Effect of Seed Rate on Growth and Productivity of Rapeseed (Brassica campestris var. Toria) in Assam, India

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out at Jorhat, Assam to study the effect of seed rate on growth, yield and oil content in rapeseed. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The treatments comprised of three different seed rates i.e. 7, 8.5 and 10 kg ha-1. Results of the study revealed that all the growth and yield parameters viz. plant height (cm), number of primary branches plant-1, number of siliquae plant-1, number of seeds siliqua-1 and 1000-seed weight (g), yields of both seed (10.07 q ha-1) and stover (38.34 q ha-1) as well as total nutrient uptake by the crop were highest under 7 kg seeds ha-1, while plant population, seed oil content and availability of nutrients in soil increased with increase in seed rate. Among all the parameters studied, significant (p=0.05) influences were observed in density of plant population, plant height, number of primary branches plant-1, number of seeds siliqua-1, available phosphorus and potassium content in soil. The highest net monetary return (13237.41) and benefit-cost ratio (2.29) was also recorded in 7 kg seeds ha-1.