A field experiment entitled “Effect of water and nutrient management practices on the growth and yield of field pea (
Pisum sativum L.)” was conducted at the Instructional Farm, Dau Kalyan Singh College of Agriculture and Research Station, Bhatapara (C.G.) during the
rabi season of 2024-25. The study was laid out in a split-plot-design with three replications. The main-plot treatments consisted of four irrigation levels: I₁ - No irrigation, I₂ - One irrigation at Branching stage, I₃ - Two irrigations at Branching and Pod development stages, and I₄ - Three irrigations at Branching, Flowering, and Pod development stages. The sub-plot treatments included six nutrient management practices: N₁ - Control, N₂ - Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (RDF: 20:50:20 kg NPK ha
-1), N₃ - 75% RDF + Biofertilizer, N₄ - 100% RDF + Biofertilizer, N₅ - 75% RDF + Biofertilizer + Nitrobenzene at 30 DAS and pre-flowering, and N₆ - 100% RDF + Biofertilizer + Nitrobenzene at 30 DAS and pre-flowering. The results revealed that irrigation management significantly enhanced yield attributes such as the number of pods per plant, pod length, number of seeds per pod, seed index, grain yield, stover yield, and harvest index of field pea. Among the irrigation treatments, three irrigations applied at the branching, flowering, and pod development stages (I₄) consistently recorded the highest values for all yield attributes and yield, followed by two irrigations at branching and pod development stages (I₃).
Regarding nutrient management, the treatment comprising 100% RDF + Biofertilizer + Nitrobenzene applied at 30 DAS and pre-flowering stage (N₆) resulted in the maximum improvement in all yield attributes and overall productivity, whereas the control (N₁) recorded the lowest performance. Notably, the interaction effect between irrigation and nutrient management on yield attributes and yield was found to be non-significant.
