Growth and yield response of Ajwain (Carum copticum L.) to sowing date and row spacing

A study was conducted at research farm of pmas-arid agriculture university,rawalpindi,during 2004-05 to investigate the effect of sowing date and row spacing on the yield and yield components of carum copticum l. randomized complete block design (rcbd) with a split plot arrangement was used. the sowing dates were assigned to main plots with row spacing to sub-plots. the seeds of c. copticum were planted on seven different dates (nov. 11,2004,nov. 30,2004,dec. 12,2004,mar. 03,2005,oct. 01,2005,oct. 27,2005 and nov. 16,2005),each accompanied by three different row spacings (10,20 and 30cm) and replicated thrice. data showed that the maximum number of seeds umbel-1 (342.67) 1000 seed weight (0.24 g),weight of seeds umbel-1(0.87 g),and seed yield (714.40 kg ha-1) were recorded,when crop was planted on october 27,2005. delay in sowing (october to march) gradually decreased yield of the ajwain and it was decreased to 287.80 kg ha-1,when sowing was done on march 03. data further revealed that wide row spacing significantly increased the yield parameters of ajwain. overall,seed yield decreased from 716.70 to 523.80 kg ha-1,when rows were spaced from 30 to 10 cm apart. however,the interaction of the sowing date and row spacing was found nonsignificant in influencing the crop seed yield. seeds were also found rich in their volatile oils composition for the crop sown on october 27 at 30 cm row spacing as it showed highest number of bands (7),when analyzed by thin layer chromatography. in the light of the present results,it is suggested that planting of ajwain during october with 30 cm row spacing gave better yield under rainfed condition.