Effect of foliar application of urea on growth, yield and quality of chickpea under rainfed conditions

A field experiment was conducted during two consecutive winter seasons of 2006–07 and 2007–08 on Inceptisol at Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur to study the effect of foliar application of urea on chickpea under rainfed condition. Foliar application of urea apart from the basal application of recommended dose of fertilizers increased branching in chickpea by 8–23% over no spray or water spray. The highest grain yield and yield attributes were recorded with 2% urea spray at 75 days after sowing (DAS). The results also suggested that 2% foliar application of urea at 75 DAS significantly increased the seed size, leaf and seed nitrogen contents and also protein content of seeds. The increase in leaf nitrogen and protein content of seeds was significantly correlated with SPAD chlorophyll metre reading. The significant increase in the number of branches as a result of urea application also contributed towards overall biomass production under rainfed condition.