Growth, Yield Attributes and Yield of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under Different Levels of Fertilizer and Vermicompost Grown under Every Furrow and Alternate Furrow Irrigation Methods

A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2021-22 at the Agronomy Research Farm of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar in a split-plot design with two vermicompost levels i.e., vermicompost @ 1.5 t ha-1 and vermicompost @ 3.0 t ha-1, two irrigation methods i.e., every furrow irrigation and alternate furrow irrigation method as the main plot treatments and three fertilizer levels at N40P20, N60P30 and N80P40 kg ha-1 as subplot treatments and replicated three times. Among the vermicompost levels, vermicompost at 3.0 t ha-1 recorded significantly higher no. of tillers; yield attributes i.e., no. of effective tillers (12.88%), spike length (14.49%), no. of grains per spike (13.85%), 1000-grain weight (10.57%) and yield i.e., grain yield (11.00%), biological yield (10.75%) than vermicompost at 1.5 t ha-1. Among methods of irrigation, every furrow irrigation recorded significantly higher in no. of tillers, yield attributes i.e., no. of effective tillers (13.68%), spike length (14.49%), no. of grains per spike (11.51%), 1000-grain weight (9.37%); yield (grain yield (17.15%), biological yield (22.08%) and economics (gross and net returns (15.52 and 25.66%) than alternate furrow irrigation. Among fertilizer level, application of N80P40 recorded significantly higher no. of tillers, spike length, no. of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight; yield (grain yield (13.02%), biological yield (15.81%), and economics (gross and net returns (13.72 and 24.49%) over other levels of fertilizer. Based on the study, it was found that vermicompost level, method of irrigation and fertilizer level has significant effect on no. of tillers, available NPK content in soil, yield attributes, yield and economics of barley.