\(l1m WII. (1995). .&.6 . 3. 2~ S.151

633.844 : 632.123

Consumptive use pattern of mustard (Brassica Juncea L)under different soil and climatic environments

A. CII OWD HU RY. II . P. DAS and S. D. G AIKWADM f'/eor% gicn/ Office. Pune

(Received 28 Ju (l' /992. Modified / 2 May /991)

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ARSTRACT. Musta rd is an important cash crop in nort h Ind ia where it is widely grown under d ifferentclim atic environment and soil rypes. Fn the present study. evapotranspi ration and othe r ugro-metec rologlcaldnt a for four agroclhua tic loca tions. viz; Jorh at. Sa.nakhu nta . Raipur and Jodhpur have been utilized tounders tand consumptive use and related aspects of mus tard . The evapotranspiration values recorded bylysimeters. gluhal radiation and actual soil mois ture dat a of Jorhat and the co mputed soil moistu reha ve been USf'J.

The stud y suggests thnt the musta rd plant uses mo re water at Bli the stations except at humilt loca tionwhere co nsumptive use is least . TIlt' utiliz ation is maximum betwee n 31-60day 5 after so"";na in ca se o fJorlt aland Samakhunta. Th e co mputed soil moisture est imates for 45 em layer agree lolo;t h the actual soil mois ture .The analysis nlso brines out that d uring the seven th wed, nne r sewi ng, the ratio of consumptive use andglobal radia tion attai ns a max imum value. Th is informa tion ca ll be used for determining irrigetion needs andco mput ing enl:rgy balance component' in the crop.

Kl")' '!'t onh - Evapotra nspiratio n. Consumptive use, Irrigat ion. Soil moisture. Rainfall C rop

I. Introductinn

Muslard is an impo rta nt o ilseed crop of the rabiseason in India and occupies first pos ition inacreage and production in the world. It is exten­sively grown in norlh Indi a wherc it is the moslimporlant ed ible oil a nd mai n cooking medium. IIis also a cash crop. T hc plan t is tall and erect. 90-175em in height. much branc bed a nd self-fertile. IIgrows well in a reas of25-40 em scaso na l rainfall . thecrop ma luri ty ran ges from 81-118 days dependingupon its geno-type. The average yield ranges from5-7 q/h ec. Mustard plant is highly susceptible 10

' white rust" disease and nearly 1/4th of must ardproduction in India is lost due to this pes\. Th e syn­thesis of oil in grain begins im mcdi ately a fter ovaryis fertili zed. Flavou r of Brassica j U1Icea is due to Ihepresence of 25% erucic acid and 175 micro-molesper gram of glucosinate .

(245)

Incidentally. study of this important cash crophas not received attention it deserves from Iheagricullural scientists. Very few studies seem to havebeen made on its growth and yield variabilit y inrelation to weather conditions.

Yadav and Gupta (1975)studied Indian mustarddata of Ludhiana and observed th at with 55 mmseaso nal rainfall , Ihe crop responds well to oneirriga tion 3 weeks after sowing. Sinha (1991) studiedva rieta l performance in different soil conditionsand detennined ability of mus tard for tolerance tosoil salinity. Chakraborty et 01. (1991) found ",iderrow spacing result in reduced dry matter accumula­tion significantly, than the narrow ones. ArvindKumar eI 01. (1992) found that water use rate byl alshakti variety of mustard was highest. during106-130 days after sowing. In the present study anattempt bas been made to detennine variability in