Effect of saline water irrigation, nitrogen and sulphur application on soil crusting, yield and nutrient content of Indian mustard

A field experiment was conducted at Regional Research Station, CAZRI, Pali., during 1996-97 to observe the effect of irrigation scheduling with saline water, N and S on yield, oil content in mustard and crust strength of the soil. The experiment was laid out in split-split plot design with three irrigation levels (I-1: irrigation at 25 DAS, I-2: irrigation at 25 and 50 DAS, and I-3: irrigation at 25, 50 and 75 DAS), three levels of nitrogen (0, 60 and 120 kg ha(-1)) and two levels of S (0 and 40 kg ha(-1)). Increasing levels of irrigation and N and S application significantly increased the seed yield. No significant difference in oil content was observed between I-2 and I-3 levels of irrigation. Application of N significantly reduced the oil content, whereas S application increased the oil content. However, combined application of irrigation, N and S increased both seed yield and oil content in the crop. I-2 and I-3 levels of irrigation and S application increased the root density and reduced the crust strength. Application of N and enhanced level of irrigation increased the N content in plant. S application did not increase the N content in plant. Irrigating crop upto seed formation stage (I-3) was found to decrease the N:S ratio in plant below the critical limit (12:1).