Effect of varying Irrigation Frequencies on Growth, Yield and Quality ...

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346 I. Ashraf et al. Number <strong>of</strong> seeds per pod On the basis <strong>of</strong> two years mean, cultivar Meteor produced more number <strong>of</strong> seeds (6.1) in I 3 (12 irrigations upto pod filling stage) while Climax gave more seeds (5.6) in I 4 (13 irrigations upto seed maturity stage) (Table 3). As far as year effect is concerned, both cultivars gave higher number <strong>of</strong> seeds during the year 2006-07 where Meteor surpassed (6.5 seeds/pod) the Climax (6.0). During the year 2005-06 both these cultivars gave less number <strong>of</strong> seeds per pod i.e. Climax 4.3 and Meteor 4.6. Pea seed yield was closely related to pod number per unit area and water stress. The number <strong>of</strong> seeds per pod was unaffected by water stress (15). Water stress initiated during vegetative or early reproductive growth <strong>of</strong> soybean usually reduced yield by reducing number <strong>of</strong> seeds per unit area (6), while stress during seed filling reduced seed size (7), seeds per unit area and yield can be reduced by short periods <strong>of</strong> stress during flowering and pod set (32). The major portion <strong>of</strong> this yield reduction was related to fewer seeds being produced (8, 12). 1000-seed weight (g) In this trait, both cultivars performed significantly better in treatment I 4 (irrigations upto seed maturity) (Meteor 251.5 and Climax 250.2 g) followed by I 3 (irrigations upto seed filling stage) (Meteor 242.5 and Climax 241.9 g) (Table 3). Increased water use efficiency with increasing water stress has also been observed in lentils by Mckenzie and Hill (18) reflecting the lower soil evaporation component <strong>of</strong> water use without irrigation. Water use efficiencies in this study are similar to those reported by Zain et al (37). Vieira et al. (33) reported yield reduction <strong>of</strong> 35-41 percent when drought stress was imposed during seed filling in green house experiment but found no effect on germination. Drought stress resulted in significantly inferior quality seeds as compared to well watered control plants. <strong>Irrigation</strong> during full reproductive period was required for maximum seed yield and germination <strong>of</strong> harvested seed (12). Seed fresh weight per plant (g) Maximum seed fresh weight was noted in case <strong>of</strong> Meteor in treatment I 1 (88.4 g) which was statistically similar to I 4 (88.2 g) (Table 4). However, J. Agric. Res., 2011, 49(3)
<strong>Effect</strong> <strong>of</strong> irrigation frequencies on pea 347 Climax performed better in I 4 (89.0 g). For years effect, both cultivars on the basis <strong>of</strong> two years mean, gave more seed fresh weight during the year 2006-07 as compared to 2005-06. Seed dry weight per plant (g) The data (Table 4) further showed that Meteor stood first for this trait in treatment I 4 (66.0 g) while Climax (65.1 g) ranked second. It was followed by treatment I 3 (Meteor 64.5 and Climax 63.5 g). Treatment I 4 differed significantly from other irrigation treatments in case <strong>of</strong> Climax but not in case <strong>of</strong> Meteor which yielded similar to I 1 and I 2 . The results also showed that both cultivars produced more dry weight during the year 2006-07. These results are in line with Vieira et al., (33) who reported a yield reducation <strong>of</strong> 35-41 percent when drought stress was imposed during seed filling. When drought stress was imposed, significantly inferior quality seeds were produced as compared to well watered control plants. Seed yield per hectare (Tons) On average basis seed, yield was maximum in case <strong>of</strong> Meteor (2.5 t) in treatment I 3 while Climax performed better (2.2 t) in treatment I 4 . As far as year effect is concerned, both cultivars produced more seed yield during the year 2006-07 where Meteor excelled (2.3 t) the cultivar Climax (2.1 t). In case <strong>of</strong> interaction, Meteor produced more seed yield (2.8 t) during 2006-07 in treatment I 3. <strong>Irrigation</strong> at flowering and again at pod filling represented the traditional irrigation recommendation for dry peas grown on heavier soils (28). The low yields were associated with low number <strong>of</strong> pods, nodes per stem and pods per node and a slower increase in pod weight (19). In these experiments, irrigation at any growth stage increased yield but the highest yield for both cultivars were achieved where water stress was completely eliminated by irrigating upto seed filling stage where yield was significantly higher than those achieved by other irrigation treatments. Electrical conductivity (µ/g) On the basis <strong>of</strong> two years average, maximum electrical conductivity was found in both cultivars in I 3 (Meteor 23.4 and Climax 22.9 us/g) followed by treatment I 2 (Meteor 22.6 and Climax 22.3 us/g) (Table 5). As far as years J. Agric. Res., 2011, 49(3)
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