Optimum Sowing Window and Suitable Varieties for Cultivation Soybean (Glycine max L.) During Off-Season in Northern Telangana Zone

Aims: To identify the optimum sowing time and suitable varieties of soybean for profitable cultivation during the off-season in the Northern Telangana Agroclimatic zone of Telangana state in India.Study Design: Strip plot design with three replications.Place and Duration of Study: The Regional Sugarcane and Rice Research Station, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), Rudrur, Nizamabad District, Telangana state, India, between October 2022 and June 2023.Methodology: The field experiment was conducted in medium clay loam soil under irrigated condition. The experiment was laid out in strip plot design with three varieties viz., JS 335 (V1), ASB 22 (V2) and KDS 726 (V3) as horizontal strips and nine dates of sowings viz., 3 Oct (D1), 19 Oct (D2), 3 Nov (D3), 19 Nov (D4), 3 Dec (D5) 19 Dec (D6), 3 Jan (D7), 19 Jan (D8) and 3 Feb (D9) as vertical strips, replicated thrice. The seeds were sown by dibbling at 5 cm apart within the row and rows were space at 45 cm apart. Standard recommended package of practice of kharif season suggested by PJTSAU was followed. The data on growth yield attributes was recorded on selected 5 plant, averaged/ plant and grain yield was recorded from net plot, converted to one hectare and analyzed statistically using OP Stat.Results: The results of the experiment revealed that, the cv. KDS 726 recorded the maximum plant height (35.2 cm) and biomass accumulation (8.93 g plant-1) which was significantly more over the cv. JS 335 and cv. ASB 22 in 3 Nov and 19 Oct sowings, respectively. The cultivars the cv. JS 335 (V1) recorded more number of pods over cv. ASB 22 (V2) and cv. KDS 726 (V3) in 19 Oct (D2), 3 Nov (D3), 19 Nov (D4), 3 Dec (D5) and 3 Jan (D7) sowings. The cv. KDS 726 (V3) was found superior in terms of seeds pod -1 (3.0) which was comparable to cv. JS 335 (V1) and significantly more over cv. ASB 22 (V2) when it was sown on 19 Oct (D2). The cv. KDS 726 (V3) recorded significantly more test weight (g) over cv. JS 335 (V1) and cv. ASB 22 (V2) from 19 Oct (D2) to 3 Jan (D7) sowings. The cv. ASB 22 sown on 3 Oct produced significantly more seed yield (753 kg ha-1) and haulm yield (1599 kg ha-1) over cv. JS 335 and cv. (KDS 726). Conclusion: The soybean cv. ASB 22 with sowing first week of Oct was found to be suitable for cultivation during the off season.