A Sustainable Approach Towards Pigeonpea Production: Effects of Planting Pattern and Nutrients Supply on Yield, Uptake and Nutritional Quality

Background: Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) is a significant pulse crop identified for its capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen and its adaptability to semi-arid environments. However, productivity can be affected by inadequate agronomic practices, specifically inappropriate planting patterns and imbalanced nutrient management. Integrated nutrient management (INM) provides a sustainable strategy which combines organic and inorganic nutrient sources to improve soil fertility, crop yield and quality. Methods: A field experiment was conducted during the kharif seasons of 2023 and 2024 at Lovely Professional University ,Phagwara, Punjab, in a split-plot design with four planting patterns (P1: 50×25 cm, P2: 30×25 cm, P3: Raised bed, P4: 60×20 cm) as main plots and four nutrient sources (N1: Control, N2: RDF, N3: FYM, N4: Integrated nutrient management) as sub-plots, replicated thrice. Result: Raised bed planting (P3) with INM (N4) significantly enhanced yield attributes, seed yield (1188.23 and 1051.04 kg ha-1) and total nutrient uptake (N, P, K) compared to other treatments. The same combination also recorded the highest protein content (20.17% and 20.43%) and protein yield (268.42 and 273.75 kg ha-1). Microbial populations were also significantly higher under INM with raised bed planting, indicating improved soil biological health. The study highlights that integrating raised bed planting with INM is a practical strategy for improving Pigeonpea productivity, nutrient use efficiency and soil health under Punjab’s agro-climatic conditions.