Improving Productivity of Wheat Through Mulching and Foliar Nutrition in Late Sown Wheat

Abstract

The experiments were conducted during winter season of  2011–12 and 2012–13 to evaluate heat stress response of wheat to paddy straw mulch and foliar nutrition of calcium and potassium in irrigated situation of mollisols of GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India. The treatments comprised of paddy straw mulch at 6 t ha^-1 (just after sowing) and no mulch as the first factor and 6 foliar nutrition of Calcium Chloride (0.1%) and Potassium Chloride (0.2%) at booting and post-anthesis stage (one week after anthesis) along with two treatments having water spray with same spray volume i.e. 300 l ha^-1 applied at booting and post-anthesis stages and no-spray as the second factor. All yield attributing characters were on higher side in mulch treated plots compared to non-mulch. However, the values were non-significant. Grain yield was significantly higher in mulched plots than non-mulch. Foliar spray of KCl at 0.2% at post-anthesis stage increased the productivity of wheat significantly compared to control and other foliar treatments. All other foliar treatments were at par with control with respect to grain yield of wheat. Climatic condition particularly the rainfall distribution and temperature regime had effect on crop productivity. The betterment of yield due to  these treatments was due to better efficiency of PSII accentuated by higher value of Fv Fm-1. The treatments did not influence phenology of crop.