Optimizing growth and yield of pigeonpea under late-sown conditions through land configuration and foliar nutrition

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during kharif 2023 at the AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Regional Agriculture Research Station, Vijayapura, Karnataka, to study the influence of land configuration and foliar nutrition on the growth,yield and economics of pigeonpea under late-sown conditions. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design, with threeland configurations assigned to the main plot: broad bed and furrow (BBF), conservation furrow (CF) and flatbed (FB) andfive foliar spray treatments to subplots: 2% urea, 1% KNO3, 1% 19:19:19, 0.4% nano-DAP, and control (water spray). Foliar sprays were applied during the P4 (flowering initiation) and P5 (50% podding) stages. Among the treatments, BBFin combination with 1% KNO3 sprays consistently recorded superior performance, resulting in 15-20% higher grain yieldover the control. This treatment also produced the highest stalk yield (3833 kg ha-1), biological yield (5129 kg ha-1), grainweight per plant (52.7 g plant-1), and number of pods per plant (111). Improved growth attributes, such as taller plants,more primary and secondary branches, contributed to enhanced yield components. The benefits of BBF were attributed toimproved soil moisture conservation,while potassium (K) through KNO3 sprays enhanced stomatal regulation and preventionof water loss, enabling efficient dry matter partitioning to leaves, stems and reproductive parts under late-sown moisturestressedconditions. Correlation studies between growth and yield revealed that plant height (r=0.58*) and the number ofsecondary branches (r=0.86**) had significant positive associations with seed yield. Economic analysis indicated that BBFwith 1% KNO3foliar sprayresulted inthe highest net returns (`67,376 ha-1) and benefit-cost ratio (2.21). The studyhighlights the importance of adopting BBF coupled with foliar sprays of KNO3 as an effective drought-proofing strategyto enhance productivity and profitability of late-sown pigeonpea in dryland regions.