~ 1130 ~  International Journal of Chemical Studies 2018; 6(1): 1130-1133                     P-ISSN: 2349–8528  E-ISSN: 2321–4902 IJCS 2018; 6(1): 1130-1133 © 2018 IJCS Received: 28-11-2017 Accepted: 30-12-2017   Purushottam Ph.D. Scholar (Agronomy) College of agriculture, Raipur, Indira Gandhi Krishi vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, C.G, India SK Gupta Ph.D. Scholar (Agronomy) College of agriculture, Raipur, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, C.G, India BK Saren Professor, Department of Agronomy PSB, Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, India Bharti Sodi M.Sc. (Agronomy) College of agriculture, Raipur, IGKV Raipur, C.G, India OP Rajwade M.Sc. (Agronomy) College of agriculture, Raipur, IGKV Raipur, C.G, India Correspondence Purushottam Ph.D. Scholar (Agronomy) College of agriculture, Raipur, Indira Gandhi Krishi vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, C.G, India Growth and yield of chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) as influenced by irrigation scheduling and zinc application Purushottam, SK Gupta, BK Saren, Bharti Sodi and OP Rajwade Abstract A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2015-16 at Agriculture Farm, Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal on lateritic soil condition to study the growth and yield of chickpea(Cicer arietinum L.) as influenced by irrigation scheduling and zinc application. The experiment was conducted at split plot design having 5 main plot treatments (I1: irrigation at pre flowering, I2: irrigation at branching + pod development, I3: irrigation at branching + pre flowering, I4: irrigation at branching + pre flowering + pod development, I5: irrigation at 0.8 bar soil moisture tension) and 3 sub plot treatments viz. Zn0: control, Zn1: zinc sulphate @ 0.25%, Zn2: zinc sulphate @ 0.5%. The results of the experiment revealed that treatment I4 (i.e. irrigation at branching + pre flowering + pod development) and Zn2 (0.5% zinc sulphate) recorded highest plant height (43.28 cm), no of branches plant -1 (5.85), dry matter accumulation (231.33 g m -2 ), leaf area index (1.24), and seed yield (973 kg ha - 1 ), among all the treatments. Interaction effect of I4 irrigation scheduling and zinc sulphate @ 0.5% showed significantly crop growth rate, seed yield and stalk yield. Keywords: chickpea, irrigation scheduling, zinc, growth, yield Introduction Chickpea is the most important rabi pulse crop of India. In the World, it occupies an area of 13.54 million hectares with an annual production of 13.31 million metric tons and the average productivity of 971 kg ha -1 (FAO 2014) [5] . Overall, India’s contribution towards global chickpea area and production is about 70%, so the global trend follows the Indian trend in chickpea area and production (FAOSTAT, 2015). During 2015-16, 25.26 million hectares of the chickpea and 16.47 million metric tons production was in India (GOI 2016). In Madhya Pradesh, it is cultivated in 3.31 million hectares of land with an annual production of 3.81 million metric tons and productivity of 1219 kg ha -1 (DOE 2014). Gram seeds, leaves and straw are used in many ways viz., as dal, besan, crushed or whole grain, sweet making, green leaves and grain as vegetables. Its seeds are considered to have medicinal effects and are used for blood purification. The seed contains 21 % protein, 61.5 % carbohydrates, and 4.5 % fat and also rich in calcium, iron and niacin. Malic and oxalic acids collected from green leaves are prescribed for intentional disorders. Straw forms an excellent fodder for cattle. Out of the several factors responsible for higher productivity of chickpea land preparation, water, nutrient and weed management are more crucial and assumes great importance for successful cultivation of chickpea. It is grown either rainfed or in rice-wheat based cropping system in the double cropping. The low yield of chickpea is due to the shorter period available for crop growth and increase of terminal drought (Anonymous 2003) [1] . Chickpea is mainly cultivated as rainfed crop and water stress affects both the productivity and yield stability of the crop. If chickpea crop is given irrigation at the flowering time significantly improved the chickpea grain yield (Anonymous 2000) [2] . Irrigation plays a vital role in not only increasing the productivity of chickpea but also improving the physicochemical properties of soil in intensive cropping systems. Micronutrients are highly essential for proper growth and development of plant and to increase the quality though they are required in small amount (Imtiaz et al., 2010) [8] In India, zinc (Zn) is now considered as fourth most important yield limiting nutrient in agricultural crops. Zinc plays an important role in plant reproductive development for initiation of flowering, floral development, male and female gametogenesis, fertilisation and seed development.