Assessment of irrigation and nutrient effects on growth, yield and water use efficiency of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) in central India

A field experiment was conducted at the Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India to study the effect of combinations of amount of irrigation water and nutrient applications on crop growth, evapotranspiration (ET), yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of Indian mustard on a heavy clay soil in central India. Three irrigation regimes, viz. 60 mm pre-sowing and no post-sowing irrigation (I60), 60 mm pre-sowing plus 60 mm post-sowing irrigation at flowering (I120), and 60 mm pre-sowing plus 60 mm post-sowing irrigation at rosette and at flowering stage (I180); and three nutrient application treatments, viz. no fertilizer/manure (F0), 100% NPK, i.e., total N, P and K rates of 60, 13.1 and 16.6 kg ha−1, respectively (F100) and 100% NPK plus 10 Mg ha−1 farmyard manure (F100M10) were tested in a split-plot design. The experiment was conducted for three consecutive seasons.