Off-Season French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Cultivation Inside Agro Shade Net: Influence of Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources

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1 J. Agric. Technol., 2(1&2): (2015) ISSN: Off-Season French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Cultivation Inside Agro Shade Net: Influence of Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources Ranjit Chatterjee 1, Ravi Kiran Thirumdasu 2 and Dipika Mal 3 1,2,3 Department of Vegetable and Spice Crops, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar, W.B., India 1 ranchat22@rediffmail.com French bean cultivation during summer months inside shade net provides assured better returns to the farmers in terms of higher yield, quality of produce and off season availability of fresh pods. But lack of standard planting time and indiscriminate chemical fertilizers results in fluctuating yield and poor return. The present work was formulated to identify the optimum planting time and proper nutrient sources of summer season french bean to make the production system economically viable and remunerative. Treatments consisted of four different planting dates and four nutrient sources laid out in two factor factorial RBD with three replications inside a UV stabilized HDPE naturally ventilated shade net house during summer month of 2012 at Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya. The results revealed that planting dates and nutrient sources have significant effect on growth and yield attributes of off-season french bean and 14 th May planting was found best considering the earliness and pod attributes. Again vermicompost (5 t ha -1 ) in combination with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers and biofertilizer seed inoculation emerged as best nutrient sources. The finding established that 14 th May planting coupled with use of vermicompost (5 t ha -1 ) in combination with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers and biofertilizer seed inoculation will bring desirable growth and yield attributes and will help to augment nutrient efficiency for off-season season french bean cultivation under agro shade net. Keywords: Biofertilizer, Nutrient Source, Off-season French Bean, Planting Dates, Vermicompost INTRODUCTION French bean is a high value cash crop belongs to family Leguminosae. Fresh pods are rich in protein, minerals and digestible fibres. Demand of fresh pod prevails round the year but supply is restricted to winter months. Again, winter crop blessed with favourable climate produces high yield but suffers from low price due to market glut. Off-season french bean during summer fetches higher remuneration as price remains very high during summer but risk of adverse climate causes decline in production or even crop failure. The performance of the crop is highly influenced by the genetic characteristics of the cultivar, planting time, growing temperature and nutrients applied. French bean requires C temperature for optimum growth and pod yield (Rashid, 1999). Summer crop under open field condition is not possible as scorching sun and higher day (more than 32 C) and night temperature (more than 24 C) prompted flower and pod drop. With the introduction of shade net which partially control the temperature and light and creates a favourable environment for crop growth that enables the growers to raise the crop under intense summer months (Chatterjee and Mahanta, 2013). French bean plants covered with agro-shade net had faster development, better pod yield and quality compared with the uncovered plants (Gogo et al., 2014). Shade net cultivation of french bean during summer months can provide better returns and off season availability of fresh pods. Again, use of organic soil amendments has been associated with desirable soil properties including higher water holding capacity, cation exchange capacity, lower bulk density and can foster beneficial microorganisms (Datt et al., 2013). Hence selection of optimum planting time and proper nutrient sources have direct bearing on the economic viability of the production system and may bring higher return from off-season cultivation. The present work was conducted to identify the optimum planting time for maximization of pod yield and higher economic return and to select proper nutrient sources of summer season french bean under shade net to make the production system economically viable and remunerative. 87

2 Journal of Agriculture and Technology MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out at the Instructional Farm of UBKV, Pundibari, Coochbehar, West Bengal, India during summer season (May to August) of The site is located at 89 o E longitude and 26 o N latitude and at 43 m above mean sea level. The soil was sandy loam (63%, 22% and 19% sand, silt and clay respectively) in texture and slight acidic in reaction (ph 5.72). The initial soil organic carbon was 0.82% and available N, P and K contents were , and kg ha -1 respectively. Four different planting dates (1 st May, 7 th May, 14 th May and 21 st May) and four nutrient sources (100% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 10 t ha -1 farmyard manure; 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 10 t ha -1 farmyard manure plus biofertilizer; 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 5 t ha -1 vermicompost plus biofertilizer and 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 5 t ha -1 farmyard manure plus 2.5 t ha -1 vermicompost plus biofertilizer). Thus 16 treatment combinations were laid out in two factor factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications. An ultraviolet (UV) stabilized high density polyethylene (HDPE) naturally ventilated green agro shade net house of 20 m x 10 m dimension with 50% shade intensity was used to raise the french bean. Seeds of french bean cultivar Phalguni were planted at 30 cm x 20 cm spacing in 1.50 m x 1.00 m plot area. Vermicompost and farmyard manure were applied to the respective plots before planting of seeds. The recommended doses of inorganic fertilizers (50 N: 75 P: 75 K kg ha -1 ) were applied in the form of urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash. Full dose of N, P and K were applied as basal. The bio-inoculants- Azophos containing Azotobacter chroococcum and Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (Acinetobacter sp) with standard microbial population was collected from the Department of Plant Pathology, UBKV and applied as seed treatment (25 g kg -1 seed) in the experiment. All agronomic practices were adopted timely for raising healthy crop. The observations were recorded for plant height, days to pod maturity, number of pods/plant and pod yield. The plant height was recorded at the time of flowering. Pod yield was estimated by multiplying average weight of the pod with the total number of pods. The observations recorded on different parameters were statistically analyzed as per method suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (2000). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Effect of Planting Dates on Growth and Yield of French Bean Perusal of data (Tables 1) indicated that planting dates significantly influenced the growth and yield attributes of french bean. Planting of french bean on 14 th May resulted in highest plant height (44.16 cm) while reducing the days to pod maturity (61.34 days). The same planting date (14 th May) emerged as best in terms of more number of pods (20.41 plant -1 ) and maximum pod yield (98.34 g plant -1 and g plot -1 ). The result revealed that 14 th May planting produced 16% greater number of pods/plant and 26% higher pod yield/plant over 21 st May planting. This may be attributed to availability of favourable environmental condition for appropriate synchronization of flowering and subsequent transformation to pod for producing optimum yield (Nahardani et al., 2013). Reduction in pod yield in delayed planting may be associated with abscission of flowers and failure of pod setting under high temperature condition (Ali, 1989). Dev (2010) also pointed that warmer weather condition reduced pod setting and total yield of French bean. Effect of Nutrient Sources on Growth and Yield of French bean The result (Table 1) revealed that different nutrient sources have significantly influenced the growth and yield attributes of french bean. Vermicompost showed marked effect and application of vermicompost (5 t ha -1 ) along with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers and seed inoculation with biofertilizer recorded the highest plant height (43.78 cm) along with maximum number of pods (19.32) and pod yield (94.35 g plant -1 and g plot -1 ). The increasing number of pods per plant and pod yield/plant were 10% and 22%, respectively over the treatment N 1 (100% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 10 t ha -1 farmyard manure). Well balanced composition of nutrients and humic acid substances of vermicompost might have enhanced the soil physical condition, favoured the growth of soil micro flora, helped in uptake of plant nutrients and make them available throughout the growth period of the plant (Chatterjee et al., 2009). This finding was analogous with the experimental results of Singh and Chauhan (2009). Biofertilizer Azophos in presence of 88

3 Off-Season French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Cultivation Inside Agro Shade Net. vermicompost would have enhanced the synthesis of growth hormones and improved nitrogen fixing ability as well as mobilizing the phosphorus of the soil (Chatterjee, 2013). Farmyard manure (10 t ha -1 ) in 89 combination with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers and seed inoculation with biofertilizer stood as second best nutrient combination for french bean. Table 1: Effect of Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources on Growth and Yield of French Bean Treatments* Plant Height (cm) Days to Pod Maturity No. of Pods Pod Yield Plant -1 Plant -1 (g) Pod Yield/ Plot (g 1.5 m -2 ) Planting time P P P P CD (P=0.05) Nutrient sources N N N N CD (P=0.05) *Treatments: P 1-1 st May planting,p 2-7 th May planting,p 3-14 th May planting, P 4-21 st May planting; N 1-100% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 10 t ha -1 farmyard manure,n 2-75% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 10 t ha -1 farmyard manure plus biofertilizer,n 3-75% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 5 t ha -1 vermicompost plus biofertilizer,n 4-75% recommended inorganic fertilizers plus 5 t ha - 1 farmyard manure plus 2.5 t ha -1 vermicompost plus biofertilizer Effect of Interaction of Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources on Growth and Yield of French Bean The result indicated a significant interaction between planting dates and nutrient sources for the growth and yield attributes of french bean (Table 2 and Figure 1 and 2). Planting of french bean on 14 th May and application of vermicompost (5 t ha -1 ) along with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers and seed inoculation with biofertilizer had exerted highest plant height (46.74 cm) and early pod maturity (59.18 days). The same combination also recorded highest number of pods per plant (21.19) and pod yield ( g plant -1 and g plot -1 ) which were significantly higher over all other treatment combinations. Optimum planting time coupled with suitable nutrient level might have provided favourable environment for desirable vegetative growth and pod yield. The vermicompost loaded optimum nutrient level in deficient soil might have improved the physicochemical and biological characteristics of the growth medium and increased the uptake of major nutrients and improvement of yield attributes and pod yield of french bean. Presence of vermicompost had pronounced the efficiency of the inorganic fertilizers and better inorganic nutrient utilization due to quick decomposition of organic substances (Barani and Anburani 2004). Table 2: Effect of Interaction of Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources on Growth and Yield of French Bean Treatment* Plant Height (cm) Days to Pod Maturity No. of Pods Plant -1 Pod Yield Plant -1 (g) Pod Yield Plot -1 (g 1.5m -2 ) P 1N P 1N P 1N P 1N P 2N P 2N P 2N P 2N P 3N P 3N P 3N P 3N P 4N P 4N P 4N P 4N CD (P=0.05) *Treatment details in Table 1

4 Journal of Agriculture and Technology Effect of Interaction of Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources on Economics of Production The economics of French bean cultivation under agro-shade net revealed that the gross return and net return of french bean was influenced by the combination of different planting dates and nutrient sources. Planting of French bean on 14 th May and application of sole vermicompost (5 t ha -1 ) along with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers and seed inoculation with biofertilizer had recorded the maximum gross return (Rs ) and net return (Rs ). The maximum return by this treatment may be due to improved plant growth, higher pod yield and better market price as off-season crop. Several research data suggested that under normal season open field condition the net returns varies from rupees 10 to 15 m -2, which is far below than the agro-shade net cultivation of the french bean. Again the sale price of fresh pods during normal season also decreased due to market glut. Table 3: Effect of Interaction of Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources on Economics of French Bean Cultivation Treatments* Pod Yield (g m -2 ) Gross Return (Rs m -2 )** Cost of Cultivation (Rs m -2 ) Net Return (Rs m -2 ) P 1N P 1N P 1N P 1N P 2N P 2N P 2N P 2N P 3N P 3N P 3N P 3N P 4N P 4N P 4N P 4N *Treatment details are given in Table 1; **Sale price of french Rs kg -1 of fresh pod Result of the present study indicated that offseason/ summer season french bean is very remunerative and planting dates as well as nutrient sources have significant effect on growth and pod yield. To obtain better plant growth and maximum return 14 th May planting in combination with vermicompost (5 t ha -1 ) and 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers along with seed inoculation of biofertilizer may be adopted. The practice will help to achieve profitable harvest from off-season french bean under agro shade net. Dates and Nutrient Sources Fig. 2: Pod Yield/ Plant (g) as Influenced by Planting Dates and Nutrient Sources Fig. 1: Number of Pods/ Plant as Influenced by Planting REFERENCES Ali, M. (1989), Response of Frenchbean Genotypes to Planting Dates During Winter Season, Indian J. Pulses Res., Vol. 2, No. 1, pp Barani, P. and Anburani, A.A. (2004), Influence of Vermicomposting on Major Nutrients in Bhendi var. Arka Anamika, South Indian Horticulture, Vol. 52, No. 1 6, pp

5 Off-Season French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Cultivation Inside Agro Shade Net. Chatterjee, R. (2009), Production of Vermicompost from Vegetable Wastes and its Effect on Integrated Nutrient Management of Vegetable Production, Ph.D. Thesis, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Coochbehar, West Bengal, India. Chatterjee, R. (2013), Physiological Attributes of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Influenced by Different Sources of Nutrients at Foothill of Eastern Himalayan Region, J. Applied & Natural Sci, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp Chatterjee, R. and Mahanta, S. (2013), Performance of Off-Season Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.) Under Agro Shade Net as Influenced by Planting Dates and Nutrient Source, Interl J Advances Agric Sci & Technol, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp Datt, N., Dubey. Y.P. and Chaudhary, R. (2013), Studies on Impact of Organic, Inorganic and Integrated use of Nutrients on Symbiotic Parameters, Yield, Quality of French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Vis- À-Vis Soil Properties of an Acid Alfisol, African J Agric Res, Vol. 8, No. 22, pp Dev, H. (2010), Standardization of Planting Time and Spacing in French Bean cv. Lakshmi as Autumn Crop for Lower Hills of Northern India, The Asian J Horticulture. Vol. 5, No. 2, pp Gogo, E.O., Saidi, M., Ochieng, J.M., Martin, T., Baird, V. and Ngouajio, M. (2014), Microclimate Modification and Insect Pest Exclusion using Agronet Improve Pod Yield and Quality of French Bean, Hort Sci, Vol. 49, No. 10, pp Nahardani, A.A., Sinaki, J.M. Firouzabadi, M.B. and Abbaspour H. (2013), Effects of Sowing Date and Biological Fertilizer Foliar on Yield and Yield Components of Cowpea, Interl J Agron Plant Production, Vol. 4, No. 11, pp Panse, V.G., Sukhatme, P.V. (2000), Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers. ICAR Publications, New Delhi, India. Rashid, M.M. (1999), Shabjibiggayan (In Bengali), Rashid Pub. House, 94, Old DOHS, Dhaka pp Singh, N.I. and Chauhan, J.S. (2009), Response of French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to Organic Manures and Inorganic Fertilizer on Growth and Yield Parameters Under Irrigated Condition, Nature & Sci., Vol. 7, No. 5, pp