Response of Green Gram (Vigna Radiata (L.))Wilczek to Inter Row Spacing and Phosphorus under Semi-arid Conditions of Eritrea

Abstract

Green gram (Vigna radiata (L.) wilczek,) commonly known as moong or mung bean or golden gram was introduced to Eritrea as a pulse crop by Ministry of Agriculture at its National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in collaboration with Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) in 2012. But its agronomic practices for semi-arid conditions of Eritrea are not yet standardised. Therefore , to find the optimum inter row spacing and phosphorus dose for its higher productivity ,a field experiment was conducted at the experimental farm of Hamelmalo Agricultural College, Keren, Eritrea during summer 2015 and 2016. The experiment was conducted in randomised complete block design (RCBD) with 12 treatment combinations of two factors consisting of four inter row spacing (Broadcast, 18cm, 30cm, and 45cm) and three phosphorus levels (0, 20 and 40 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1) each replicated thrice. The results of the study revealed that sowing of K-26 bold seeded variety either by broadcast method or at 18cm inter row spacing at10cm plant to plant spacing fertilized with 40kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 through DAP fertilizer drilled at the time of sowing proved significantly superior to increase growth, yield attributes and seed yield of green gram.