Evaluation of Pigeonpea Varieties under Different Sowing Dates

Pigeonpea also known as red gram, arhar and tur [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] is the most important kharif grain legume crop belongs to the family Leguminoseae, originated from the Africa. Time of sowing, a non-monetary input, has a considerable influence on growth and yield of this crop. It ensures the complete harmony between vegetative and reproductive phases on one hand and climatic rhythm on the other hand. Sowing time also plays an important role in dry matter accumulation by the crop. Early sown crop may accumulate excessive dry matter and reduce podding, where as late sown crop may reduce the biomass accumulation and consequently reduction in yield. Delayed sowings beyond the optimum period result in low grain yields of pigeonpea. Further, genotypes may vary in productivity and are equally important in realizing the potential yield of this crop. Long duration genotypes produce higher yield than early maturing genotypes, but they take more time to mature which may delay the sowing of succeeding crop such as wheat in a sequence cropping system. Keeping all these factors in mind, the present experiment was conducted during 2015.