Potassium Management for Improving Mash Grain Yield in a Field Experiment at Regional Research Station, Gurdaspur

To improve production and quality of pulse crops, balanced use of production inputs is important to sustain soil fertility and to combat nutrient deficiency in particular. To understand the effect of potassium (K) fertilization on yield and yield attributes of mash bean/ black gram in a potassium deficient soil, a study was carried out for two consecutive years at the experimental farm of Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Gurdaspur, India. Mash variety ‘Mash 114’ was tested in a randomized complete block design with three replications having different fertilizer treatments of potassium application rates Application of potassium fertilizer significantly increased the grain yield to 1963 kg ha-1 whereas plots without K fertilization maintained an average grain yield of 1204 kg ha-1. Maximum grain and straw yield in black gram was obtained with potassium application at the rate of 50 kg K2O ha-1 followed by 25 kg K2O ha-1. The two treatments were at par with each other however, treatment 50kg K2O ha-1 was significantly superior to treatment 12.5 kg K2O ha-1, NP and control. Inclusion of potassium in fertilization schedule alongwith N and P significantly influenced plant height, number of pods per plant, and 100 seed weight (g) in comparison to NP and control treatment. Quadratic regression equation also explained the progressive increase in seed yield of mash bean with increasing levels of potassium.