Response of Rabi Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) Varieties to Sowing Time and Row Spacing under Semi-arid Region of Banaskantha, Gujarat, India

The yield of crops depends on climatic, soil and crop management factors, among them optimum time of sowing has becomes a prime importance for higher productivity. Crop varieties respond differently to sowing time as well as optimum row spacing is important for maximizing light interception, distribution and light penetration in crop canopy. So that in 2015-16, a field experiment was carried out to examine the consequences of different sowing time, varieties and row spacing on growth, yield and phenology of rabi fennel. The significantly tallest plant height and higher number of branches (primary, secondary and tertiary) per plant, number of seeds per umbellate, seed yield per plant, seed, stover and biological yield as well as more number days to 50 per cent flowering and days to physiological maturity recorded under early sowing i.e. 3rd week of October. Fennel variety GF-12 superior over GF-11 and GF-2 in terms of the growth and yield parameters. Whereas, row spacing of 45 cm recorded higher growth and yield parameters over 60 cm. However, spacing did not exhibit a significant influence on harvest index, days to 50 per cent flowering and days to physiological maturity. The Interaction effect of time of sowing and row spacing was found significant in primary branches, number of umbels and seed yield per plant as well as seed yield. It was found that growth and yield attributing characters significantly correlated with seed yield.