Agronomic Performance of New Mustard Strains: Analyzing Yield and Oil Quality Traits under semi-arid conditions of Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the agronomic performance and oil quality traits of newly developed mustard, Brassica juncea L., strains under the semi-arid conditions of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. A field experiment was carried out during 2023–24 at the Oilseed Section, Regional Agricultural Research Institute (RARI), Bahawalpur, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Ten strains, BR-1 to BR-10, were tested, in which BR-9 and BR-10 served as check varieties, Super Raya and Cholistani Raya, respectively. Each 9 m² plot was sown on 15 October 2023 at 45 cm row spacing, plants were thinned to 15 cm within rows, three irrigations were applied, and a fertilizer dose of 1 bag DAP, 1.5 bags urea and 0.5 bag SOP per hectare was used. Data were recorded on number of plants per plot (NPP; plants plot⁻¹), days to flowering (DF; days), days to maturity (DM; days), number of branches per plant (NBP; branches plant⁻¹), plant height (PH; cm), 1,000 seed weight (TSW; g), oil content (OC; %) determined by the Kjeldahl based laboratory method, and grain yield (GY; kg ha⁻¹). Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences among genotypes for all traits, indicating sufficient variability for selection. Bar charts of mean performance confirmed that several BR strains were equal to or better than the two checks for branching, plant height, oil content and grain yield. Correlation analysis revealed positive and useful associations of GY with NBP, PH, TSW and OC, while phenological traits were less strongly related to yield. Principal component analysis, PC1 and PC2, grouped yield, vigor and oil traits together, and separated them from flowering and maturity, showing that earliness can be improved without sacrificing productivity. The results demonstrate that some of the newly developed mustard strains are suitable candidates for semi-arid Bahawalpur and should be promoted to multilocation trials to confirm their stability.