Impact of Irrigation Methods, Irrigation Scheduling and Mulching on Seed Yield and Water Productivity of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum)

An experiment was conducted to test the efficacy of irrigation methods and mulching in seed production of chickpea. Irrigation methods included drip with mulch (DM), drip without mulch (DNM) and check basin (CB) irrigation. Drip irrigation was scheduled at 1-day, 2-day and 7 days interval, while farmers' practice of check basin irrigation at 7-day interval was considered as control. Plant parameters like height, horizontal spread, dry matter, root length and root spread and number of pods were significantly influenced by irrigation levels and mulch. Seed yield of 17.7 and 16.8 q/ha was recorded for DM having 1-day and 2-day interval, respectively, which was about 82 and 73% higher over the control. The harvest index increased with increasing irrigation interval and was highest (57.4) under treatments with longer irrigation interval (DM7, DNM7 and CB7). Drip irrigation at 1-day and 2-day interval recorded the water productivities of 0.54 and 0.52 kg/m(3), respectively as against 0.30 kg/m(3) recorded in farmers practice. Polythene mulch with drip irrigation at 2-day irrigation interval is recommended for improving the yields and water productivity of chickpea cultivated under eastern plateau and hill region of India.