Influence of nipping technology on growth, yield and economics of pigeonpea cultivated under rainfed situation

Abstract

Pigeonpea is an important pulse crop in the cropping pattern supplying cheap protein diet. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kalaburagi has conducted frontline demonstrations on farmer fields in adopted villages to study the effect of nipping on seed yield of pigeonpea (TS-3R). The results revealed that nipping of the terminal bud in between 45 to 50 days of crop growth stage significantly reduced the height of the plant and increased the number of primary and secondary branches and pods per plant. The nipping operation of pigeonpea crop has given yield increased of 19.59, 17.39 and 14.37 per cent during 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively over check. The nipping practice in pigeon pea resulted in increased an average three year yield of 13.24 q/ha over check plot (11.28 q/ha). The changes will accelerate the adoption of nipping technologies to increase the productivity of pigeonpea in this area. There is a need to adopt multi pronged strategy which involves enhancing pigeonpea production through horizontal and vertical expansion and productivity improvements.