Radiation interception and growth dynamics in mustard under different dates of sowing

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted to study the radiation interception and growth dynamics of mustard under different dates of sowing at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Mustard was cultivated with three dates of sowing (10th October, 5th November, 1st December) and two mustard cultivars (RLC-3 and PBR-357) replicated thrice under split plot design during rabi 2017-18. Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), dry matter accumulation (DMA) and leaf area index (LAI) was recorded in different treatments at periodic intervals. The PAR interception was higher in 10th October sowing as compared to 5th November and 1st December sowing in both the cultivars RLC-3 and PBR-357 at the flowering as well as siliqua formation stage. Among the cultivars, PBR-357 intercepted more PAR than RLC-3 under all the dates of sowing at flowering and siliqua formation stage. Among dates of sowing, early sown crop (10th October) recorded highest LAI and DMA than second and third date of sowing. PBR-357 produced higher LAI and DMA as compared to RLC-3. The relationship between PAR interception, LAI and DMA gave significant values of coefficient of determination (R2). The relationships developed explained significant percent variability in PAR interception due to leaf area index (R2=0.85) and dry matter accumulation (R2=0.63) in mustard.