Effect of foliar-applied urea on symbiotic parameters, yield and monetary returns of irrigated chickpea

A field experiment was conducted at five locations in Punjab, India to study the effect of foliar application of urea (nitrogen) on the symbiotic parameters, growth, yield, quality, and monetary parameters of chickpea under irrigated conditions. The experiment consisted of foliar application of 2% urea at flowering stage, pod formation stage, at both the stages (flowering + pod formation), and control (no application) treatment. Application of 2% urea at flowering and pod formation stages recorded the highest number of nodules, dry weight of nodules, plant height and yield parameters. Improvement in these parameters led to significantly higher chickpea yield, by a margin of 26.0, 39.7, 14.1, 12.6 and 22.4 per cent as compared to control at Ludhiana (2017-18), Ludhiana (2018-19), Bathinda, Ballowal Saunkhri and Faridkot, respectively. On the basis of pooled mean of all the trials, foliar application of urea at both stages (flowering as well as pod formation) improved the grain yield by 19.3% over control, protein content by 12.7% and net monetary returns by 30.4% as compared to control treatment. It can be concluded that foliar application of 2% urea at flowering as well as pod formation stages should be done in chickpea under irrigated conditions for obtaining higher grain yield and net returns along with improved protein content, which can help in the fulfillment of protein requirement of the vegetarian population.