Influence of Green Gram (Vigna radiata L.) Varieties on Growth and Yield Attributes in Dry Ecological Zones of Kenya

Production and productivity of green gram is governed by environmental, genotypic trait of the crop and crop management. The more specific reason for low production and productivity of pulses is the cultivation of local old varieties under marginally fertile lands and low input management conditions. Recently, high yielding varieties of green gram have been developed and evaluation of these varieties under various management conditions will be of great importance. In this view the study was conducted to investigate the growth and yield response of different green gram varieties in Kitui and Makueni counties in Kenya. Three green gram varieties (KS20, KAT 00308 and KAT 00309) were laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The varieties differed significantly (P≤0.05) in plant height, number of effective nodules, 100-grain mass and grain yield in both sites. Variety KS20 was the tallest in both sites in all the stages while KAT00309 was the shortest. Variety (KS20) had the highest number of effective nodules in Ithookwe (11) and Kiboko (39) with the lowest were recorded for variety KAT00308. Days to 50% flowering and maturity were different between the varieties, and KS20 had the shortest where it was recorded that the periods were shorter in Kiboko by >15 days compared to Ithookwe. In both sites, the highest grain yield was recorded for KAT00309 with 2898 kg/ha and 1568 kg/ha in Kiboko and Ithookwe, respectively. There were no signficant differences on the biological yield between the varieties but the 100-grain mass differed signficantly in both sites where variety KAT00309 was the heaviest with 7.8 g and 6.9 g in Kiboko and Ithookwe, respectively. It was concluded that variety KAT00309 could lead to the highest grain yield in both Kitui and Makueni counties under water stress conditions of the two counties.