Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop that responds to irrigation (Singh and Dixit, 1992; Krishnamurthy and Sreeramulu, 2007; Sharma et al., 2007). Besides irrigation schedule, sowing time is equally important to realize the maximum yield potential of this crop (Thakur et al., 1998). Delay in sowing reduces growing period, hastens maturity and ultimately reduces the yield (Singh et al., 2008). As judicious water use and appropriate time of sowing are pre-requisites for successful cultivation of chickpea, a field experiment was conducted to find out water use and yield under different irrigation regimes and dates of sowing. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was laid out at BCKV Research Farm, Kalyani, West Bengal during post-monsoon season in two consecutive years 2005-06 and 2006-07 in split plot design with date of sowing as main plot treatment (20 November and 6 December) and irrigation as sub-plot treatment (I o – Rainfed, I b –One irrigation at branching, I bf –Two irrigations at branching and pre-flowering and I bp –Two irrigations at branching and pod formation). The soil type of the experimental site was sandy loam in texture and grouped under Entisol, having 0.59% organic carbon, 127.80 kg ha -1 available nitrogen, 22.24 kg ha -1 phosphorus and 145.00 kg ha -1 potash. The field capacity, permanent wilting point and bulk density of different layers are given in Table 1. Recommended agronomic practices were followed to raise the crop. In 2005-06, there was no rainfall during the crop period, but crop received 84.5 mm of rainfall during the 2nd experimental year (during 84-107 and 64-86 DAS for 1st and 2nd date of sowing, respectively). The moisture studies were carried out to find out the water use of crop. Soil moisture content at 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 and 45-60 cm depth was determined by gravimetric method. Samplings were done at – before sowing, two days after each irrigation, after notable rainfall (= 20), before the next Table 1: Field capacity, wilting point and bulk density of experimental site Soil depth Field Wilting Bulk (cm) capacity point density (mm) (mm) (g/c.c.) 0-15 41.18 12.44 1.43 15-30 40.52 12.70 1.46 30-45 39.56 12.74 1.49 45-60 37.55 12.96 1.49 Water use in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in the Gangetic alluvial zone of West Bengal* M. RAY, S. CHOWDHURY 1 , M.K. NANDA 1 and D.K. KHAN 2 Department of Agronomy 1 Department of Agricultural Meteorology & Physics. Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur-741 252, Nadia (West Bengal), India 2 Department of Environmental Science, University of Kalyani, Kalyani-741 235, Nadia (West Bangal) ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted during the post-monsoon season for two consecutive years 2005-06 and 2006-07 to study the effect of date of sowing and irrigation regime on yield and water use in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). The results revealed that 1 st date of sowing (20 November) recorded the maximum seed yield (1474.24 and 1442.58 kg ha -1 during 1 st and 2 nd year, respectively) as well as plant height and dry matter accumulation. The daily moisture use rate of chickpea during early vegetative stage was slightly higher with earlier sowing as compared to that of late sowing in both the experimental years. But during reproductive stage i. e. after flowering, late sown crop recorded higher moisture use. But the overall consumptive use was higher under late sown condition. Application of two irrigations at branching and pod formation resulted in higher seed yield, whereas the consumptive use was higher when the irrigation was applied at branching and flower initiation. Total moisture use was lowest under rainfed condition that led to lower seed as well as biomass yield. However, the chance of rainfall (Kal Baisakhi) during March in the new alluvial zone of West Bengal must be taken into consideration while scheduling irrigation during pod formation. Key words : Chickpea, date of sowing, irrigation, water use, yield *Papers presented at and reviewed for proceeding of national seminar on "Agrometeorology-Needs, Approaches and Linkages for Rural Development" held at CCSHAU, Hisar during 26-27 November 2009. Journal of Agrometeorology 12 (1): 81-84 (June 2010)