Growth and Yield Maximization of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Through Integrated Nutrient Management Applied to Rice-Chickpea Cropping System

The chickpea is a major legume crop of Pakistan cultivated under rice-chickpea cropping system. Integrated nutrient management is important for higher crop yields and sustainable agriculture. A field experiment was conducted to study the residual effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of chickpea crop. The treatments included control (no organic or inorganic fertilizer), NPK (36-72-0 kg ha-1), NPK (36-72-20 kg ha-1), Farmyard Manure (20 t ha-1), Poultry Manure (20 t ha-1), NPK (18-36-10 kg ha-1) + FYM (20 t ha-1), NPK (18-36-10 kg ha-1) + P.M (20 t ha-1), NPK (36-72-20 kg ha-1) + FYM (20 t ha-1), NPK (36-72-20 kg ha-1) + P.M (20 t ha-1), NPK (18-36-10 kg ha-1) + FYM (10 t ha-1), and NPK (18-36-10 kg ha-1) + P.M (10 t ha-1). All the relevant agronomic observations and chemical analysis of the soil and plant samples were recorded. The application of organic sources of farmyard manure and poultry manure in combination with inorganic NPK fertilizers had shown positive effect on chickpea plant height, number of branches plant-1 , number of pods plant-1 and seed index. The growth and yield of chickpea significantly increased with the collective application of chemical fertilizers and organic manures. It is concluded that the application of half of recommended dose of NKP (18-36-10 kg ha-1) in combination with poultry manure or farmyard manure at the rate of 20 t ha-1 was found best combination for higher chickpea crop yields in compare to other levels of fertilizers.