Abstract
The study was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural
University, Mymensingh during 2014-2017 with the objectives of optimizing sowing
date and spacing for maximizing seed yield and quality of field pea cultivars. Three
experiments included under the study were: (1) seed yield and quality of field pea
cultivar as influenced by sowing date, (2) seed yield and quality of field pea cultivar as
influenced by spacing, and (3) effect of sowing date, cultivar and spacing on the yield
and quality of field pea cultivars. Experiment 1 was involved with four date of sowing
viz. 29 October, 13November, 28 November and 13 December; and 4 field pea cultivars
viz. BARI Motor1, BARI Motor2, BADC Motor1 and Narail Local in 2014-15 while six
sowing dates viz. 25 October, 04 November, 14 November, 24 November, 04 December
and 14 December and three cultivars viz. BARI Motorl, BARI Motor2 and BADC
Motor1 in 2015-16. Experiment 2 used four field pea cultivars viz. BARI Motor1, BARI
Motor2, BADC Motor1 and Narail Local and four spacing of planting viz. 20cm x
10cm, 30cm × 10cm, 40cm x 10cm and 50cm x 10cm in 2014-15 while three cultivars
viz. BARI Motor1, BARI Motor2, BADC Motorl and nine spacing viz. 20cm x 10cm,
20cm x 15cm, 20cm × 20cm, 30cm × 10cm, 30cm × 15cm, 30cm × 20cm, 40cm ×10cm,
40cm × 15cm and 40cm × 20cm in 2015-16. Experiment 3 included three sowing dates
viz. 26 October, 07 November and 17 November with three cultivars viz. BARI Motor1,
BARI Motor2, BADC Motor1 and two spacing viz. 20cm × 10cm, 30cm x× 10cm in 2016-
17. Split-plot design was used in Experiments 1 and 3 while RCB design was adopted
for Experiment 2. In all the experiments, fertilizers were applied at the rate of 80-120-
100 kg N-P-K ha-1 in the form of urea, triple superphosphate (TSP) and muriate of
potash (MoP), respectively. Data on crop phenology, growth, yield contributing
characters, seed yield, and seed quality attributes of field pea were collected. Seed
quality of field pea was assessed in terms of standard germination test, accelerated
ageing germination test and electrical conductivity test. The results of Experiment 1
revealed that cultivar BARI Motor2 gave the highest seed yield for sowing on 13
November 2014 (1.34 t ha-1) in 2014-15 and 04 November 2015 (1.66 t ha-1) in 2015-16.
Experiment 2 showed that cultivar BARI Motor2 produced the highest seed yield from
sowing of 30cm×10cm spacing both in 2014-15 (1.34 t ha-1) and 2015-16 (1.43 t ha-1).
Experiment 3 exhibited that BARI Motor2 sown on 07 November 2016 at 30cm×10cm
spacing gave the highest seed yield (2.28 t ha-1) in 2016-17. The result of all the
experiments over seasons showed that BARI Motor2 produced the best quality seed
among the cultivars. The seed quality of this cultivar was the highest for sowing on 13
November 2014, 04 November 2015 and 07 November 2016, respectively in 2014-15,
2015-16 and 2016-17. Spacing did not have significant effect on seed quality of field pea
cultivars. The present study concludes that the highest seed yield of field pea with
reasonable quality can be achieved by using BARI Motor2 from sowing during 04 to 13
November with 30cm x 10cm spacing.