Productivity of soybean (Glycine max) under drip irrigation

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and University Seed Farm, Ladhowal, Punjab, during the rainy (kharif) season of 2017, to study the effect of drip irrigation, fertigation and mulching on productivity of soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr.]. Among drip irrigation levels, seed yield increased significantly 14.2 and 11.8% with increasing drip irrigation level from 60% ETc to 80% ETc for Ludhiana and Ladhowal, respectively. Further increase in irrigation level up to 100% ETc increased the seed yield marginally by 3.5 and 4.6% for respective locations. With increasing fertigation level from 50% to 75% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), seed yield increased significantly to the tune of 9.2 and 9.4% for Ludhiana and Ladhowal respectively. However, further increase up to 100% RDF increased the seed yield by 4.8 and 5.3% for respective locations. Application of paddy straw mulch @ 6 tonnes/ha resulted in 13 and 9.8% increase in seed yield over no mulch. Mean of all combinations of drip irrigation, fertigation and mulching treatments recorded 12.3 and 19.2% increase in seed yield as compared to conventional furrow irrigation (control) for Ludhiana and Ladhowal respectively.