Effects of Cultural Practices on Grain Yield of Irrigated Wheat1

Abstract

AbstractNitrogen is the principal fertilizer element in the production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). More effective combinations of N fertilization and cultural practices may further increase the yield and quality of wheat grain. Wheat is sometimes grown on beds in the southwestern U.S. Experiments were conducted at Yuma, Ariz. to study the effects of N fertilizer treatments in combination with methods of planting and row positions on beds, on the yield and quality of wheat grain. Six N fertilizer treatments (34, 17 + 17, 68, 34 + 34, 136, and 68 + 68 kg/ha), two methods of planting (on the flat and on beds), and four row positions on beds (north, south, east, and west) were evaluated.Flat plantings resulted in higher wheat grain yields than did bed plantings; however, bed plantings produced higher grain volume‐weights. Within planting methods, N fertilizer treatments did not significantly influence grain yields or grain volume‐weights. Grain yield components (number of heads per unit area, number of seeds per head, and seed weight) were similar for both plantng methods. When wheat was grown on beds with an east‐west orientation, the higher rates of N fertilizer resulted in more heads per unit area, more seeds per head, and higher grain yields than did the lower N treatments. The south row position on east‐west beds produced more heads per unit area, more seeds per head, and higher grain yields than did the north row position.Wheat grown on beds with an east‐west orientation produced more heads per unit area, more seeds per head, and higher grain yields than did wheat produced on beds oriented in a north‐south direction. Wheat responded to N fertilization when grown on both flat and bed plantings during the winter months in the Southwest.