Efficient nitrogen management in wheat through a combination of conventional and nano urea with optimized methods and timing

Abstract

The rice-wheat cropping system is the largest cereal-based agricultural production system in India. It provides considerable significance to national food, nutrition, and livelihood security. However, the extensive use of resources under rice-wheat system has resulted in significant issues, including a decline in groundwater levels, indiscriminate use of fertilizers, the burning of rice residues, increased emissions of greenhouse gases, and the development of herbicide-resistant weeds which led to stagnant crop productivity and reduced profitability. This study was conducted at the research farm of ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal, India, to evaluate the combined effects of conventional and nano urea on productivity, profitability, and efficient nitrogen management strategy in wheat under rice-wheat system. The study evaluated eight treatment combinations of nitrogen application through conventionally applied urea (46% N) and foliar applied nano urea (4% N). The results of the study showed that the application of 150 kg N/ha in three equal splits as basal and just before 1^st and 2^nd irrigation, either alone (T₂) or along with a spray of nano urea (T₅), resulted in the highest grain yield and profitability. Top dressing of urea just before irrigation with a dose of nitrogen 150 kg/ha applied in three equal splits (T₂) resulted in 420 kg/ha additional grain yield over top dressing at 7-10 days after irrigation with same dose (T₃). Treatment T5 recorded the highest gross and net returns with 2492.5 and 1804.0 US $/ha. The study’s findings suggest that efficient nitrogen management is essential for sustainable wheat production in India. The application of 150 kg N/ha in three equal splits, either alone or along with a spray of nano urea, is a promising strategy for improving wheat productivity and profitability in India.

Keywords:

• nano urea
• nitrogen
• timing and methods
• urea
• wheat

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research at Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal, Haryana, India for providing funds and to my co-authors for their contributions in completing this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study will be available on request from the corresponding author ([email protected]).