is the production base of all agricultural systems and its conservation is one of the pillars of sustainability. Irregular or insufficient rainfall can be a serious limitation to agricultural production, causing low yields and even crop failure. This is particularly true in dry lands, where productivity UGC Approved Journal (Sr. No Journal No ) / NAAS Score 2017: 3.23, GIFactor:

2 levels are generally very low, (Benites and Castellanos, 2003). Hence it is of prime importance to conserve soil and water, which is main capital of the farmer as well as the nation, at all cost. Soil moisture management by in situ moisture conservation techniques, is thus viable option for enhancing the agricultural production by capturing the rainfall where it falls, the availability of water in the soil and water use efficiency in dry lands. Soil conservation promotes practices that stop the decline in soil quality and over time, improve soil quality. Conservation practices are generally those that reduce wind speed, reduce rate and amount of water movement, and/or increase soil organic matter levels. Looking to the need of moisture conservation the present study was undertaken to assess the response of in-situ rainwater conservation measures on productivity of pigeon pea. Materials and Methods The field investigation was conducted at All India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) for Dry Land Agricultural Farm, VNMKV, Parbhani of Maharashtra state for Pigeon pea (cv. BDN 2009) crop during kharif season in the year Geographically Parbhani is situated at ' North latitude and ' East longitudes with an elevation of 406 m above mean sea level (Agriculture contingency plan of Parbhani district). The soil type of experimental plot ranges from medium to deep black with ph of 8.2 and bulk density 1.37 kg per m -3. The experiment consisted of seven treatments with three replications. The treatments included Sowing of pigeon pea crop along the slope (control) (T 1 ), Sowing of pigeon pea crop across the slope (T 2 ), Opening of furrow after two rows across the slope (T 3 ), Opening of furrow after three rows across the slope (T 4 ), Opening of furrow after four rows across the slope (T 5 ), Opening of furrow after five rows across the slope (T 6 ), Opening of furrow after six rows across the slope (T 7 ). The experiment was laid out on an area of 48 20m in a Randomized Block Design with 90 20cm plant spacing. The observations were recorded on different growth stages of pigeon pea i.e., Branching stage (0-45 days after sowing), Flowering stage ( days), 50% Flowering stage ( days), Pod formation ( days), Grain development ( days), Maturity stage ( days). As per rainfall data recorded by Department of Meteorology at V.N.M.K.V, Parbhani station the total rainfall during the year was mm. Out of total rainfall received during Kharif 2013 the effective rainfall was with 58 numbers of rainy days. As per treatments, furrows were opened with bullock drawn plough after 45 days of sowing. The crop was cultivated with recommended package of practices and harvested on 21 st January Plant growth attributes i.e., plant height, number of branches, number of pods were recorded during harvesting by selecting the five plants randomly from each treatments. Soil moisture content was estimated by gravimetric method. Moisture use efficiency was determined by dividing the yield with consumptive use of water by the plants. Results and Discussion Soil moisture status The data on soil moisture conserved during the kharif season 2013 overall up to 45cm depth indicated that the moisture contents in opening of furrow across the slope in pigeon pea crop were significantly superior over control (T 1 ). The highest mean moisture conserved (21.86 %) was recorded under opening of furrow across the slope after two rows (T 3 ), while the lowest (13.92 %) was under control (T 1 ) (Table 1).It was also found that the percent increase in moisture conservation in opening of furrows across the slope in pigeon pea crop was recorded (63.67%) higher than the control treatment T 1. UGC Approved Journal (Sr. No Journal No ) / NAAS Score 2017: 3.23, GIFactor:

3 Table 1: Mean moisture content during Kharif as influenced by in situ moisture conservation practices Treatments Per cent moisture T T T T T T T Mean SE± 0.34 CD at 5% level 1.06 Per-cent moisture Per-cent moisture T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 Fig 1: Mean soil moisture during the kharif Plant Growth Highest number of branches was recorded in opening of furrow after two rows (T 3 ) i.e., numbers. It was per cent higher than the control treatment T 1 (8.46). Table 2: Effect of in-situ rainwater conservation practices on plant growth Treatments No. of Branches Height of Plant(cm) No. of Pods T T T T T T T Mean SE± CD at 5% level UGC Approved Journal (Sr. No Journal No ) / NAAS Score 2017: 3.23, GIFactor:

4 No. of Branches Height of Plant(cm) No. of Pods Fig 2: Effect of in situ rainwater conservation practices on plant growth Yield and yield attributing parameters Significantly the higher yield due to moisture conservation practice was evident in dry land pigeon pea. The data indicated higher yield ( kg/ha) with opening of furrow across the slope after two rows. On the contrary the yield obtained in sowing along the slope (control) was reduced to near 11.7 per cent. The data indicated that significantly higher production of dry matter (gm/plant) was observed with opening of furrows after two rows across the slope in pigeon pea crop. Allolli et.al (2007) reported that moisture conservation practices (ridges and furrow+ mulch) promote the higher yield as compared to flat bed. Consumptive use and rain water use efficiency Opening of furrow across the slope after two rows on consumptive use was effective for in situ rain water conservation and resulted in higher soil water availability in the soil profile as indicated by higher consumptive use of water ( mm). Opening of furrow after two rows increased critical consumptive use of water by mm over sowing along the slope i.e., control T 1. This has led to increased rain water use efficiency to 1.51 kg/ha-mm over control. Rao et al (2010) reported that among all in situ rainwater conservation practices, significantly higher mean water use efficiency was recorded in IPRWH for grain 4.07 kg/ha/mm as compared to 2.82 kg/ha/mm observed under control. This was attributed to increase in grain yield with increased soil water content under rainwater conservation practice (Brhane et al., 2006). Table 3: Effect of rainwater conservation practices on consumptive use, grain yield, water use efficiency in pigeon pea crop during Kharif Treatments Consumptive use (mm) Grain yield (kg/ha) Water use efficiency (kg/ha-mm) T T T T T T T Mean SE± CD at 5% level UGC Approved Journal (Sr. No Journal No ) / NAAS Score 2017: 3.23, GIFactor:

5 4000 Consumptive use (mm) Water use efficiency(kg/ha-mm) 3000 Grain yield (kg/ha) T1 T T T4 T5 0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T6 T7 Fig 3: Mean effect of consumptive use, grain yield in pigeon pea crop during Kharif 2013 Fig 4: Effect of water use efficiency in pigeon pea crop during Kharif 2013 Economics (table 4). It was also found that per-cent increase in Analysis of different moisture conservation net monitory return in opening of furrow across the practices in pigeon pea obviously reflects the slope after two rows in pigeon pea (T 3 ) over the superiority. Opening of furrow across the slope after control treatment (T 1 ) was recorded. Sagare et al. two rows recorded significantly higher net returns of (2001) reported that opening furrow after each row Rs ha -1 with benefit cost ratio of (4.9:1) as and after two rows of cotton results in higher compared to net return of Rs and (3.2:1) B: C benefit: cost ratio (2.22 and 2.88 respectively) over ratio obtained in sowing along the slope (control) T 1 control (1.69). Table 4: Effect of opening of furrows on GMR, NMR and B: C ratio in pigeon pea crop during Kharif Treatments Cost of cultivation GMR NMR T T T T T T T Mean SE± CD at 5% level B:C Ratio Cost of cultivation GMR NMR T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 B:C Ratio T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 Fig 5.Effect of rainwater conservation practices on Fig 6. Mean effect of B: C ratio in pigeon pea crop GMR, NMR in pigeon pea crop during Kharif 2013 during Kharif 2013 UGC Approved Journal (Sr. No Journal No ) / NAAS Score 2017: 3.23, GIFactor:

6 Conclusions The in situ rainwater conservation practices, in general, had favorable effect on growth of pigeon pea. Opening of furrow across the slope after two rows in pigeon pea imparted significant effect on moisture conservation in the root zone of the pigeon pea, it s growth and development for getting higher yield. This subsequently lead to higher net return and B: C ratio. Among the in-situ rainwater conservation practices, significantly higher mean consumptive use and rain water use efficiency was also recorded in opening of furrow after two rows (T 3 ). Therefore opening of furrows across the slope after two rows in pigeon pea ensured successful in pigeon pea production under rainfed condition. References Agriculture Contingency Plan of Parbhani District (2016). Allolli T. B, Hulihalli U. K and Athani S. I. (2007). Influence of in situ moisture conservation practices on the performance of dry land chili. Department of Horticulture University of Agricultural sciences, Dharwad , Karnataka, India. Brhane,G., Charles, S.W., Mamo, M. Gebrekidan, H. and Belay, A.(2006). Micro-Basin tillage for grain sorghum production in semiarid areas of Northen Ethiopia.Agrin. J., 98: José R. Benites and Antonio Castellanos.(2003) improving soil moisture with Conservation agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy. Rao S.S. Regar P.L and Singh Y.V. (2010) Effect of in-situ rainwater conservation practices in sorghum (sorghum bicolor) under rainfed condition in arid region.central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional research Station, Pali-Marwar Sagare,B.N., Rewatkar,S.S.and Babhulkr,V. (2001) Effect of land configuration and gypsum levels on dynamics of soil properties and productivity of cotton grown in sodic Vertisols. J.Indin Soc.Soil Sci., 49: UGC Approved Journal (Sr. No Journal No ) / NAAS Score 2017: 3.23, GIFactor: