Influence of sowing dates on growth dynamics and pod yield of vegetable pea (Pisum sativum L.) in relation to agro-meteorological indices in subtropical to sub-humid region of Eastern India

The experimentation was carried out in three replications consisting of eight different sowing dates of vegetable pea. cv. Azad Pea-3 from 12th October (T1) to 21st December 2021 (T8), at 10-day intervals between each sowing date. Observations made on various growth and pod yield attributing parameters were statistically analyzed and correlated with mean maximum and minimum temperature as well as average bright sunshine hours recorded during the corresponding phases of crop growth. Results revealed that the parameters under study were substantially affected by various sowing dates. T6 recorded maximum plant stand (93.53%), T3 registered highest pod length (9.40 cm) and T4 produced maximum plant height at 60 DAS (83.77 cm), number of branches per plant (3.97), number of nodules per plant at flowering (26.13), number of green pods per plant (20.80), 10 pods weight (75.67 g), shelling percentage (54.18) along with pod yield (52.06 q/ha). Meanwhile, the lowest value for nodule count was noticed in T7 and for other parameters in T1. As per correlation analysis, it was observed that except for plant height (at 20 DAS and 40 DAS) and number of nodules per plant, all other parameters showed a negative association with the meteorological indices under consideration. In general, sowing undertaken between 1st November and 1st December produced a higher pod yield of vegetable pea under North Bihar conditions.