Effect of nitrogen on growth and yield of different varieties of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L)

Abstract

Afield experiment was conducted to evaluate the field efficacy of varying nitrogen levels on growth and yield of different varieties of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Field experiment was conducted in a split plot design with four levels of nitrogen (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg/ha) in main plots and five varieties (RLC 1, RLC 11, RLC 12, PBR 210 and PBR 91) in the sub plots. Application of N significantly increased plant height, dry matter accumulation (DMA), leaf area index (LAI) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) interception over the control. Nitrogen application delayed initiation of flowering and significantly increased number of the secondary branches and number of siliquae per plant and seeds per siliquae over control. PBR 91 and PBR 210 exhibited significantly better growth in terms of plant height, DMA and LAI with higher PAR as compared to RLC 11 and RLC 1. PBR 91, RLC 1 and PBR 210 registered significantly higher test weight than RLC 11 and RLC 12. Application of 100 kg N/ha increased the seed yield significantly over the control and 50 kg N/ha but remained at par with 150 kg N/ha. All the test varieties produced statistically similar seed yields