Combined effects of drought stress and NPK foliar sprays on growth, nutrient uptake and yield in wheat

Abstract

Wheat can be grown under irrigated and limited irrigation conditions in India. To study the response of NPK foliar sprays on wheat under water stress condition especially for newly released wheat variety NIAW 1415 (Netravati), a field experiment for three years (2013-14 to 2015-16) was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Niphad, Dist. Nashik, Maharashtra. The main treatments were comprised of different irrigation levels i.e. one irrigation at Tillering stage (40-42 days after sowing (DAS), two irrigations at Crown Root Initiation and Boot stage (20-22 and 60-65 DAS) and three irrigations at Crown Root Initiation, Tillering and Boot stage (20-22, 40-42 and 60-65 DAS). The sub treatments were absolute control, recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), RDF + 3 water sprays, 75% of RDF + 3 NPK foliar sprays (19:19:19 N:P2O5:K2O) and 100% of RDF + 3 NPK sprays. The results of three years experimentation revealed that, irrigating the wheat variety NIAW 1415 (Netravati) with three irrigations at 20-22, 40-42 and 60-65 DAS along with 100% of RDF + 3 NPK sprays produced significantly higher grain (40.53 q ha-1) and straw (61.45 q ha-1) yields over rest of the treatments. Soil nutritional status was also improved due to different nutrient management treatments over initial status of experimentation.