Farmer Gurulingappa has found that wider spacing increases pigeonpea
yields dramatically. He shares his findings and observations with
Dr G Shankar of Rallis India
 |
 |
| Figure 1:
(Left) Plant grown with conventional spacing. (Right) Plant
grown with wider spacing. A pen has been used to show the relative
sizes of the stems. |
Gurulingappa is a well-known farmer from Bidar district, Karnataka,
who created waves locally and in the research community in 2008
with his successful experiment in which he used polythene bags and
transplanting techniques in pigeonpea cultivation.
This year (2009) he is conducting a new experiment — using
a dibbling technique for pigeonpea at different spacing distances.
For this, he has used two seeds per hole with ifferent spacing distances,
such as 6’ × 3’, 6’ × 4’, etc.
Gurulingappa’s goal is to touch 20 quintals per acre. He believes
that farmers have yet to tap the real yield potential of crops such
as pigeonpea. In his experiments, he has observed the impact of
spacing on the yield. He keeps track of his findings and has made
a guidance table with a theoretical calculation of the number of
plants per acre at different spacing distances. Gurulingappa has
set target yields at each spacing distance and is working to achieve
it [see table].
 |
| Figure 2: Triangular sowing method |
On our visit to his farm, we could see that the impact of spacing
on growth and flowering was very good and quite visible. The branches
were drooping due to heavy flower growth. The main stem was strong
and had a girth of about 6 inches, compared to that of 2 inches
in normally sown crops [see Figure 1].
Gurulingappa has adopted the triangular sowing method, where a spacing
is maintained of 5 feet within the row and 6 feet between rows [see
figure 2].
 |
| Figure 3: Dense
flowering in pigeonpea grown with wider spacing |
He believes that manipulating spacing in this way will enable each
plant to yield 1–1.5 kg. His best yield so far has been 17
quintals. He has a personal goal of achieving 20–24 quintals
per acre.
Considering his perseverance and success with innovation, that day
doesn't appear to be far off.
Table: Spacing vs yield guideline
Spacing [feet]
|
# of plants/acre |
Per-plant yield [kg] |
Expected yield [kg/acre] |
5 × 4
|
2178 |
0.9 |
1947 |
5 × 5
|
1290 |
1.0 |
1902 |
6 × 3
|
2420 |
0.8 |
1936 |
6 × 3.5
|
2074 |
1.0 |
2074 |
6 × 4
|
1498 |
1.3 |
1947 |
7 × 2.5
|
2489 |
0.8 |
1940 |
7 × 3
|
2071 |
1.0 |
2071 |
7 × 3.5
|
1778 |
1.1 |
1955 |
Dr G Shankar is general manager (customer relations) at Rallis
India Ltd
|
