Abstract
Besides a proper agronomic management followed by Nepalese farmers, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production has been severely affected by changing climate. There are many interventions, including climate-smart practices, to cope with this situation and possibly enhance crop and soil productivity. Field experiments were set up in a randomized complete block design with six treatments (TRT) with four replications in three locations (LOC) during wheat-growing seasons in Nepal from 2014 to 2016. Treatments included (i) Controlled Practice (CP), (ii) Improved Low (IL), (iii) Improved High (IH), (iv) Climate Smart Agriculture Low (CSAL), (v) Climate Smart Agriculture Medium (CSAM), and (vi) Climate Smart Agriculture High (CSAH), whereas those LOC were Banke, Rupandehi and Morang districts. There was a significant main effect of TRT and LOC on grain yield and a significant interactionn effect of TRT × LOC on biomass yield in 2014–2015. About 55.5% additional grain yield was produced from CSAM treatment compared to CP in 2014–2015. Among locations, grain yield was the highest in Banke (3772.35 kg ha−1) followed by Rupandehi (2504.47 kg ha−1) and Morang districts (2504.47 kg ha−1). In 2015–2016, there was a significant interaction effect of TRT × LOC on grain and biomass yields. The highest grain yield was produced from CSAH treatment in Banke district in 2015–2016. Overall, grain yield and other parameters showed a better response with either of the climate-smart interventions (mostly CSAH or CSAM) despite variability in geography, climate, and other environmental factors indicating the potential of climate-smart practices to improve wheat production in southern plains of Nepal.
Highlights
Wheat (Titicum aestivum L.) is an important food crop in Nepal in terms of production, consumption, and economic contribution
Despite variability in geography, climate, and other environmental factors indicating the potential of climate-smart practices to improve wheat production in southern plains of Nepal
In 2018/2019, wheat was cultivated in 0.7 million hectare and produced 2 million metric ton (MT) of grains, which corresponds to around 20 and 19% of total cultivated area and total production of all food crops, respectively [1]
Summary
Wheat (Titicum aestivum L.) is an important food crop in Nepal in terms of production, consumption, and economic contribution. In 2018/2019, wheat was cultivated in 0.7 million hectare (ha) and produced 2 million metric ton (MT) of grains, which corresponds to around 20 and 19% of total cultivated area and total production of all food crops, respectively [1]. Despite the increase in cultivated area and total production of wheat in Nepal, the productivity is lower as compared to other neighboring countries [2]. There exists a large yield gap in wheat production due to several constraints in agronomic practices including but not limited to unavailability of quality inputs, nutrient management, disease-pest management, etc. It is important to develop effective strategies to minimize the yield gap by improving the wheat production practices
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