Effect of Rice Husk Mulching on Growth and Yield of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

During the Rabi season of 2022–2023, a field experiment entitled "Effect of rice husk mulching on growth and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)" was conducted at the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Institute of Agricultural Sciences, located at Utlou, Bishnupur District, Manipur, in an attempt to ascertain the effects of mulching on seedling emergence and the effects of varying degrees of rice husk mulching on chickpea yield. There are 12 treatments i.e., T1 – Control (no rice husk mulch), T2– 10 q /ha, T3– 15 q /ha, T4– 20 q/ha, T5– 25 q/ha, T6– 30 q/ha, T7–35 q/ha, T8– 40 q/ha, T9 – 45 q/ha, T10 – 50 q/ha, T11 with 55 q/ha and T12 with 60 q/ha of rice husk mulching replicated thrice in a Randomized Block Design (RBD). The result shows that mulching with 60 q/ha of rice husk i.e., treatment T12 had significant effect on crop’s germination percentage. Additionally, the results indicate that the treatment T12 – 60 q/ha of rice husk mulching had significantly highest growth and grain yield (17.10 q/ha) as compared to other treatments. Thus, from the experiment it can be concluded that the application of rice husk (60 q/ha) mulching is more favorable for attaining sustainable higher profits and productivity in the cultivation of chickpea during Rabi season of Manipur.