Wheat Nutrient Management Strategies to Increase Productivity, Profitability and Quality on Sandy Loam Soils

Abstract

By 2050, the population of the world is anticipated to increase from 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion people, and, and wheat is expected to continue to play a vital role in ensuring food security globally. It is the main diet for 40% of the world’s population and supplies food for more than 4.5 billion people in 94 countries contains 21% of the joules and 20% of the protein. The present investigations were carried out during rabi 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 to determine how optimal nutrient management (INM) practices enhance fertilizer usage efficiency, productivity, soil health, and viability in wheat (Variety DBW 71) through innovative nutritional sources and their modes of application methods. The treatments comprised of, viz., control, basal applications of recommended NPK (80:60:40)/NPK granules (200 kg/ha) + FYM (5 t ha−1) + bio-stimulant granules (62.5 kg/ha), +NPK bio-fertilizer (seed treatment), along with a top dressing of urea (20 kg/ha)/bio-stimulant (625 mL ha−1)/NPK Powder (1%) sprays (40/55/70 DAS), which had triplicated randomized block design (RBD) at the crop research farm of SVPUA&T, Meerut (U.P.). The results revealed that wheat grown with incorporation of FYM and bio-stimulant –L attained significantly better growth and higher dry matter accumulation across the stages. The crop contained 1.63% N, 0.31% P, 0.69% K in grain, and 0.57% N, 0.11% P and 1.34% K in straw. Such crops exhibited agronomic, physiological, and apparent recovery efficiency of NPK of the order of 3.2 kg kg−1 of nutrient applied, 14.0 kg kg−1 of nutrient uptake, and 0.23% against recommended NPK. Applications of FYM, NPK bio-fertilizer+ urea, and bio-stimulant + NPK sprays worked synergistically and increased grain yields by 29.8, 35.2, 50.3 and 41.1% over their respective controls. The results also indicated that soil organic carbon (0.47%), available NPK (227.0, 27.7, 172.1 kg/ha), dehydrogenase activity, and microbial population (bacteria, fungal and actinomycetes) in soil was also highest with the treatment. Finally, the wheat crop required an investment of Rs ha−1 131,453 and fetched a net reoccurrence of Rs. 96,154, with benefits of Rs. 3.72 over cost, respectively. Therefore, the study reveals that integrated nutrient management, viz., FYM 5 t ha−1 +NPK (12–32–16) -G @ 200 kg/ha + NPK bio-fertilizer (seed treatment) + urea @ 20 kg/ha, foliar application NPK (18−18−18) -P@ 1% and bio-stimulant –L 0.62 L ha−1 improved the better growth, productivity, soil health and profitability of wheat crops. Finally, to boost production, the region must emphasize the wheat crop’s part in integrated nutrition management with foliar application of bio-stimulants. Furthermore, these investigations must be reinvestigated at different sites with different agro-climatic conditions and texturally divergent soils.