Performance of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) Varieties in Foothills of Nagaland under Irrigated Condition

Background: Linseed, being a short duration crop, can be introduced in rice fallow system in order to derive more benefits. Timely and adequate amount of water to the crop in best possible way helps in optimizing agricultural production. At the same time, the need to meet increasing demand for food will require increased production per unit of water. However, the scope of linseed cultivation is very limited in Nagaland. The farmers of the region are not well-acquainted with linseed cultivation and information on varietal performance of linseeds in Nagaland condition is scanty. Methods: The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications and consisted of seven linseed varieties viz., JLS-95, RLC-153, LSL-93, T-397, Shekhar, Priyam and Parvati. Result: Among all the varieties, JLS-95 produced higher growth attributes viz., plant height (cm), number of leaves plant-1, number of branches plant-1, plant dry matter (g plant-1), crop growth rate (g m-2 day-1) and yield attributes viz., number of capsules plant-1, seed yield (kg ha-1) and stover yield as well was statistically superior in variety JLS-95 over the other varieties.