Vol. 11, Issue 2 (2022)

Author(s):
Pramod Kumar, AN Paslawar, Sheilendra Kumar and Subhradip Bhattacharjee

Abstract:
A field experiment was conducted in the Kharif season of 2016 to assess the effect of different moisture conservation practices in Bt. Cotton. This experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block design (RCBD) with seven treatments which were replicated thrice. The treatments were, i.e., T_1: poly mulch on ridges and furrow with drip, T₂: bio mulch on broad bed and furrow with drip, T₃: poly mulch on broad bed and furrow with drip, T₄: dust mulch on flatbed with drip, T₅: no mulch on flatbed with drip, T₆: conventional irrigation on ridges and furrow and T₇: no irrigation on ridges and furrow. Number of sympodial branches were significantly improved in case of bio mulch on broad bed and furrow with drip while poly mulching was comparably at par. The same T₂ and T₃ have been found to be superior over other treatments in case of absolute growth rate (AGR), relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) too. Significantly higher number of balls plant^-1 (42.20), seed cotton yield (3704 kg ha^-1), and stalk yield (4116 kg ha^-1) has been recorded with T₂. So, the perusal of experimental data indicates that the application of bio-mulching or poly-mulching along with drip irrigation can improve growth and yield of Bt. Cotton.