Effect of Irrigation Levels on Productivity and Profitability of Mungbean Cultivars (Vigna radiata L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the zaid season of 2025–26 at the Crop Research Farm, SAAST, C.S.J.M. University, Kanpur, to assess the effects of three irrigation levels (zero, one, and two irrigations) and three mungbean cultivars (Virat, Samrat, and SVM-98) on growth, yield attributes, productivity, and profitability. The experiment followed a factorial randomised block design with three replications. Cultivar and irrigation treatments influenced plant population, plant height, branching, dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate, yield attributes, and economic returns. SVM-98 recorded the highest plant population (18.17 plants/m²), plant height at harvest (56.67 cm), pods per plant (18.67), test weight (54.96 g), biological yield (4345.56 kg/ha), and harvest index (37.98%) among the cultivars. Two irrigations improved growth and biological yield relative to one or no irrigation, with biological yield reaching 4001.11 kg/ha at this irrigation level. The SVM-98 × two-irrigation combination produced the highest biological yield (4519.82 kg/ha) and harvest index (41.82%). Economic analysis showed that this treatment also generated the highest gross return (₹164,800/ha), net return (₹137,000/ha), and benefit-cost ratio (5.93). Under the conditions of this single-site, single-season experiment, this combination provided the highest observed agronomic and economic performance for mungbean cultivation at the study site.