Journal of Plant Sciences1816-4951xxxx-xxxxxAcademic Journals Inc.10.3923/jps.2007.247.250Vigna aconitifolia (Jecq.) Marechal]]]>MathurNishi SinghJoginder BohraSachendra BohraAvinash VyasAnil 2200722An experiment consisting of three levels of phosphorus (0, 30, 60 kg P2O5 ha-l) and six harvesting dates (starting from 20 days after flowering, at 5-day interval) was conducted at the field near Pal village, Jodhpur, Rajasthan (India) to assess their effects on yield and quality of moth bean. Application of 30 and 60 kg P2O5 ha-l increased the mean seed yield by 5.8 and 9.7% over no phosphorus application. Harvesting moth bean at 20 Days After Flowering (DAF) gave a mean yield of 449 kg ha-l. Seed yield progressively increased with delay in harvesting and was maximum when harvested at 40 DAF (705 kg ha-l). A further delay of 5 days in harvesting (i.e., at 45 DAF) resulted in mean yield loss of 14%. Application of 60 kg P2O5 ha-l resulted in higher split percentage (68.9%), more milling yield (82.5%), better husking efficiency (34.5%), higher head-dal yield (46.7%) and lower broken percentage (18.0%) as against 62.8, 78.9, 26.8, 37.2 and 22.0%, respectively, without the use of phosphorus. Better milling parameters were obtained when the crop was harvested at 30 DAF. Maximum crude protein was recorded when the crop was harvested at 35 DAF. Feeding trials on albino rats revealed that the pulse gave the maximum biological value of protein (47.05%) when the crop was harvested at 30 DAF with application of 60 kg P2O5. The biological value was lowest when phosphorus was not applied to the crop. Phosphorus application also resulted in increased value of net protein utilization. The study indicated that reasonable yield levels, milling parameters and protein quality could be obtained if the crop is harvested between 30 and 40 DAF.]]>Bhansali, A.K., B.R. Choudhary, S.R. Kumhar and M.M.C. Bhandari,2004Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal].]]>19597Duranti, M. and C. Gius,1997533145Eggum, B.O.,19731973Garg, D.K., R.K. Kakani and V.S. Deora,2004Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal] genotypes in target environment.]]>14447Gomez, K.A. and A.A. Gomez,19842nd Edn.,Pages: 704Pages: 704Guillon, F. and M. Champ,1996111818Mertia, R.S., B.K. Khandpal and R.N. Kumawat,2006Vigna aconitifolia) varieties under rainfed condition.]]>31518Singh, H., P.S. Rathore and A.L. Mali,1994Phaseolus radiatus).]]>39316318Singh, B.,200544109110Walsh, P.A.,1991201119