Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity....... chickpea varieties in vertisols 225 Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity, soil fertility and economics of chickpea (Cicer arietinum Linn.) varieties in vertisols B.S. Meena* and Baldev Ram Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kota-324001 (Rajasthan) *e-mail: bsmeena1970@yahoo.in, baldev.ram@gmail.com Received : April 2012; Revised accepted : June 2013 ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted during winter ( rabi) seasons of 2010-11 and 2011-12 at farmer's field of Nayagoan, Kota, Rajasthan to evaluate performance of 5 chickpea varieties (GNG 469, GNG 663, RSG 973, RSG 888 and Dahod yellow) and 9 nutrient management practices (T 1 :No application of NP (Control), T 2 :NP (20:22 kg/ha as farmer practice), T 3 : NP (20:17.2 kg/ha as RDF), T 4 :RDF+25 kg K/ha, T 5 :RDF+25 kg K+20 kg S/ha, T 6 :RDF+25 kg K+20 kg S+5 kg Zn/ha, T 7 :RDF+25 kg K+20 kg S+5 kg Zn/ha+2 % urea spray at 70 DAS,T 8 :RDF+25 kg K+20 kg S+5 kg Zn/ha+Rhizobium (RZ) +Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) + 2 % urea spray at 70 DAS and T 9 :RDF+25 kg K+20 kg S+5 kg Zn/ha + RZ + PSB + 5 tons FYM/ha + 2 % urea spray at 70 DAS) on productivity, soil fertility and economics in vertisols of irrigated situation. Application of RDF + 25 kg K + 20 kg S + 5 kg Zn/ha along with seed inoculation with rhizobium + PSB + 2 % urea spray at 70 DAS recorded significantly higher plant height (69.50cm), branches/plant (7.30), pods/plant (80.82), seed index (20.50g), seed yield (2.62 t/ha), net return (Rs. 47,684/ha) and benefit: cost ratio 3.69 over control, RDF, farmer practices and RDF+ 25 K kg/ha. However, treatment RDF + 25 kg K + 20 kg S + 5 kg Zn/ha + rhizobium + PSB + 5 t FYM/ha + 2% urea spray at 70 DAS significantly recorded higher available organic carbon (0.65 %), nitrogen (312 kg/ha), phosphorus (12.7 kg/ha), potassium (413 kg/ha), sulphur (20.2 kg/ha) and zinc (1.37 kg/ha) contents in the soil over rest of the treatments. Among the genotypes, 'RSG 973'recorded highest pods/ plant (85.20), seeds/pod (1.50), seed yield (2.51 t/ha), net return( 47,428/ha) and B: C ratio (4.07) remained on par with 'RSG 888' and 'GNG 469' over 'Dahod yellow' and 'GNG 663'. Keywords: Biofertilizer, chickpea, inorganic fertilizer, seed yield, soil fertility, vertisol. Ann. Agric. Res. New Series Vol. 34 (3) : 225-230 (2013) Chickpea is the major grain legume crop of India, grown over 8.56 million ha area with a production of 7.35 million tonnes (FAO, 2009). It is mainly grown under rainfed situations but in south east part of Rajasthan it is grown under irrigated conditions after harvest of soybean without considering improved varieties. Chickpea also plays a major role in biological nitrogen fixation thereby contributing to crop rotation and sustaining soil productivity, nevertheless, its average productivity in India is low (859 kg/ ha), but in Rajasthan (1013 kg/ha) is slightly higher against a world average of 1000 kg/ha (FAO, 2011). However, major reason contributes for poor performance of chickpea in vertisols is improper fertilizers management and use of existing genotypes. The lack of suitable variety/plant type for prevailing agro-climatic conditions is a major constraint to harness the better yield. Adoptions of improved varieties have been reported by various workers for better growth and yield (Bharadwaj et al., 2010).