Yield and yield component response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) genotypes to different sowing dates in Gird region of Madhya Pradesh

The effects of various sowing dates on yield and yield components of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L) were studied. The experiment was conducted at agricultural research farm of College of Agriculture, Gwalior, MP during the year 2009-10 and 2010-11. The experiment comprised of four wheat genotypes (HI 8498, HI 1544, GW 322 and Lok 1) and four sowing dates. The pooled data revealed that crop sown on 14 November showed promising results in terms of grain yield (47.33 q/ha), plant height, number of ear heads per m2, length of ear head, number of grains per ear head, weight of ear head, test weight and straw yield followed by sowing dates of 21, 28 November and 8 December. The early sowing (14 November) gave 12.80 per cent higher grain yield in comparison to that of 21 November date of sowing. The delayed sowing (8 December) reduced the grain yield (38.19 q/ha) which was 19.30 per cent lower than that of 14 November date of sowing. All the varieties sown on 14 November registered more total income, net income and B:C ratio than the crop sown on 21 November.