Influence of Different Levels and Methods of N P K Fertilizer Application on the Growth and Production of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Arid Region of Rajasthan

A field experiment was conducted at Instructional Farm, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner during rabi season of 2019-20 to find out the Influence of different levels and methods of N P K fertilizer application on the growth and production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Arid Region of Rajasthan. The experiment was laid out with 20 treatment combinations comprising in a split plot design and replicated three times. The treatment consisted of four fertility levels in main plot, viz. F0 - control, F1 - 50% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), F2 - 75% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), F3 - 100% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) and five foliar fertilization with soluble N P K in the sub plot viz. S0- control (no spray), S1- one spray (60 DAS), S2- two spray (45 & 60 DAS), S3- three spray (45, 60 & 75 DAS), S4- four spray (45, 60, 75 & 90 DAS). The results revealed that 100% recommended dose of fertilizer resulted in significantly higher growth and yield attributes as well as grain and straw yield over all other fertility levels. Application of 100% RDF recorded significantly maximum gross and net profit (₹ 108568 ha-1 and ₹ 76682 ha-1) with B:C ratio of 2.40 over the other applied treatments. Similarly, three foliar spray of soluble N: P: K recorded maximum growth and yield attributes as well as grain and straw yield of wheat over rest of treatments but remained statistically at par with four foliar spray. The same treatment also recorded significantly higher gross & net returns (₹ 98116 ha-1 and ₹ 67326 ha-1, respectively) with B: C ratio of 2.16 in comparison to rest levels of foliar fertilization except four foliar spray of soluble N: P: K.