Sowing Dates and Sulphur Levels Affecting Growth and Yield Attributes of Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) under Open and Mango-based Agroforestry Systems in the Semi-arid Region of Central India

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2024–25 at the AICRP Research Farm, Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, to evaluate the effects of cropping system, sowing date and sulphur levels on the growth and yield attributes of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) under mango-based agroforestry and open-field cropping systems. The experiment was designed as a randomised complete block factorial study and included two cropping systems, three sowing dates (October 15, November 5, and November 25), and four sulphur levels (0, 20, 30, and 40 kg S ha⁻¹). The results showed that the open-field cropping system produced significantly better growth and yield parameters compared with the agroforestry system with mango trees. With the early sowing date (15 October), significantly higher values were observed for plant population, plant height, number of branches, siliquae per plant, seeds siliqua-1, siliqua length and test seed weight compared with the later sowing dates. Application of 40 kg S ha-1 produced the maximum values of all growth and yield attributes and remained statistically comparable with 30 kg S ha-1 for a few parameters. Significant interaction effects among cropping system, sowing date and sulphur level indicated that mustard yield depended on the combined influence of growing conditions and nutrient supply. The study suggests that timely sowing combined with adequate sulphur fertilisation can increase mustard productivity under both open and mango-based agroforestry systems, although crop performance remained comparatively higher under open-field conditions. The present investigation was carried out to study the adaptation of mustard crops under different climatic resilience conditions for the benefit of farmers, with an improvement observed in oil content.