Sustainable wheat production through integrated nutrient management: Effects on growth, yield and soil health

Introduction

Integrated nutrient management (INM) is a holistic approach aimed at sustaining soil fertility and crop productivity by integrating inorganic fertilizers with organic manures, crop residues and biological sources of nutrients. The increasing reliance on chemical fertilizers alone has led to a widening gap between nutrient application and removal, resulting in soil nutrient mining, degradation, groundwater contamination and greenhouse gas emissions (Singh et al., 2017) [21] . Excessive use of synthetic inputs has also depleted soil organic matter and disrupted ecological balance, posing serious threats to long-term agricultural sustainability (Bajiya et al., 2017; Fixen et al., 2014) [5,9] . In contrast, organic manures such as farmyard manure, vermicompost, and castor cakes improve soil physical, chemical and biological properties, enhancing nutrient availability and microbial activity (Diacono and Montemurro, 2010; Andrews et al., 2013) [7,2] . However, due to their relatively low nutrient content, organic sources alone cannot meet crop nutrient demands, necessitating their integration with inorganic fertilizers and biofertilizers like Bio-NPK to ensure balanced nutrition (Meena et al., 2020) [16] . Therefore, INM serves as a sustainable strategy to optimize nutrient use efficiency, maintain soil health and achieve stable crop yields while minimizing environmental degradation. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world's most important cereal crop, belonging to the Poaceae (Gramineae) family. It is a staple food crop for around two billion people, which makes up 36% of the total world population. It contributes about 55% of carbohydrates and 20% of total food calories consumed worldwide. Among the various species under the genus Triticum, common wheat (Triticum aestivum) is the most extensively cultivated. Wheat is known as the "King of Cereals," wheat continues to hold a prominent position due to its high nutritional value and versatility, providing essential amino acids and also serving as the most widely consumed grain globally. Wheat ranks first in the world among the cereals both in respect of area and production. In India, wheat is second most important food crop next to rice and played a vital role in the Green Revolution. Wheat was produced on 32.804 million hectares in 2024-2025, yielding 117.945 million tons with an average productivity of 3595 kg/ha (Anon., 2025a). India ranks second only to China in global wheat production. Wheat is cultivated in almost all the states of India, but its extensive cultivation is confined to Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat. In India, Uttar Pradesh leads in area and total production, whereas Punjab ranks highest in productivity. In Gujarat, wheat occupies 1.24 million hectares area with a production of 3.9 million tonnes and a productivity of 3131 kg/ha during the year of 2023-24 (Anon., 2025b). The major wheat cultivated areas in Gujarat are Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Sabarkantha, Rajkot, Banaskantha, Mehsana and Bhavanagar. Wheat generally follows rainy season crops viz., paddy, maize, sorghum and pearl millet, which are highly nutrient-exhaustive.

Materials and Methods

An experiment was laid out on C-8 Plot of Instructional Farm, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh during rabi and summer seasons of 2023-24 and 2024-25, situated at 21.5° N latitude and 70.5° E longitude with an altitude of 60 m above the mean sea level and 80 km away from Arabian Sea coast on western side at the foothill of mountain 'Girnar' under South Saurashtra Agroclimatic Zone of Gujarat state and enjoys a typically subtropical climate characterized by fairly cold and dry winter, hot and dry summer and warm and moderately humid monsoon. The soil of experimental site was medium black calcareous soil. The soil was low in available nitrogen (231 and 236 kg/ha in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively), medium in available phosphorus (25.30 and 26.51 kg/ha in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively) and available potassium (246 and 249 kg/ha in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively). The treatments consisted of integrated nutrient management viz., T 1: 100% RDF (120-60-60 kg/ha N-P-K), T 2: 100% RDF + Bio NPK, T 3: 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM, T 4: 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost, T 5: 75% RDF + 25% N through castor cake, T 6: 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM + Bio NPK, T 7: 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost +Bio NPK and T 8: 75% RDF +25% N through castor cake + Bio NPK to wheat in rabi season and replicated three times in randomized block design. The experiment was conducted on the same site without changing the randomization of the treatments for the successive year to assess the treatment effect of integrated nutrient management in wheat.

Results and Discussion

Effect on growth attributes of wheat • The plant height was recorded at 30, 60 DAS and at harvest and the results of the analyzed data are depicted in Table 1. Difference among the treatments was non-significant for plant height at 30 DAS. Significantly higher plant height at 60 DAS and at harvest, number of total tillers and effective tillers per meter row length at harvest were recorded with application of 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost + Bio NPK (T 7 ) and was remained at par with 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM + Bio NPK (T 6 ). It might due to combined application of organic and inorganic fertilisers, which enhances nutrient mobility and plant uptake by minimizing nutrient losses, thereby improving nutrient use efficiency. Organic manures stimulated plant growth by increasing microbial activity and soil enzyme activity, creating a biologically active rhizosphere. The superior performance of vermicompost is mainly attributed to its rapid mineralization and the presence of a large proportion of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in readily available inorganic forms. In addition, organic amendments promoted colonization of beneficial microorganisms and the synthesis of plant growth-promoting hormones, which further stimulated crop growth. Improved chlorophyll content enhanced light interception and photosynthetic efficiency, leading to greater dry matter accumulation and overall crop vigor, in agreement with the findings of Fazily et al. (2021) [8] , Rahevar et al. (2024) [18] and Sharma et al. (2024) [19] .

Effect on yield attributes and yield

The pooled data pertaining to length of spike, number of spikelets/spike, number of grains/spike, grain yield and straw yield were significantly affected by the various integrated nutrient management treatments ( [11] , Singh (2017) [21] , Kaur et al. (2018) [10] , Ahmad and Tripathi (2022) [1] , Patyal et al. (2022) [17] and Kumar et al. (2023) [13] . [6] , applying NPK fertilizers in combination with vermicompost to field crops not only affects plant development and yield but also lowers production costs.

Effect on quality

A perusal of data in Table 4 indicated that protein content and protein yield were significantly influenced by treatments. 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost + Bio NPK (T 7 ) gave significantly higher protein content and protein yield during both experimental year as well as pooled analysis. Treatment T 7 was statistically at par with T 6 (75% RDF + 25% N through FYM + Bio NPK). This may be attributed to the improved supply of nitrogen and phosphorus through vermicompost, which enhanced the absorption and efficient utilization of nutrients by the crop. Organic manures increase availability of nitrogen in the soil, leading to higher nitrogen accumulation in the grain and, consequently, increased protein content, since nitrogen is a fundamental constituent of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Nitrogen being an integral component of proteins and phosphorus being a key constituent of co-enzymes involved in protein synthesis, their increased concentration in plants ultimately results in higher protein content in the grain. Similar results were also reported by Singh et al. (2019) [23] and Singh et al. (2020) [24] . The increase in protein yield was mainly due to higher protein content in wheat grain and higher grain yield of wheat due to application of 75% RDF + 25% RDN through vermicompost + Bio NPK (T 7 ). Similar research results were reported by Singh (2017) [21] and Sharma and Tomar (2025) [19] .

Effect on nutrient content

Application of 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost + Bio NPK (T 7 ) revealed a significant influence on NPK content in grain and straw of wheat in both the year as well as in pooled data. The significantly higher nutrient content in grain and straw with the application of vermicompost may be attributed to improved soil nutrient availability through mineralization of organic matter and enhanced microbial activity. Vermicompost releases nutrients in readily available forms and improves soil cation exchange capacity, thereby reducing fixation and leaching losses. In addition, better root growth and rhizospheric activity under organic amendments enhance P and K solubilization and uptake efficiency, leading to greater translocation and accumulation of nutrients in both grain and straw. These outcomes closely align with those of Kumar et al. (2021) [12] .

Effect on nutrient uptake

Results of 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost + Bio NPK (T 7 ) revealed a significant influence on NPK uptake by grain and straw in both years as well as in pooled data. In terms of statistics, treatments T 6 (75% RDF + 25% N through FYM + Bio NPK) was at par with T 7 . This might be attributed to greater grain and straw production as well as nutrient concentrations with combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Better performance under these treatments might also be due to a favourable soil environment which encouraged better root proliferation and ensured higher nutrient uptake. These results corroborate with the findings of Devi et al. (2011) [6] , Singh (2017) [22] and Sharma and Tomar (2025) [19] .

Effect on available nutrients status in soil

Application of 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM + Bio NPK (T 6 ) recorded significantly higher available nutrients (N, P, and K) in soil, which was at par with treatment T 7 and T 8 during both the year. The significantly higher available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in soil may be attributed to FYM acting as a slow-release source of nitrogen and improves soil organic carbon, microbial activity and mineralization processes, thereby increasing the pool of plant-available nutrients. Simultaneously, Bio-NPK inoculation enhances biological nitrogen fixation, nitrogen transformation, and nutrient solubilization through increased microbial proliferation and enzymatic activity in the rhizosphere. The combined application also improves soil physical properties, aggregation, moisture retention, and reduces nutrient losses through leaching, volatilization and fixation resulting in greater nutrient conservation in the soil system. These results corroborated with finding of Singh (2017) [22] , Meena et al. (2018) [15] and Kushwaha and Tripathi (2022) [14] .

Conclusion

Based on findings of two years of experimentation, it is concluded that 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost + Bio NPK (T 7 ) will ensure greater wheat growth and production, higher NPK content and uptake by wheat, better residual fertility, and more compensation than RDF alone.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgmentThe authors would like to thank JAU and colleagues who technically supported this work, from conducting field experiment to data analysis. The authors also would like to express their gratitude and thanks to his guide Dr. P.D. Vekariya and the Department of agronomy for him honestly support during experiment.

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