Performance of drip fertigation and foliar nutrition on cotton-black gram sequence in subtropics

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted over two seasons to study the effect of drip fertigation levels and foliar nutrition on the growth and yield of cotton-black gram cropping sequences. The treatments comprised three levels of fertigation viz., 50, 75, and 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK), combined with and without two levels of foliar spray, drip irrigation with soil surface application of 100% RDF, and surface irrigation with soil surface application of 100% RDF as a control. Drip-irrigated cotton and black gram registered higher yields during both seasons as compared to the surface methods of irrigation. Application of 100% RDF as drip fertigation combined with a foliar spray of 1% urea phosphate registered the highest seed cotton yield of 3598 kg ha⁻¹ and black gram grain yield of 856 kg ha⁻¹, which was significantly superior over the control. Application of nutrients through drip fertigation improved seed cotton yield by 45.2% and blackgram grain yield by 49.8% compared with conventional surface irrigation with soil application of fertilizers. From the results, it could be concluded that drip fertigation at 100% RDF with foliar spray of 1% urea phosphate can be recommended for higher productivity in the cotton-black gram cropping sequence.

Keywords:

• blackgram
• cotton
• drip fertigation
• foliar spray
• urea phosphate
• yield

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.