Studies on the effect of nitrogen fertilizer, row spacing and use of antitranspirants on rapeseed (Brassica campestris) grown under dryland conditions

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Abstract
SUMMARY: An experiment is desoribed which was conducted for 2 years under dryland conditions of north-west India to evaluate the optimum rate of application of N fertilizer and plant population density for a rapeseed crop. Stomata closing (phenyl mercuric acetate), film forming(Mobileaf) and reflective type (kaolinite) antitranspirants were used to examine their effectson conservation of stored moisture for a possible increased water use efficiency under drylandconditions.The rapeseed crop responded to N fertilizer and it was profitable to use 53 kg N/ha xinder these conditions. In a drier year a wider row spacing of 60 cm (1·1 x 106 plants/ ha) was significantly better than narrower spacing of 30 cm (2·2 xlO5 plants/ha). Plants grown in wider row spacings utilized less water during the vegetative and flowering stages than those grown in closer spacings.The relative water content of leaves sprayed with antitranspirants was greater than in the control plants. The leaf temperature of the kaolinite-treated canopy was 1·5 °C lower than the ambient air temperature. Averaged over 2 years, the film-forming antitranspirant Mobileaf increased the seed yield by 26% while spraying with phenyl mercuric acetate at 50 and 75 days and kaolin application at 50 days increased the rapeseed yield by 11, 18 and 17% over the no antitranspirant treatment.

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