Bangladesh Agron. J. 2021, 24(2): 109-113 GROWTH AND YIELD OF CHICKPEA AS AFFECTED BY DE- TOPPING TIME AND HEIGHT M.S. Kobir*, M.O. Ali, M.J. Hossain, M.S. Alam, S. Paul, P. Hajong and M. H. Rahman Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Bangladesh *Corresponding Email: Shahriar1302027@gmail.com (Received: 04 October 2021, Accepted: 09 December 2021) Keyword: De-topping, nipping, chickpea, time, height, yield Abstract The production area of chickpea in Bangladesh is decreasing day by day due to the competition with higher yielding crop which is/or profitable than chickpea. As such, the experiment was undertaken at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Jashore during 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 to study the effect of most suitable method of de-topping (nipping) in chickpea (var. BARI Chola-10) for its growth and yield improvement. Treatments were imposed in a split-plot design where in main plot : time of nipping : 30 days after emergence (DAE) , 40 DAE E3- 50 DAE and in sub-plot: different heights of nipping practices: Control, Nipping 5 cm from growing tip, Nipping 8 cm from growing tip and Nipping 10 cm from growing tip. In interaction treatment, the highest days to flower (68), days to mature (112), vegetable yield (703 kg ha-1) was observed when chickpea plants were de-topped after 50 DAE at 10 cm from growing tip. The highest plant height (46 cm) was observed when de-topping at 40 DAE was done at 10 cm from growing tip. Seed yield (1419.95 kg ha-1) and Marginal Benefit Cost Ratio (MBCR) (13.1) was recorded maximum when chickpea plants de-topped 50 DAE at 5 cm from growing tip. De-topping practices in chickpea (var. BARI Chola-10) after 50 DAE at 5 cm from growing tip could maximize the productivity of chickpea. Introduction Per capita availability of pulses is very low against per capita demand due to back drop of pulses production (Azad et al., 2019). Among the pulse crops chickpea is one of the most important pulses crop in Bangladesh as it contains protein (%) in almost half of its’ individual seed weight. Bangladesh has to import a huge amount of chickpea each year due to its huge shortage against demand of production. Removal of apical meristem (apical dominance of auxin) is termed as de-topping / nipping (Khan et al., 1993) which promotes the emergence lateral branches due to role of cytokinins (Campbell et al., 2008). The more the lateral branches the more the flower initiating points that increases yield. Number of branches followed by more pods are the resulted effect of de-topping at various stages of plant growth that boost the grain yield of chickpea (Aziz, 2000; Aslam et al., 2008). Severity of diseases are reduced and yield is increased in case of de-topping at 45 days after sowing (Sumarjit and Sophia, 2006). In addition, de-topped chickpea leaves are a good source of fodder (Zahid et al., 1997). So, this experiment was undertaken to study the effect of de-topping practice along with its time and find out suitable de-topping management in chickpea (var. BARI Chola-10) for yield improvement. Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted in the Regional Agricultural Research station, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Jashore during Rabi season of 2019-20 and 2020-21. The latitude, longitude and altitude of this site is 23018’ N, 89018’ E and 19 m, respectively (Kobir et al., 2020). The site belongs to AEZ-11 n ‘High Ganges River Floodplain’ (BBS, 2019).The soil of the experimental field was sandy clay-loam in texture with medium high land. Treatments were imposed in a split-plot design where in main plot : Time of de-topping/ nipping (03): i) E1- 30 days after emergence (DAE) ii) E2- 40 mailto:Shahriar1302027@gmail.com 110 Kobir et al. DAE iii) E3- 50 DAE an in sub-plot different heights of nipping practices (04): T1- Control, T2- Nipping 5 cm from growing tip, T3- Nipping 8 cm from growing tip, T4- Nipping 10 cm from growing tip. . The chickpea var. BARI Chola-10 was used. Fertilizers were given as basal as N, P2O5, K2O, S and B @ 20, 40, 20, 20, 1 kg ha-1, respectively. Different parameters on growth, yield components and yield of chickpea were studied. Data were tabulated by Microsoft excel software and data were analyzed by statistical software “R” packages. Results and Discussion Results revealed that treatment nipping had significant influence on plants m-2, days to flower, days to maturity, plant height, pods plant-1, vegetable production ha-1 and seed yield ha-1 (Table 1). Nipping at 40 DAE showed maximum t values of days to maturity, pods plant-1, branches plant-1, seed yield and followed by nipping at 50 DAE but only vegetable yield was highest with later nipping and followed by 10 days earlier this practice. Nipping 30 DAE was proved comparatively lower in each parameter. Table 1. Growth and yield of chickpea as affected by nipping (Pooled over the years) Treatments Plants m-2 (no.) Days to flowering (no.) Days to maturity (no.) Plant height (cm) Pods plant-1 (no.) Branches plant-1 (no.) Vegetable production (kg ha-1) Seed yield (kg ha-1) E1 22 62 114 42 21 2 123 663 E2 32 64 116 44 28 3 212 1201 E3 38 65 115 39 26 3 385 1150 CV (%) 6.98 1.25 0.75 11.45 17.35 12.20 19.68 18.00 LSD(0.05) 2.13 0.77 0.91 2.97 3.89 NS 55.63 242.68 E1-30 days after emergence, E2-40 days after emergence, E3-50 days after emergence Plants m-2, days to flower, vegetable production ha-1 and seed yield ha-1 were significantly varied due to nipping point when days to maturity, plant height, pods plant-1, branches plant-1 did not response with the practice (Table 2). Table 2. Growth and yield of chickpea as affected by different height of nipping (Pooled over the years) Treatments Plantsm -2 (no.) Days to flowering (no.) Days to maturity (no.) Plant height (cm) Pods plant-1 (no.) Branches plant-1 (no.) Vegetable production (kg ha-1) Seed Yield (kg ha-1) T1 31 63 115 43 25 3 0 894 T2 30 64 115 41 28 3 223 1150 T3 30 64 115 43 25 3 283 1068 T4 33 65 115 41 22 3 455 974 CV (%) 6.96 1.37 0.61 7.46 26.91 15.39 14.54 14.10 LSD(0.05) 2.1 0.84 NS NS NS NS 57.59 232.00 T1- Control, T2- Nipping 5 cm from growing tip, T3- Nipping 8 cm from growing tip, T4- Nipping 10 cm from growing tip Nipping 10 cm growing tip gave maximum plants m-2, days to flower, vegetable production ha-1 and at par with other nipping times but vegetable yield was obtained highest with de-topped 10 cm tip. Numerically greater number of pods plant-1 was registered with nipping 5 cm growing tip, that treatment increased seed yield maximum and followed by 8 and 10 cm nipping. Treatment no nipping (control) had no additional vegetable yield and poor seed yield thus knocking at nipping practices. In case of combined effect, the highest plant height was found when chickpea plants de-topped after 40 days of emergence at 10 cm from growing tip and the lowest plant height was found when chickpea plants were de-topped after 50 days of emergence at both 10 cm and 5 cm from growing tip. When chickpea plants were de-topped in 40 days after emergence at 10 cm from growing tip, the plants get Growth and Yield of Chickpea as Affected by De-Topping Time and Height 111 adequate days to attain highest apical height which is not possible when chickpea were de-topped in 50 days after emergence. Aslam et al. (2008) however pointed out that vigorous cutting of chickpea plants is related to tallest plant. The highest plants m-2, days to flower and days to mature was recorded when chickpea plants de-topped 50 DAE at 10 cm from growing tip. On the other hand, the lowest plants m-2, days to flower and days to mature was observed when chickpea plants de-topped after 30 DAE at 5 cm from growing tip, not de-topped at 30 DAE, respectively (Table 3). Gaudreau et al. (2020) claimed that de-topping in later stage of vegetative growth, the auxiliary inflorescence can only initiate after the recovery period which can delay the overall growth of the plant thus maturity gets later. But de-topping in early stage of vegetative growth, the plants can get adequate days to flower after recovering from pruning. The highest branches plant-1 was found when chickpea plants were not de-topped at 40 days after emergence and the lowest branches plant-1was found when chickpea plants were de-topped after 30 days of emergence at 10 cm from growing tip. The highest pods plant-1 was found when chickpea plants de-topped after both 40 and 50 days of emergence at 5 cm from growing tip and the lowest pods plant-1was found when chickpea plants were de-topped after 30 days of emergence at 10 cm from growing tip (Table 3). Table 3. Combined effect of nipping time and height on phenology of chickpea (Pooled basis of two year) Combined treatment Plants m-2 (no.) Days to flowering (no.) Days to maturity (no.) Plant height (cm) Pods plant-1 (no.) Branches plant-1 (no.) E1T1 28 57 112 41.5 23 3 E1T2 16 62 114 41.5 21 3 E1T3 18 62 114 42.5 21 2 E1T4 23 64 115 40 15 2 E2T1 28 60 114 45 26 3 E2T2 31 63 115 42 30 3 E2T3 33 65 116 45.5 26 3 E2T4 34 65 117 44.5 28 3 E3T1 35 60 113 41 24 3 E3T2 38 64 114 38 30 3 E3T3 38 65 116 39 27 3 E3T4 41 67 118 38 21 3 CV (%) 6.96 1.37 0.61 7.46 17.91 15.39 LSD(0.05) 3.79 1.48 1.68 5.95 10.66 0.70 E1-30 days after emergence, E2-40 days after emergence, E3-50 days after emergence, T1- Control, T2- Nipping 5 cm from growing tip, T3- Nipping 8 cm from growing tip, T4- Nipping 10 cm from growing tip In the pooled basis of analysis, the highest vegetable yield was found from de-topping after 50 days of emergence at 10 cm from growing tip and the lowest vegetable yield was found when chickpea crops not de-topped in 30, 40 and 50 days after emergence (Figure 1). The highest seed yield was found from de-topping after 50 days of emergence at 5 cm from growing tip and the lowest seed yield was found when chickpea crops were not de-topped in 30 days after emergence (Figure 1). This may be happened due to light nipping at certain period of time can enhance plant height, branches plant-1, pods plant-1, days to flower as well as days to mature, those lead to increase in seed yield. Aslam et al. (2010) reported that removal of 2 cm from growing tip at 70 days after sowing gave the highest seed yield and the lowest seed yield was found in control. Similar trend also found by Even and Wahab (1983) and Othman and Wan (1987). 112 Kobir et al. E1-30 days after emergence, E2-40 days after emergence, E3-50 days after emergence, T1- Control, T2- Nipping 5 cm from growing tip, T3- Nipping 8 cm from growing tip, T4- Nipping 10 cm from growing tip Fig.1. Combined effect of nipping time and height on vegetable and grain yield of chickpea. Cost analysis: Partial cost analysis of chickpea de-topping showed that the highest total additional taka over control and marginal benefit cost ratio achieved when chickpea crops was de-topped in 50 DAE at 5 cm from growing tip (E3T2). The lowest total additional taka over control and marginal benefit cost ratio calculated when chickpea crops were de-topped in 30 days after emergence at 5 cm from growing tip (E1T2) (Table 4). Table 4. Partial cost analysis of different treatment combinations (2019-20 and 2020-21) Combined Treatment Total Add. TK. over control Cost of treatment MBCR 2019-20 2020-21 Mean 2019-20 2020-21 mean 2019-20 2020-21 Mean E1T1 - - - - - - - - E1T2 9988.8 8420 9204.4 3600 3600 3600 2.7 2 2.3 E1T3 25216.0 23580 24398 4800 4800 4800 5.2 5 5.1 E1T4 21195.3 19550 20372.6 7000 7000 7000 3.0 3 3.0 E2T1 - - - - - - - - - E2T2 34041.6 32450 33245.8 3600 3600 3600 9.4 9 9.2 E2T3 34041.6 25595 29818.3 4800 4800 4800 7.0 7 7.0 E2T4 37147.4 35180 36163.7 7000 7000 7000 5.0 5 5.1 E3T1 - - - - - - - - - E3T2 51612.2 44755 48183.6 3600 3600 3600 14.3 12 13.1 E3T3 34151.5 30900 32525.7 4800 4800 4800 7.1 6 6.5 E3T4 41966.6 38665 40315.8 7000 7000 7000 5.9 6 5.9 E1-30 days after emergence, E2-40 days after emergence, E3-50 days after emergence, T1- Control, T2- Nipping 5 cm from growing tip, T3- Nipping 8 cm from growing tip, T4- Nipping 10 cm from growing tip, MBCR=Marginal benefit cost ratio Input price: (Tk./ kg) Urea-16 -1, TSP-22 1, MoP-15 1, Gypsum-06, Power tiller (1 pass): Tk. ha-1 2250 1, irrigation Tk. kg-1 (1 time): 900, labor: Tk. 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