Flowering and pod setting in gram, Cicer arietinum, L
1938
Kadam, B.S. | Kulkarni, R.K. | Patel, S.M.
The average number of flowers blooming per day in an early type of gram was 7.20, while on an individual plant as many as 9 to 10 flowers may bloom on a day. Blooming in a strain population continues from 3 tO 5 weeks. The range of flowering is more or less the same in strains of different maturity periods. Early types begin to flower a week earlier than late ones. Under Niphad conditions early, mid-late, and late types have more or less the same average number of flowers per plant, but the very late types have much smaller averages. In clear weather flowers begin to bloom from about 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cloudy weather retards blooming. The second opening on the following day is earlier than the first. Flowers whose first opening is delayed and very young buds which bloom partly the first time late in the afternoon, usually show a third opening. Flowers close soon after sunset. Blooming in a branch or in a sub-branch is independent of other branches. Basal flowers are first to bloom, followed by others in a cymose arrangement. No cleistogamous flowers occur under Niphad conditions. Early strains set relatively more pods than late types, and are thus higher yielding. A certain amount of sterility is due to empty pods which are usually located at the end of the branches. The number of such pods varies from season to season. Under Niphad conditions most of the pods are one-seeded. The incidence of one- and two-seeded pods fluctuates greatly according to the season. Three-seeded pods are rare. The two-seeded pods are located, as a rule, at the base of the branches. The seeds in such pods are irregular and one of them is invariably heavier than its companion.
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