Growth, nodulation, yield, nitrogen uptake, and economics of lentil as influenced by sowing time, tillage, and management practices

Crop management practices and variety are two very important parameters that decides the crop performance. A field experiment was carried out during the two consecutive rabi seasons of 2018-19 and 2019-20 to determine the impact of sowing timing, tillage operation, and variety on the growth, development, yield characteristics, and nitrogen uptake in lentil crops. The experiment was conducted in a split-split plot design with 3 replications comprising two different sowing conditions (S-1: early sowing after harvesting of short duration kharif rice, S-2: delayed sowing after harvesting of long duration kharif rice) in main plots, three different tillage operations (T-1: Relay cropping, T-2: Zero tillage, T-3: Conventional tillage) in subplots and two different varieties (V-1: short duration: L4717, V-2: long period: Moitri) in subplots. The findings demonstrated a substantial interaction between sowing time, tillage, and variety on various growth and yield parameters of lentil crops. The early sowing of lentil crops (early November) yielded 4.8% more (1,105 kg ha(-1)) than late November sowing and adapting to the short-duration variety L4717 over the long-duration cultivar Moitri resulted in a yield increase of 5.9% (1,086 kg ha(-1)). Apart from providing a higher yield, it also provided an opportunity to take another crop like leafy vegetables. Among the three tillage practices adopted, conventional tillage produced the lowest yield (1,017 kg ha(-1)) in both experimental years. In contrast, a yield increase of 6.9% and 26.9% in relay cropping and zero tillage systems was observed, respectively. Early-sown lentils with no-tillage and a short-duration variety reached a certain phenophase faster than other combinations (life cycle: 96.2 and 98.7 days for lentils in both years). For both the sowing times, the growth parameters and the number of nodules plant(-1) were highly correlated with nitrogen uptake at different stages of the life cycle. High net returns (Rs. 51,220 and 59,257) leading to higher benefit-cost ratios were observed under the treatment combination of early sowing + zero tillage + short duration variety. Therefore, the study found that short-duration lentil cultivars in combination with early sowing in the zero-tillage system are the best agronomic approach for the sustainability of lentil production after the monsoon rice harvest.