Effect of Sowing Date, Seed Rate and Row Spacing on Productivity and Profitability of Barley (Hordeum vulgare) in North India

The precise information regarding the date of sowing, seed rate and row spacing is critical for achieving yield targets and better economic returns of barley. Therefore here, we determined the information regarding the optimum date of sowing, seed rate, spacing and economic aspects for barley production. This study was conducted for three years, in north Indian plains. Early sowing date of barley (last week of October) recorded higher yield in comparison to late sown crop (3^rd week of November). Moreover, the higher barley production proved more remunerative when sown early in the last week of October to the first week of November as compared to late sown the late sown crop. Furthermore, the enhanced seed rate of 10% then recommended did not affect the grain yield of barley. But, the closer spacing of 20 cm (row to row) produced higher grain yield (5.45 Mg ha^-1 ) than the recommended spacing of 22.5 cm (5.30 Mg ha^-1). Likewise, the economical parameters (net returns) were higher with 20 cm row spacing. Overall, this study determines the optimum date of sowing, seed rate and spacing for scoring better returns of barley crop under north Indian conditions.