PJB-2022-36
VARIATIONS IN ROOT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND NUTRIENT USE EFFICIENCY IN WHEAT SUBJECTED TO INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
Muhammad Irfan
Abstract
Depleting soil fertility and low fertilizer efficiency in alkaline calcareous soils are serious issues worldwide creating an immediate threat to environment and food security. Integrated nutrient management (INM) could be a promising eco-friendly approach for improving crop performance and resource efficiency to resolve these concerns. A field study was conducted to investigate the integrated response of organic sources [press mud (PM) and farm yard manure (FYM)] along with various NPK rates [100, 75, 50% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF)] on root system, nutrient efficiency, and yield of wheat crop. Longest roots were measured in FYM + RDF50 while highest number of root tips and root surface area was recorded in PM + RDF50. However, maximum root volume and average root diameter was observed in PM + RDF100 and PM + RDF75, respectively. PM + RDF100 considerably enhanced grain yield and related traits i.e. spike length, tillers count m-2 and 100-grain weight as compared to RDF100 alone. Conjunction of PM and 100% RDF also revealed higher NPK uptake than the sole application of RDF100. Maximum recovery efficiency (RE) was calculated at lower fertilizer rates and vice versa. The RDF100 only showed least whilst PM + RDF50 revealed higher RE of NPK. The results suggested INM could be a sustainable approach to enhance wheat productivity and nutrient efficiency in alkaline calcareous soils. Moreover, PM along with NPK fertilizers proved superior in improving root traits and nutrient accumulation thereby increasing wheat grain yield.
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