IMPACT OF VARIED AMOUNTS OF NITROGENOUS FERTILIZERS ON GRAIN YIELD AND RELATED AGRO-PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS IN SPRING WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.)

MR FAROOQ; MZK NAZAR; MZ AKBAR; T GHAFOOR; MA SHABIR; HM RAFIQUE; MJ QAMAR; MA QAZI; Z ASLAM; Z HAFEEZ; N MANZOOR; W HASSAN; A KHALIQ; G MURTAZA; SU REHMAN; M MUBASHIR; MA BASHIR; M ARIF; M ASIF; M IMRAN; M KHALID; S HUSSAIN

doi:10.54112/bcsrj.v2024i1.1196

Authors

MR FAROOQ Soil Fertility (Field), Bahawalpur, Pakistan
MZK NAZAR Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Bahawalnagar, Punjab-Pakistan
MZ AKBAR Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, BZU Multan, Pakistan
T GHAFOOR Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
MA SHABIR Cotton Research Sub-Station, Rajanpur, Pakistan
HM RAFIQUE Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Bahawalpur, Punjab-Pakistan
MJ QAMAR Soil Fertility (Field), Bahawalpur, Pakistan
MA QAZI Soil Fertility Research Institute, Lahore, Punjab-Pakistan.
Z ASLAM Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Lahore, Punjab-Pakistan
Z HAFEEZ Oilseed Research Station, Bahawalpur, Punjab-Pakistan
N MANZOOR Regional Agricultural Research Institute Bahawalpur, Punjab-Pakistan
W HASSAN Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Bahawalpur, Punjab-Pakistan
A KHALIQ Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Bahawalpur, Punjab-Pakistan
G MURTAZA Pesticide Quality Control Laboratory Bahawalpur Research Bahawalpur Punjab-Pakistan
SU REHMAN Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Bahawalpur, Punjab-Pakistan
M MUBASHIR Soil Fertility Zinc Multan, Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Pakistan
MA BASHIR Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
M ARIF Fodder Research Institute Sargodha, Pakistan
M ASIF Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Bahawalnagar, Punjab-Pakistan
M IMRAN Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab-Pakistan
M KHALID Soil Fertility, Multan, Pakistan
S HUSSAIN Regional Agricultural Research Institute Bahawalpur, Punjab-Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54112/bcsrj.v2024i1.1196

Keywords:

Wheat; Correlation; Bar Graph; Grain Yield; Plant Physiology, Fertilizers

Abstract

The application of nitrogen (N) is a critical factor influencing grain yield and agro-physiological traits in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of varied nitrogen levels on grain yield and associated traits under field conditions. The study was conducted in Chak No. 136 / 6.R Haroonabad, District Bahawalnagar under the supervision of the Institute of Soil Fertility (Field) during the crop year 2022-23. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used, with five N treatments (160, 145, 131, 117 and 103 kg ha⁻¹) applied across three replicates. Key parameters, including flag leaf area, thousand-grain weight, spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, chlorophyll a, stomatal conductance, net photosynthetic rate, biological yield and gain yield, were measured. The results showed a significant increase in flag leaf area, thousand-grain weight, spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, chlorophyll a, stomatal conductance, net photosynthetic rate, biological yield and gain yield with increasing nitrogen application, with the highest yield observed at 160 kg ha⁻¹. The results unveiled the presence of highly significant variations among nitrogen treatments in wheat variety based on the agro-physiological parameters including flag leaf area, thousand-grain weight, number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, chlorophyll a, stomatal conductance, net photosynthetic rate, biological yield and gain yield. Furthermore, the results also unveiled that treatments with higher nitrogen dosage produce better results for almost all the study parameters including grain yield. The correlation coefficient analysis also confirmed the results and suggested that any wheat breeding program aimed at improving wheat yield must select its parental genotypes based on traits having the highest correlation with yield i.e., flag leaf area, thousand-grain weight, number of grains per spike, chlorophyll a, stomatal conductance and net photosynthetic rate except the number of spikelets per spike and biological yield for which the correlation was positive but non-significant. The results suggest that nitrogen in higher amounts up to a certain level is necessary for obtaining maximum output from wheat crops under semi-arid conditions.

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