Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2017) 6(12): 3095-3102 3095 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.612.361 Influence of Land Configurations and Nutrient Levels on Growth, Yield and Economics of Bt Cotton V. Ambika 1 *, G.S. Yadahalli 1 , B.M. Chittapur 1 , Shamrao Kulkarni 1 , Vidyavathi G. Yadahalli 2 and Siddu Malakannavar 2 1 Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur-584104, Karnataka, India 2 Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur-584104, Karnataka, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Cotton (Gossypium spp.), the king of fibre and popularly known as the white gold, enjoys a predominant position among cash crops in India and world as well. The diversity of cotton cultivars and cotton agro- climatic zones in India are considerably larger when compared to other major cotton growing countries in the world. In India, cotton is grown under diverse agro-climatic conditions and contributes nearly 65 per cent of total raw material needs of textile industry. In India, cotton was cultivated in an area of 11.88 m ha with a production of 35.2 million bales of seed cotton during 2015-16. Average productivity of cotton in India is 504 kg lint kg ha -1 , which is lower when compared to the world average of 725 kg lint ha -1 . Cotton is grown in 7.8 m ha in 296 districts of which 5.1 m ha is rainfed in sixteen states of the country and about 85 per cent of the rainfed cotton is grown in 30 districts (4.1 m International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 12 (2017) pp. 3095-3102 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com A Field experiment was conducted at Main agriculture research station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnatka on deep black soil during kharif 2016 to study the yield maximization through in-situ moisture conservation practices in conjunction with nutrient levels in bt cotton. The results of this experiment revealed that there was significant difference in growth and yield attributing parameters with different land configurations and nutrient levels. Ridges and furrows recorded significantly higher leaf area (74.46 dm 2 plant -1 ), total dry matter production (374.55 g plant -1 ), seed cotton yield (2403 kg ha -1 ) and harvest index (0.35) over flatbed (71.51 dm 2 plant -1 , 342.76 g plant -1 ,1743 kg ha -1 and 0.27, respectively). Among the nutrient levels application of 90:45:45 NPK kg ha -1 (50% N through organic) was recorded significantly higher leaf area (74.06 dm 2 plant -1 ), total dry matter production (369.85 g plant -1 ), seed cotton yield (2308 kg ha -1 ) and harvest index (0.33) over other treatments. Among the interactions significantly higher leaf area (77.19 dm 2 plant -1 ), total dry matter production (390.57 g plant -1 ) and seed cotton yield (2834 kg ha -1 ) was recorded in ridges and furrows with application of 90:45:45 NPK kg ha -1 (50% N through organic) as compared to other treatment combinations. Keywords Nutrient levels, Bt cotton, Land configurations, Ridges and furrows, Broad bed and furrows and flat bed. Accepted: 23 October 2017 Available Online: 10 December 2017 Article Info