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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp2 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Enhancing light use efficiency and productivity of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) through optimisation of sowing windows

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13001
Submitted
29 November 2025
Published
05-05-2026

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted during the rabi seasons of 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 at the Department of Agricultural Meteorology Farm, College of Agriculture, Pune, Maharashtra, India, using a split-split plot design. The gross and net plot sizes were (5.40 × 3.60 and 5.00 × 3.00 m2, respectively, with 30 × 10 cm planting geometry. Sixteen treatment combinations were evaluated across three replications, comprising two protection levels- protected (P1) (Flubendiamide 480 SC (39.35 % w/w) was applied at 0.4 mL L-1) and unprotected (P2) with two varieties Phule Vikram (V1) and Vijay (V2) and four sowing windows S1- 41 MW, S2- 43 MW, S3- 45 MW, S4- 47 MW. Dry matter accumulation at harvest improved under protection (26.33 and 26.23 g plant-1). The V1 also recorded higher dry matter accumulation (25.58 and 26.22 g plant-1) compared with V2 (25.54 and 24.30 g plant-1). Radiation interception and light use efficiency were higher in P1 (APAR 978 and 1035 µmol m-2 s-1; LUE 1.07 and 0.99 g MJ-1). Similarly, V1 showed superior APAR (976 and 1037 µmol m-2 s-1) and LUE (1.04 and 1.05 g MJ-1) compared to V2. Early sowing significantly improved radiation interception and utilisation, with S1 achieving the highest IPAR and LUE (1.15 g MJ-1 m-2 in 2023 and 1.10 g MJ-1 m-2 in 2024) (84 DAS), whereas S4 recorded the lowest values. Overall, protected cultivation combined with early sowing and improved varietal performance enhanced biomass accumulation and radiation-use efficiency in chickpea.

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