Journal of Global Biosciences

ISSN 2320-1355
Volume 3, Number 6, 2014, pp. 931-934
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Research Paper

STUDY OF YIELD CONTRIBUTING CHARACTERS OF OLEIFEROUS

BRASSICAS IN BUNDELKHAND REGION
Surender Kumar1# and Rajdeep Kudesia2
1,2Instituteof Basic Sciences, Department of Botany
Bundelkhand University, Jhansi (India)
# Present Affiliation - Department of Botany,

K.M.Govt. P.G.College, Narwana (India).

Abstract
During present investigation nine yield contributing characters of four
species/ varieties of oleiferous Brassicas were studied. Germplasm
belonged to three species i.e. Brassica campestris, B.juncea (brown
variety and yellow variety) and B.carinata. Nine yielding contributing
characters were plant height, number of primary branches, number of
leaves per plant, number of flower per plant on main branch, number of
siliquae per plant, number of seed per siliqua, weight of hundred seed,
total seed weight per plant and harvest Index . The seeds of total four
species/varieties were sown in Split Plot Design. The Harvest index of B.
juncea (Brown) was maximum which was due to lesser dry weight of the
plant but the maximum hundred seed weight per plant and total seed
weight per plant. The present investigation with four species/varieties of
oleiferous Brassicas reveals that Brassica juncea (brown) is the highest
yielding species. It is adaptive to Bundelkhands environmental
conditions.
Key words: Oleiferous, Brassicas, Seeds, Harvest Index.

INTRODUCTION
The genus Brassica of family Cruciferae (Brassicaceae) is consisted of several
multipurpose species which yield edible leaves, roots, stems and seeds as spice.
Brassicas are also extensively cultivated as cash crop, vegetables and fodder. Brassicas
are generally grown in northern and western parts of India or in the world above 200N
of latitude. Oleiferous Brassicas are important rabi (post-rainy) season oil seed crops in
India and occupies a premier position due to its high oil content. Seeds of Brassicas are
used for various purposes. Rapeseeds are rich in oil and proteins. The oil content varies
from 36-39% per seed [1]. The important seed crops of Brassicas grown for oil purposes
are rapeseed (Brassica campestris L. and Brassica napus), and mustard (Brassica juncea
(L.) Czern and Coss, Brassica carinata A. Br. and Brassica nigra) which are grown in the
semi -arid and arid zones in various continents [2]. Oleiferous Brassicas are important
Journal of Global Biosciences Vol. 3(6), 2014 pp. 931-934
ISSN 2320-1355

oil seed crop of India and stand second after soyabean in production among the eight
annual edible oil yielding crops of India [3]. Oleiferous Brassicas are grown in about
6.18 million hectare area with 7.36 million tons production of oil seeds [4] contributing
about 26.7 of the total oil seeds production. The average productivity level of 1190
kg/ha in India is very low than that of the developed countries (2500-3000 kg/ha) as
well as the world average of about 1900 kg/ha. India is at first position in area and
production of rapeseed and mustard in Asia. In India, rapeseed and mustard are
cultivated in the state of Utter Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh
etc. In Utter Pradesh, Allahabad zone stands first on the basis of area but on the basis of
total percent area, Agra is at first position followed by Kanpur, Itawa, Kheeri and Gonda.
Till recently Brassica campestris and Brassica juncea were grown in mixed stands with
wheat and barley and hence it was one of the reasons for low productivity. Hence there
is a need of exploring high yielding varieties. Therefore keeping in view the status and
economic importance of oleiferous Brassicas, the present work was carried out to study
various yield contributing characters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present investigation was conducting to study various yield contributing characters
of oleiferous Brassicas. The germplasm of various genera or species was collected from
CCSHAU, Hisar (Haryana) and RBS College, Agra(U.P.). Germplasm belonged to three
species i.e. B. campestris, B.juncea (brown variety and yellow variety) from CCSHAU,
Hisar and B. carinata from RBS College, Agra. Bundelkhand region lies between latitude
of 240 11-260 27 N and 780 17 810 34 E at about 275 m above the sea level. The
climate of Bundelkhand region is characterized by long and intensive hot summer, low
and irregular rain fall and short mild winter. At Jhansi, the rainfall is due to south- east
Monsoon. All experiments were conducted at experimental site of Bundelkhand
University Jhansi. The land for the experiment was dug out three times by ploughing
and harrowing. Then dry grasses and weeds were removed carefully. The field trials
were conducting from 20th October to till harvesting of various species. Sowing was
done 3-4 days after field preparation. The seeds of total four species/varieties were
sown in Split Plot Design. Each species/variety was sown in two rows at the space of
30 cm whereas spacing between two respective species/varieties was kept 60 cm.
Irrigation, weeding and hoeing practices were done regularly. Harvesting was done in
the month of March. Nine yielding contributing characters in different experimental
species/varieties like plant height, number of primary branches from main stem per
plant, number of leaves per plant, number of flower per plant on main branch, number
of siliquae per plant, number of seed per siliqua, weight of hundred seed per
species/variety, total seed weight per plant and harvest index were observed during
present investigation. Twenty plants per species/variety were selected randomly to
collect data. Data was analyzed to calculate standard error of means [5].
Harvest index was calculated by using following formula-
Total seed weight/Total biomass of the plant 100

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

During present investigation nine yield contributing characters of four species/
varieties were studied (Table-1.) The Plant height and number of primary branches
were recorded maximum in Brassica juncea (brown). Plant height and number of
branches of Brassica sp. also affect the final yield and harvest index as also investigated
by some workers [6, 7]. The number of primary branches was positively correlated with

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Journal of Global Biosciences Vol. 3(6), 2014 pp. 931-934
ISSN 2320-1355

number of siliquae per plant, seed per siliqua and total seed weight per plant [8]. The
number of leaves per plant was highest in B. juncea (brown) and B.carinata whereas
number of flowers (upper one foot region) on main branch was maximum in B. juncea
(brown).The number of leaves is an important character as the leaves are the site of
perception of sun light and subsequent to photosynthesis.
Number of seed per siliqua was reported highest in B.juncea (brown) and B.carinata but
number of siliquae per plant, 100 seed weight, total seed weight per plant and harvest
index was noticed maximum in B. juncea (brown). The attributes like number of seed
per pod, weight of 100 seeds, total seed weight per plant as well as harvest index are
directly correlated to the yield of any variety/species of oleiferous Brassica [9]. The seed
of B. juncea (brown) were heaviest among all four experimental species/varieties of
oleiferous Brassicas. It was one of the characters which affected the harvest index as
well as final yield of the Brassica species/varieties. Therefore a strong positive
significant association was observed between plant height, number
of siliquae per plant, total seed weight per plant and harvest index [10],[11],[12]. The
Harvest index of B. juncea (Brown) was maximum which was due to lesser dry weight of
the plant but the maximum 100 seed weight per plant and total seed weight per plant.
While reviewing the studies of various previous works on yield contributing characters
of oleiferous Brassicas, it has been observed that different characters may vary
depending on the nature of experimental material and agro-climatic conditions in which
studies have been performed. Therefore, the present investigation with four
species/varieties of oleiferous Brassicas reveals that Brassica juncea (brown) is the
highest yielding species. It is adaptive to Bundelkhands environmental conditions. That
is why it may be suggested that to get higher yield of rapeseed-mustard in Bundelkhand
region, B.juncea (brown) should be sown during rabi season. The findings of present
investigation can be utilized to obtained better seed yield.

Table-1. Various yield contributing characters of oleiferous Brassicas

Species/ Yield contributing characters
varieties Plant No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of 100 seed Total seed Harvest
height primar leaves flowers Siliquae seeds weight weight index
(cm) y per on per per (g) per plant (%)
branch plant main plant siliqua (g)
branch
(upper
one
foot
region)
Brassica 1220.6 200.4 190.7 510.6 1490.6 130.7 0.4340.5 7.3110.9 29.440.2
campestri 3 3 4 8 5 6 6 4 4
s
B.juncea 1500.5 250.2 240.5 700.7 1800.4 150.1 0.5010.6 9.2420.7 41.280.3
(brown) 4 8 6 2 8 8 6 2 6
B.carinat 1380.8 180.4 240.4 650.3 1400.3 150.9 0.4720.8 8.4270.4 32.020.8
a 3 4 2 6 2 6 2 5 7
B.juncea 1400.6 210.5 210.3 660.4 1560.8 140.3 0.4490.5 8.3610.5 30.980.9
(yellow) 5 7 4 5 6 4 8 2 2

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ISSN 2320-1355

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