Integrated nutrient management in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): A review of agronomic performance, soil health, and economic implications

Introduction

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) represents a key cereal crop which people worldwide depend on for their essential food needs because the crop can grow in various environments and creates substantial food production results which provide essential calories and proteins for human consumption. Wheat serves as a vital component in India's rabi cropping system because it plays a critical role in maintaining food security throughout different Indian agricultural regions. The current process of maintaining wheat production at its previous levels has become extremely challenging because agricultural growth with high-yielding cultivars and mineral fertilizer usage has reached its limits due to decreasing soil quality problems and nutrient distribution issues and diminished efficiency of production elements (Sharma & Tomar, 2025; Walia et al., 2024) [22,27] . Wheat systems which use intensive methods face a persistent problem because they depend too much on mineral NPK fertilizers while they do not replenish their organic matter content. These agricultural methods increase immediate crop yields. However, they decrease the capacity of soil to hold together and the activity of microorganisms and the ability of soil to keep moisture and the capacity of soil to store nutrients. The conditions create more severe cases of hidden micronutrient deficiencies which affect secondary elements and micronutrients, specifically zinc which scientists identify as a factor that limits cereal crop production (Ali et al., 2022; Gupta et al., 2022) [6,1] . Research in north Indian rice-wheat regions indicates that fertilizer-only systems do not sustain soil organic carbon and nutrient-use efficiency and balanced nutrient changes throughout extended periods (Rani et al., 2023; Walia et al., 2024) [23] .

The practice of integrated nutrient management (INM) has become an environmental sustainability method which improves crop nutrient management. The main principle of INM uses inorganic fertilizers and organic nutrients and beneficial microorganisms to provide balanced nutrient distribution which increases resource efficiency and protects soil productivity over time (Meena et al., 2024; Yadav et al., 2025) [21,10] . The decomposition of farmyard manure (FYM) and vermicompost results in carbon release which creates better soil conditions and better microbial environments while providing nutrients in a slow process (Patel et al., 2022; Singh & Kumar, 2021) [12,16] . The biofertilizer Azotobacter enhances root development while it allows plants to access nutrients from their surroundings and zinc sulphate provides essential micronutrients which support metabolic processes for chlorophyll production and enzyme function and grain development (Khan et al., 2023; Singh et al., 2024) [14,8] . This research is unique since the findings pertain to the wheat production system that encounters difficulties arising due to variations in soil characteristics and landscape complexity and nutrient deficiencies in Uttarakhand (Sharma & Tomar, 2025) [27] . The study represents a true review synthesis in contrast with the previous manuscript that used a thesis format for presentation. The study encompasses the existing literature on INM in wheat via four research domains that include plant growth, physiology, yields, and nutrient use efficiencies as well as soil health and nutrient cycling and sustainability aspects of INM. The importance of INM now extends beyond its ability to increase crop production. Recent research demonstrates that integrated nutrient management practices lead to higher soil carbon storage rates and lower greenhouse gas emissions and better nutrient efficiency and stronger protection for cereal crops grown in high-intensity farming systems (Rani et al., 2023; Walia et al., 2024) [22,23] .

Concept and agronomic basis of INM

The INM agronomic system establishes its basic principles because modern agricultural methods need multiple nutrient sources to maintain soil health and crop growth. Mineral fertilizers deliver nutrients that plants can absorb immediately but their effectiveness decreases because of material losses through volatilization and leaching and fixation and incorrect timing with plant needs. Organic manures provide nutrient release through a gradual process which enhances cation exchange capacity and water retention ability of soils while they build up carbon storage over time. Biofertilizers create higher biological activity in the rhizosphere which allows plants to access both native and applied nutrients through their enhanced nutrient transformation abilities. The complete understanding of wheat response to these components requires knowledge about both applied nutrient quantities and their application schedule and complementary nutrient sources and soil biological processes. Studies from Indian cereal systems indicate that integrated nutrient strategies improve both agronomic efficiency and partial factor productivity relative to sole inorganic fertilization (Das & Rout, 2021; Kumar et al., 2023) [9,3] . The evidence from longterm field studies demonstrates that integrated nutrient management practices lead to reduced environmental impact through enhanced soil carbon levels and decreased greenhouse gas emissions (Rani et al., 2023; Walia et al., 2024) [22,23] . [14,16] . FYM provides stronger benefits to soil physical properties and residual fertility because it maintains its positive effects over time. The combination of these two substances with Azotobacter results in two benefits for plants through the delivery of plant growthpromoting substances together with biologically mediated nitrogen contribution (Kumar et [6,1] . Research in wheat cultivation shows that soils which need zinc respond positively to growth increases when ZnSO [4] is used with DIM including reduced RDF and organic materials (Khan et al., 2023; Singh et al., 2024) [14,8] .

Effects on crop growth and physiological development

Yield attributes, grain yield, and nutrient-use efficiency

The practice of integrated nutrient management will lead to improved growth results which will produce higher crop yields. [18,2,10] . The reproductive traits benefit from short-duration assessments while the long-term trials show progress through better soil nutrients and enhanced nutrient buffering capacity.

The evidence from long-term studies supports this conclusion. The 36-year rice-wheat research from Bihar showed that integrated organic-inorganic treatments lead to increased wheat grain yield and N P K agricultural efficiency and soil organic carbon sequestration while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions when compared to the inorganic RDF treatment.

The system-level value of integration shows through the treatment which combines 50% RDF with 50% FYM N to achieve the biggest SOC accumulation and a 24.7% wheat yield advantage over RDF across both crops. The 34-year Punjab study demonstrated strong positive relationships between wheat yield and soil organic carbon and available nitrogen and available phosphorus under integrated nutrient regimes which showed that soil quality restoration directly affected yield stability (Walia et al., 2024) [22] .

Micronutrient dimension, especially zinc

In terms of wheat nutrition, micronutrient management appears to be another important issue that deserves more attention in the future. One particular micronutrient that has been observed to limit yield in intensively grown cereals is zinc (Ali et al., 2022; Gupta et al., 2022) [6,1] . Often, the addition of macronutrients is not enough for achieving optimal results if there is zinc deficiency causing problems in root growth, metabolism, and grain formation.

Based on this review, zinc should ideally be used as a part of an integrated nutrition plan rather than as a separate treatment. The availability of zinc can be enhanced by adding organic fertilizers, as this impacts chelation reactions, root development, and the micro-environment of the rhizosphere. Increased microbiological activity can potentially help with mobilizing micronutrients. Thus, a combination of RDF, organic manure, zinc sulphate, and biofertilizers is likely to demonstrate better results compared to NPK+Zn (Khan et al., 2023; Singh et al., 2024) [14,8] . This becomes relevant in relation to wheat growing in zincdeficient alluvial and foothill soils. Therefore, INM can be considered as a solution for optimizing macronutrient content and improving micronutrient functions in soils.

Economics of integrated nutrient management

Economic efficiency becomes an essential factor in determining adoption of agricultural innovation. According to the findings from literature analysis, INM tends to enhance economic gains in terms of net returns and benefitcost ratio because of enhanced nutrient-use efficiency and increased crop productivity. However, profitability depends on the costs associated with locally available sources of organic matter (Yadav et al., 2025; Vitale et al., 2020) [19,21] . An interesting trend from field experiments revealed in this review is the fact that the highest yields do not necessarily correlate with the highest profitability when dependent on a relatively large amount of applied fertilizers externally supplied. Integrated methods based on 75% or even 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers along with FYM, vermicompost, or biofertilizers have been shown to demonstrate superior or equal economic efficiency owing to improved nutrient-use efficiency and increased residual impact on soil fertility (Patel et al., 2022; Verma et al., 2024) [18,12] . Moreover, long-term research findings suggest that economic efficiency needs to be evaluated in several consecutive seasons as well. This is due to the fact that INM maintains soil fertility. Economic viability of INM can differ among regions depending on the cost of locally available organic material. When there is availability for seed inoculation and microurishments, adding Zn and biofertilizers may enhance yields without causing much increase in cost. Hence, an economic approach should consider appropriate local fertilizer packages and not a standard formula.

Environmental and sustainability implications

Recent publications increasingly put INM into the context of sustainable intensification as an overall discourse. The sustainability of cereal crop production systems involves the dual task of sustaining agricultural outputs while minimizing environmental harm. Chemical fertilizers alone can lead to nutrient depletion, less carbon in soils, and greenhouse gas emission intensity. In addition to analyzing the productive potential of INM, the environmental cobenefits of integrated nutrient systems are increasingly considered.

Based on long-term research on rice-wheat systems, the use of organic and mineral fertilizers leads to increases in carbon storage in soils and lower emission intensity compared to systems using chemicals alone. Such effects can be attributed to better soil quality, additional carbon from organic sources, and efficient nutrient cycling.

Although the degree of environmental benefit depends on climate, management, and the source of organic inputs, research results point toward a more environmentally sustainable path compared to solely mineral-based approaches (Rani et al., 2023; Walia et al., 2024) [22,23] . From the research findings, it is evident that partially replacing mineral fertilizers with organic manure and other biological components is also agriculturally advisable. This is significant in areas where there is an increase in the cost of fertilizers or soil depletion and/or micronutrient deficiencies. Nevertheless, INM must not be perceived as a universal approach such as the percentage replacement rate for all farmers. Its effectiveness is largely dependent on soil fertility, the quality of organic inputs, and the level of skill available.

Conclusion

Integrated nutrient management stands out as a promising approach towards maintaining wheat productivity and improving soil health through intensive farming. From the discussion of literature, it is evident that integration of mineral fertilizer, FYM/vermicompost, zinc sulphate, and biofertilizers offers better performance in terms of vegetative characteristics, yield attributes, grain yield, SOC content, nutrient status, and profitability compared to the application of chemical fertilizers alone. Further evidence from long-term practices has shown the benefits of INM in increasing nutrient use efficiency, soil carbon sequestration, and resilience of the system. Thus, INM can be viewed as a crop-soil systems approach.

Future Scope

Further research should concentrate on site-specific optimization, long-term verification for wheat-based systems of Uttarakhand, integrating the effects of micronutrients and biofertilizers on grain quality parameters, and process indicators such as soil enzyme activity, shifts in microbial functionality, and nutrient use efficiency.

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