Irrigation Scheduling for Improving Yield and Water Productivity of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Variety BARI Chola-9

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop in Bangladesh, yet its productivity remains low due to inadequate soil moisture during the Rabi season. Although several high-yielding varieties have been recently released by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) but information on irrigation scheduling for those varieties are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of irrigation scheduling on the growth and yield of BARI Chola-9 under field conditions. Field experiments were conducted during 2018 – 2019 at BARI, Gazipur, and at farmer’s field in Godagari, Rajshahi, using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Four irrigation treatments were evaluated: T1 (no irrigation, residual soil moisture), T2 (one irrigation after sowing), T3 (one irrigation at pod development stage), and T4 (two irrigations at post-sowing and pod development stages). The soils at both locations were silty clay loam, with field capacity of 28.5–29% and bulk density of 1.44–1.48 g cm⁻³. Irrigation significantly influenced chickpea productivity. Treatment T3 produced the highest seed yield, which was statistically comparable to T4, whereas T4 resulted in the highest biological and straw yields. Based on seed yield, treatment performance followed the order T3 > T4 > T2 > T1. The results indicated that moisture availability during the reproductive stage, particularly at pod development, is critical for maximizing grain yield. These findings suggest that a single irrigation at the pod development stage can optimize chickpea yield while reducing water use and labor requirements, offering a practical and efficient irrigation strategy for moisture-limited environments in Bangladesh.

SAARC J. Agric., 24(1): 271-286 (2026)