RESIDUE MANAGEMENT WITH NITROGEN FERTILIZER FOR IMPROVING THE PRODUCTION OF WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

Nitrogen and residue management plays a vital role in the productivity of wheat. Therefore a field experiment “Residue management with nitrogen fertilizer for improving the production of wheat” was carried out at Research Farm of Agronomy, Agriculture University Peshawar during 2019-20. The experiment was conducted in RCB design having four replications. Treatments consisted of nitrogen fertilizer (i.e. 0, 60 and 120 kg N ha^-1) and mungbean residues (MR) levels (0, 2 and 4 tons MR ha^-1). A significant impact on wheat production was demonstrated by nitrogen fertilizer and mungbean residue levels. The higher level of N (120 kg ha^-1) had improved the spike m^-2 (234), grains spike^-1 (53), biological yield (8708 kg ha^-1), thousand grains weight (44.91 g), grain yield (3478 kg ha^-1) and soil organic nitrogen (0.059%) as compared to those plots having 0 kg N ha^-1. Taller plants (100 cm), more spike m^-2 (234) grains Spike^-1 (52), thousand grains weight (44.46 g), grains yield (3267 kg ha^-1), biological yield (8319 kg ha^-1) and harvest index (39.20%) were observed in plots having 4 tons MR ha^-1. However, lower soil pH (7.11), more soil organic carbon (0.50%) and nitrogen (0.065%) were recorded in plots having 4 tons MR ha^-1. It is concluded that the use of nitrogen fertilizer (120 kg ha^-1) along with mungbean residue (4 tons ha^-1) has boosted soil fertility and wheat production.