Nitrogen and potassium application effects on productivity, profitability and nutrient use efficiency of irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The development of robust nutrient management strategies have played a crucial role in improving crop productivity, profitability and nutrient use efficiency. Therefore, the implementation of efficient nutrient management stratigies is important for food security and environmental safety. Amongst the essential plant nutrients, managing nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) based production systems is citically important to maximize profitable production with minimal negative environmental impacts. We investigated the effects of different fertilizer-N (viz. 0–240 kg N ha-1; N0-N240) and fertilizer-K (viz. 0–90 kg K ha-1; K0-K90) application rates on wheat productivity, nutrient (N and K) use efficiency viz. partial factor productivity (PFPN/K), agronomic efficiency (AEN/K), physiological efficiency (PEN/K), reciprocal internal use efficiency (RIUEN/K), and profitability in terms of benefit-cost (B-C) ratio, gross returns above fertilizer cost (GRAFC) and the returns on investment (ROI) on fertilizer application. These results revealed that wheat productivity, plant growth and yield attributes, nutrients uptake and use efficiency increased significantly (p<0.05)with fertilizer-N application, although the interaction effect of N x K application was statistically non-significant (p<0.05). Fertilizer-N application at 120 kg N ha-1 (N120) increased the number of effective tillers (8.7%), grain yield (17.3%), straw yield (15.1%), total N uptake (25.1%) and total K uptake (16.1%) than the N80. Fertilizer-N application significantly increased the SPAD reading by ~4.2–10.6% with fertilizer-N application (N80-N240), compared with N0. The PFPN and PFPK increased significantly with fertilizer-N and K application in wheat. The AEN varied between 12.3 and 22.2 kg kg-1 with significantly higher value of 20.8 kg kg-1 in N120. Fertilizer-N application at higher rate (N160) significantly decreased the AEN by ~16.3% over N120. The N120treatment increased the AEK by ~52.6% than N80 treatment. Similarly the RIUEN varied between 10.6 and 25.6 kg Mg-1 grain yield, and increased significantly by ~80.2% with N120 as compared to N0 treatment. The RIUEK varied between 109 and 15.1 kg Mg-1 grain yield, and was significantly higher in N120 treatment. The significant increase in mean gross returns (MGRs) by ~17.3% and mean net returns (MNRs) by ~24.1% increased the B-C ratio by ~15.1% with N120 than the N80 treatment. Fertilizer-N application in N120 treatment increased the economic efficiency of wheat by ~24.1% and GRAFC by ~16.9%. Grain yield was significantly correlated with total N uptake (r = 0.932**, p<0.01), K uptake (r = 0.851**), SPAD value (r = 0.945**), green seeker reading (r = 0.956**), and the RIUEN (r = 0.910**). The artificial neural networks (ANNs) showed highly satisfactory performance in training and simulation of testing data-set on wheat grain yield. The calculated mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and root mean square error (RMSE) for wheat were 0.0087, 0.834 and 0.052, respectively. The well trained ANNs model was capable of producing consistency for the training and testing correlation (R2 = 0.994**, p<0.01) between the predicted and actual values of wheat grain yield, which implies that ANN model succeeded in wheat grain yield prediction.

Influence of Fertilization Methods and Types on Wheat Rhizosphere Microbiome Community and Functions

“…45−47 In contrast, fertilizer-K had less impact on yield. 47 However, K improved the wheat quality by increasing the protein content, wet gluten, and starch content (Table 2). Zn has also been shown to increase the yield and grain Zn concentrations as well as grain quality parameters, including the protein, wet gluten, and starch content.…”

“…Grain yield, protein, wet gluten, and starch were increased after the application of N-fertilizer (Table ). N supply has been shown to correlate with tillers, protein concentration, gluten strength and most protein components, total glutenin, gliadin, and the content of most monomeric and polymeric proteins. − In contrast, fertilizer-K had less impact on yield . However, K improved the wheat quality by increasing the protein content, wet gluten, and starch content (Table ).…”

Spraying Technology and Foliar Application Result in a Smooth Layer of the Spray: a Literature Review

“…This is because the seasonal pattern of nutrient intake varies depending on growth rate and stage but often follows a sigmoidal pattern with abrupt increases happening. Emerging crops have a high need for nutrients, particularly N, P, and K, and the soil does not always fully meet this demand, especially when unfavorable conditions predominate and when root growth is slow (Sharma et al, 2022).…”

Irrigation combines with nitrogen application to optimize soil carbon and nitrogen, increase maize yield, and nitrogen use efficiency

“…Nitrogen is a crucial nutrient for plant growth (Sharma et al, 2022). Soil nitrogen primarily originates from exogenous nitrogen application and the nitrogen present in the soil.…”