DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, DHARWAD Seminar on

INTEGRATED CROP MANAGEMENT IN PIGEONPEA

S. B. PATIL, PGS10AGR5185, Doctoral Seminar, AGR-691, Date : 08.04.2011, Time : 1.30 pm Pigeonpea is an important pulse crop of India, grown in an area of 3.38 million hectares with a production of 2.27 million tonnes and productivity of 671 kg ha-1 (Anon., 2009). Karnataka is one among the important states in the country cultivating pigeonpea and contributing 18 per cent to area and 14 per cent to the production. It has been established as a potential pulse crop of the state especially in North parts of the state comprising Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur and Bijapur districts. Integrated crop management (ICM) is a common sense approach to farming. It combines the best of modern technology with some basic principles of good farming practice, balancing the economic production of crops with positive environmental management. Basic components of ICM are crop management, nutrient management, pest management and financial management. ICM strategies in pigeonpea Variety Tembhurne et al. (2009) reported that DESP 9 (2959.38 kg ha-1) recorded significantly superior grain of pigeonpea under irrigated condition over two checks viz., GS 1 (2484.85 kg ha-1) and ICP 8863 (2288.51 kg ha-1). But it was on par with ICPL 87119 (2641.51 kg ha-1). It gave 19.1 per cent and 29.3 per cent higher grain yield over GS 1 and ICP 8863, respectively. Land preparation and crop establishment Singh et al. (2002) revealed that crop established on raised bed being at par with ridge method, producing significantly higher grain yield than those of flat bed and flat bed followed by furrow making at 30 days after sowing. Planting on raised bed and ridge resulted in increased yield to the tune of 44 and 37 per cent over traditional flat bed method, respectively. Soil management / conservation practices Ajaykumar and Rana (2007) reported that plating of one row of greengram between paired row (30/70 cm) of pigeonpea proved superior to the sole pigeonpea in term of pigeonpea equivalent yield, WUE and economics. Application of soil mulch + FYM 5 tonnes ha-1 + Kaolin 6 per cent spray was found the best moisture conservation practice by recording the maximum values of pigeonpea equivalent yield (18.09 q ha-1), WUE (5.10 kg ha-1cm) and economics. Cropping system approach Prasanna Kumar et al. (2008) reported that pure cropping of little millet and pigeonpea gave significantly higher grain yield than in intercropping system. The highest little millet grain equivalent yield (2152 kg ha-1) was recorded in 6:2 row ratio of little millet and pigeonpea horsegram sequence which was closely followed by 6:2 row proportion (2102 kg ha-1) but significantly superior over all other intercropping and sole crops. Water management Shelke et al. (1998) observed that irrigating the crop either each furrow or alternate furrow or even furrow after every two rows (BBF) gave significant higher seed yield of pigeonpea over flat bed. Similarly higher moisture use efficiency was observed with furrow irrigation over flat bed and also scheduling irrigation either at critical stages viz., bud initiation, flowering and pod development or 0.5 IW/CPE ratio were on par and they produced significantly higher seed yield and recorded higher moisture use efficiency. Integrated nutrient management Patil and Padmani (2007) revealed that seed inoculation with biofertilizers (Rhizobium + Pseudomonas striata), application of FYM 5 tonnes ha-1 and fertilizing crops with 100 per cent RDF gave the significant higher grain yield (1279, 1281 and 1406 kg ha-1, respectively), protein content, N and P content in grains and net realization as compared to other integrated nutrient management practices.

Integrated weed management Talnikar et al. (2008) reported that highest pigeonpea equivalent yield (1037 kg ha-1) and lower weed density (5.17 m2) was observed in pigeonpea + soybean (2:4) intercropping with pre-emergence application of Alachlor @ 2 kg a.i ha-1 followed by hand weeding and hoeing at 6 weeks after sowing which was on par with weed free pigeonpea sole. Integrated pest management Spray of Endosulfan 0.07% followed by Monocrotophos 0.04% exhibited least pest damage and higher grain yield. However, the treatment NSKE 5% followed by application of Monocrotophos 0.04% was on par with best treatment (Keval et al., 2006). Srinivas Rao et al. (2007) found that intercrops significantly alter the pod damage and grain damage by pod borers and were least pod and grain damage was observed by pigeonpea intercropping with sorghum followed by pigeonpea + blackgram and pigeonpea + groundnut intercropping systems. Integrated disease management Agrawal and Tripathi (2003) reported that the minimum early stage mortality (10.0%) due to Phytophthora blight incidence (4.3%) and wilt incidence (1.2%) were recorded under pigeonpea + sorghum (2:2) intercropping system, which was at par with pigeonpea + sorghum (1:1 and 2:1) intercropping systems. Conclusion By adopting improved land preparation and crop establishment techniques with improved variety either as sole crop or inter crop farmers could get more benefit in pigeonpea production system. Integrating crop production strategies to provide benefits such as pest, disease and weed control, maintain soil fertility and higher productivity of pigeonpea. Cropping system approach can be used for reducing erosion and nutrient mobility, increased pest and disease prevention and better nutrient balancing through the use of nitrogen fixing plants. Adoption of ICM strategies viz., selection of variety and seed source; determination of the sowing and cropping calendar; land preparation practices; plant establishment techniques; protection from weeds, insects, diseases and other pests; nutrition supply to meet crop needs; management of water supply and conservation and harvesting and grain storage, all these activities singularly and collectively, improves the production of biomass in all phases of crop development, which ultimately determines the parameters of plant growth, yield components, yield and economics of pigeonpea. Selected references Agrawal, S.C. and Tripathi, A.K., 2003, Efficacy of different intercropping systems on wilt and phytophthora blight incidence and yield of pigeonpea. Indian J. Pulses Res., 16(1) : 71-72. Ajay Kumar and Rana, K.S., 2007, Performance of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) + greengram (Phaseolus radiatus) intercropping system as influenced by moisture-conservation practices and fertility level under rainfed conditions. India J. Agron., 52(1) : 31-35. Keval, R., Srivastava and Joshi, N., 2006, Integration of some pest management components against major insect pest of short duration pigeonpea. Indian J. Pulses Res., 19(1) : 140-142. Patil, A.B. and Padmani, D.R., 2007, Effect of INM practices on yield, quality and economics of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp) under rainfed conditions. Internat. J. Agric. Sci., 3(3) : 202-204. Prasanna Kumar, B.H., Halikatti, S.I., Hiremath, S.M. and Chittapur, B.M., 2008, Effect of intercropping system and row proportions on the growth and yield of little millet and pigeonpea. Karnataka J. Agric. Sci., 21(4) : 479-481. Shelke, D.K., Sondge, V.D. and Oza, S.R., 1998, Response of pigeonpea to irrigation scheduling and methods under rainfed situation. J. Maharashtra agric. Univ., 23(3) : 316. Talnikar, A.S., Kadam, G.L., Karande, D.R. and Jogdand, P.B., 2008, Integrated weed management in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.). Internat. J. Agric. Sci., 4(1) : 363-370. Tembhurne, B.V., Patil Amaregouda and Kuchanur, D.P.H., 2009, Performance of pigeopea under irrigated conditions in UKP command area. Legume Res., 32(2) : 151-152.