EFFECT OF SOIL-MOISTURE REGIME, SEED RATE AND PHOSPHORUS-FERTILIZER ON GROWTH AND YIELD ATTRIBUTES AND YIELD OF LATE-SOWN LENTIL (LENS-CULINARIS)

A field experiment was conducted during tile winter seasons of 1984-85 and 1985-86 lit New Delhi on a sandy-loam soil to study the effect of soil moisture, seed rate and fertilizer on yield of 'Pant L 406' lent il (Lens culinaris Medikus). The soil was low in organic carbon and av ailable P and medium in available K, with pH7.3. irrigation at 0.60 ir rigation water depth : cumulative pan evaporation (IW : CPE) ratio (2 irrigations) produced taller plants with profuse branching and root no dulation and had more dry matter, pods/plant and grain and straw yield s compared with irrigation at 0.35 IW : CPE ratio and no irrigation. D uring 1984-85 only 1,000-grain weight and harvest index also increased by irrigation. Higher seed rare (60 kg/ha) though adversely affected growth, yield attributes and nodulation, recorded higher grain and str aw yields compared with lower seed rate (40 kg/ha). Further, the magni tude of increase in grain yield with 60 kg seed/ha with post-planting irrigation was greater. P application improved the growth and yield at tributes, nodulation, grain and straw yields and harvest index. Phosph obacterial inoculation alone or in combination with 35 kg P2O5/ha show ed positive response in terms of dry matter, nodulation and grain yiel d. The grain yield increased with increasing levels of P2O5 up to 70 k g/ha. The response to phosphobacterial inoculation alone could be obse rved with post-planting irrigations only.