Indian Journal of Agricultural Research 672 SHORT NOTE Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, Volume 59 Issue 4: 672-676 (April 2025) Chickpea Varieties and Time of Sowing Effects on Growth and Yield under North-East Monsoon Influenced in Andhra Pradesh, India P. Sujathamma 1 , M. Nedunchezhiyan 2 10.18805/IJARe.A-6054 ABSTRACT Background: In Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India where North-East monsoon is predominant. During this season, chickpea crop sown during October to November 1 st fortnight (FN) causing total crop loss due to high intensity rains in the changing climate scenario. In this context, there is a need for identification of suitable varieties of chickpea with ideal time of sowing for Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district under changing climatic situations to enhance the yields of chickpea. Methods: Field experiment was carried out during rabi 2019-20 at Agricultural Research Station, Podalakur (1422N latitude, 7944E longitude and 43 m above mean sea-level), Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district andhra Pradesh to identify the suitable chickpea variety and optimum time of sowing. The field experiment was laid out in split plot design with 4 varieties of chickpea (V 1 : Nandyala gram-49, V 2 : Dheera, V 3 : Nandyala Senaga-1 and V 4 : JG-11) as main plot treatments and 3 time of sowings (D 1 : November 2 nd FN, D 2 : December 1 st FN, D 3 : December 2 nd FN) as sub plot treatments in three replications. Result: Nandyala Senaga-1 and Dheera have taken more number days to 50% flowering and maturity. Crop sown on November 2 nd FN took significantly more days (42.8) to bear 50% flowering and maturity, while the lowest number of days per 50% flowering and maturity was taken by December 2 nd FN sown crop. Chickpea variety Nandyala Gram-49 recorded the highest grain yield (1491 kg ha -1 ), which was statistically on par with Nandyal Senaga-1 (1465 kg ha -1 ). The crop sown on November 2 nd FN recorded significantly the highest grain yield (1462 kg ha -1 ), but which was statistically on par with December 1 st FN (1424 kg ha -1 ) sown crop. Key words: Chickpea, Date of sowing, Days to 50% flowering, Grain yield, Maturity, Varieties, Yield parameters. INTRODUCTION Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the most important pulse crop of rabi season cultivated mainly in semiarid and warm temperate regions of the world. In India, chickpea cultivation is being restricted mainly to rainfed areas or cultivated under residual moisture. Globally, chickpea is grown in an area of 137 lakh ha with a production of 142.4 lakh tonnes and productivity of 1038 kg ha -1 (FAOSTAT, 2019). India contributes 70 per cent of total world chickpea production of 116.2 lakh tonnes cultivated under 112 lakh ha with productivity of 1036 kg ha -1 in 2020-21 (agricoop.nic.in). Andhra Pradesh produces 5.66 lakh tonnes in an area of 4.65 lakh ha with 1218 kg ha -1 productivity in 2020-21 (Angrau Bor, 2021). Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India is mainly influenced by north-east monsoon and rabi is the main cropping season. A late or advancement of north east monsoon, high intensity rains may have devastating effects on agriculture in rainfed areas of Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, even if the mean annual rainfall is normal. Climate change impact is a major concern for rabi crops like chickpea. The performance of the crop mainly depended on the cultivar performance and the environmental area where it is growing. As far as a variety is considered its optimum time of sowing has a crucial role in fully utilizing the genetic potentiality as it provides the best possible growing conditions such as light, temperature, rainfall, humidity. It was reported that the main causes of yield component variability are genotypic (Sadhu and Mandal, 1989), genotype by environment interactions (Shrivastava et al., 1990) and climatic variability in terms of temperature regime and moisture availability (Rheehrnen and Saxena, 1990; Pala and Mazid, 1992). Unlike other winter growing legumes, chickpea is very susceptible to low temperatures, especially at flowering (Srinivasan et al., 1999; Nayyar et al., 2005). Selection of suitable varieties with optimum time of sowing plays an important role in improving the productivity of chickpea. Sowing time has a noticeable effect on the 1 Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Podalakur-524 345, Andhra Pradesh, india. 2 Regional Centre, ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Bhubaneswar-751 019, Odisha, india. Corresponding Author: M. Nedunchezhiyan, Regional Centre, ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Bhubaneswar-751 019, Odisha, india. Email: mnedun@gmail.com How to cite this article: Sujathamma, P. and Nedunchezhiyan, M. (2025). Chickpea Varieties and Time of Sowing Effects on Growth and Yield under North-East Monsoon Influenced in Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research. 59(4): 672-676. doi: 10.18805/IJARe.A-6054. Submitted: 17-09-2022 Accepted: 17-01-2023 Online: 07-02-2023