Phenology–soil moisture synchronisation and foliar boron regulate physiological resilience and yield stability of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) in rainfed rice-fallow systems

Phenology–soil moisture synchronisation and foliar boron regulate physiological resilience and yield stability of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) in rainfed rice-fallow systems | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Phenology–soil moisture synchronisation and foliar boron regulate physiological resilience and yield stability of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) in rainfed rice-fallow systems Arpita Nalia, Subham Mukherjee, Ananya Ghosh, Chaitanya Prasad Nath, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8849552/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 17 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Rice-fallow agroecosystems across South and Southeast Asia represent a major opportunity for sustainable intensification, yet productivity of post-rice pulse crops remains limited by narrow sowing windows, rapid depletion of residual soil moisture, and micronutrient deficiencies. Field pea ( Pisum sativum L.), a short-duration legume adapted to cool-season conditions, is well suited to these systems; however, yield stability under rainfed rice fallows is frequently constrained by terminal moisture stress and boron (B) deficiency. Here, we tested whether interactions between sowing phenology and foliar boron application regulate soil moisture dynamics, plant physiological responses, reproductive processes, and yield formation under rainfed conditions. A two-year field experiment (2017–2018 and 2018–2019) was conducted using a split-plot design with four sowing dates (10 November, 20 November, 30 November, and 10 December) and four foliar boric acid concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%), applied at pre-flowering and pod initiation stages. Early sowing (10–20 November) maintained root-zone soil moisture above critical thresholds during flowering, extended crop duration by 14–17 days, and increased grain yield by 22–47% compared with late sowing. Delayed sowing accelerated soil moisture depletion, reduced plant water status (relative leaf water content and canopy temperature depression), and impaired photosynthetic capacity, leading to lower chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, leaf area index, and stomatal conductance. These physiological constraints were accompanied by reduced plant B concentration, pollen viability, and pollen germination, collectively contributing to yield decline. Foliar boron application at 0.2% enhanced relative leaf water content (3–6%), photosynthetic rate (8–15%), pollen viability (15–16%), and grain yield (~ 25%) relative to untreated controls, while responses plateaued at B application at 0.3%. Principal component analysis indicated that treatment responses were primarily structured along a physiological axis integrating soil moisture availability, plant water status, photosynthetic traits, and reproductive performance. Overall, sowing of field pea during 10–20 November combined with two foliar sprays of 0.2% boric acid is a practical and economically viable strategy for improving productivity of field pea in rainfed rice-fallow systems. Our findings demonstrate that synchronisation between crop phenology and residual soil moisture availability, combined with boron-mediated regulation of physiological and reproductive traits, governs yield stability of field pea in rainfed rice-fallow systems. These results provide mechanistic insights into crop adaptation strategies for water-limited environments and highlight management interactions that may enhance resilience across rainfed post-rice agroecosystems. Biological sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Biological sciences/Physiology Biological sciences/Plant sciences Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementary.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 17 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 12 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 11 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8849552","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":592744559,"identity":"6aa675bc-eb29-429d-8f04-7b355f7af5f1","order_by":0,"name":"Arpita Nalia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Arpita","middleName":"","lastName":"Nalia","suffix":""},{"id":592744562,"identity":"c4de2e6f-34bc-49f0-b055-de330495b00a","order_by":1,"name":"Subham 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systems","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8849552/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8849552/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eRice-fallow agroecosystems across South and Southeast Asia represent a major opportunity for sustainable intensification, yet productivity of post-rice pulse crops remains limited by narrow sowing windows, rapid depletion of residual soil moisture, and micronutrient deficiencies. Field pea (\u003cem\u003ePisum sativum\u003c/em\u003e L.), a short-duration legume adapted to cool-season conditions, is well suited to these systems; however, yield stability under rainfed rice fallows is frequently constrained by terminal moisture stress and boron (B) deficiency. Here, we tested whether interactions between sowing phenology and foliar boron application regulate soil moisture dynamics, plant physiological responses, reproductive processes, and yield formation under rainfed conditions. A two-year field experiment (2017\u0026ndash;2018 and 2018\u0026ndash;2019) was conducted using a split-plot design with four sowing dates (10 November, 20 November, 30 November, and 10 December) and four foliar boric acid concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%), applied at pre-flowering and pod initiation stages. Early sowing (10\u0026ndash;20 November) maintained root-zone soil moisture above critical thresholds during flowering, extended crop duration by 14\u0026ndash;17 days, and increased grain yield by 22\u0026ndash;47% compared with late sowing. Delayed sowing accelerated soil moisture depletion, reduced plant water status (relative leaf water content and canopy temperature depression), and impaired photosynthetic capacity, leading to lower chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, leaf area index, and stomatal conductance. These physiological constraints were accompanied by reduced plant B concentration, pollen viability, and pollen germination, collectively contributing to yield decline. Foliar boron application at 0.2% enhanced relative leaf water content (3\u0026ndash;6%), photosynthetic rate (8\u0026ndash;15%), pollen viability (15\u0026ndash;16%), and grain yield (~\u0026thinsp;25%) relative to untreated controls, while responses plateaued at B application at 0.3%. Principal component analysis indicated that treatment responses were primarily structured along a physiological axis integrating soil moisture availability, plant water status, photosynthetic traits, and reproductive performance. Overall, sowing of field pea during 10\u0026ndash;20 November combined with two foliar sprays of 0.2% boric acid is a practical and economically viable strategy for improving productivity of field pea in rainfed rice-fallow systems. Our findings demonstrate that synchronisation between crop phenology and residual soil moisture availability, combined with boron-mediated regulation of physiological and reproductive traits, governs yield stability of field pea in rainfed rice-fallow systems. These results provide mechanistic insights into crop adaptation strategies for water-limited environments and highlight management interactions that may enhance resilience across rainfed post-rice agroecosystems.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Phenology–soil moisture synchronisation and foliar boron regulate physiological resilience and yield stability of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) in rainfed rice-fallow systems","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-18 14:50:50","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8849552/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision 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