EFFECTS OF DATE OF SOWING AND TILLAGE ON YIELD AND WATER-USE EFFICIENCY OF CROPS GROWN ON RESIDUAL SOIL-MOISTURE IN EASTERN INDIA

Yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter crops after rice are influenced greatly by sowing date and tillage method. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), chick pea (Cicer arietinum L.), lentil (Lens esculenta Moench), and mustard (Brassica campestris L.) were sown on residual soil moisture, using conventional tillage and strip-ploughing. Sowing dates were at nine-day intervals starting from the date of harvest of the wet-season rice. Delay in sowing of these crops influenced soil moisture utilization thereby affecting crop yields and WUE. The WUE of the crops was the highest when they were sown on the date of harvest of the wet-season rice after strip-ploughing. Chick pea had the highest WUE of the four winter crops.